A woman considered to be “an iconic leader” in New Mexico broadcasting has announced that she will retire in fall 2018 from her top role at a major ABC affiliate in the Land of Enchantment.
She’s been the head of this TV station since 1993, and has enjoyed a 48-year career that includes becoming the first female co-anchor of a television newscast in Albuquerque.
For many in Albquerque, Santa Fe, Taos, and other communities across New Mexico, Mary Lynn Roper is revered for her many years in broadcasting.
She serves as President/GM of KOAT-7, the longtime ABC affiliate in Albuquerque that was acquired in 1998 by Hearst-Argyle and in mid-2009 became a Hearst Corp. property.
Roper took the GM job at KOAT in 1993, under Pulitzer ownership, some 25 years after first stepping into the station’s old University Boulevard headquarters in Northeast Albuquerque. This was after exiting Albuquerque five years earlier to take a corporate-level role of VP/News, helping supervise the newsroom operations at nine Pulitzer stations across the country.
Since beginning at KOAT in 1977, Roper served in a variety of positions, including that of News Director, Producer, Reporter, and Photographer.
But, she’s most familiar to viewers from her years anchoring the station’s “Action 7” newscasts.
This marked a major step in gender equality for New Mexico television, as Roper became the first female TV news director and co-anchor in 1985, where she was paired with Johnny Morris.
Ratings for the station’s afternoon and 10pm newscasts soared, and KOAT’s widespread availability — including Cortez, Colo.; the Navajo reservation of Arizona; and the far southeastern corner of Utah — often made KOAT the top-rated ABC affiliate in the U.S.
“My family’s been in New Mexico for hundreds of years, and I truly believe no other place in the world offers the same unique natural beauty, wonderfully proud variety of cultures, and kind-hearted people,” Roper said. “My greatest joy and accomplishment is having had the honor of proudly serving with the talented and dedicated men and women of KOAT who are truly committed to informing New Mexicans and serving our community.”
Roper has long had a kind heart for the community, and spearheaded the “KOATs for Kids” clothing drive which today collects and distributes 10,000 coats annually to needy children throughout the state. Following the success of that program, she started “School Supply” to assist New Mexico schools and their young students. The station also earned a NAB award in the category of Public Service Campaign for Children for each of these efforts.
“Throughout her career, Mary Lynn has exemplified the attributes of a top local broadcaster,” said Hearst Television President Jordan Wertlieb. “She has devoted unwavering attention to KOAT’s news brand and commitment to community service and, in the process, became one of New Mexico’s leading civic leaders. She also helped pave the way for women leaders in television journalism. We could not be more proud of her service and dedication, not only to Hearst Television but to the people of New Mexico.”
In a Q&A conducted by the Rio Grande Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), Roper was asked what the biggest changes were for someone who had been in the business for some 30 years at the time the interview was conducted.
She said, without hesitation, that the difference was technology.
“When I started at KOAT-TV we were still shooting film – imagine that! – and at 2 pm every day we’d have to deliver our film for processing and then have to cut it and edit and get ready for air,” she recalls. “To go from that to instant capability with satellite live shots and microwave shots and a completely automated newsroom … amazing.”
And, thanks to technology, Roper believes the stories are better.
She said, “From a television perspective, we can visualize and illustrate them better than in the past. We can put graphics together, we can split screens, we can dissolve so that the viewer can actually see ‘this was then, this is now’ and just visually do a better job than a decade ago.”
Asked about how local news can compete against national entities, Roper explained, “I think when people think of Action 7 News and KOAT-TV they think of local news. They always have and they always will. Whether it’s a 300 channel universe or a 2,000 channel universe there will only be a couple of stations in New Mexico that can put the spotlight on New Mexico news and that’s your local affiliate. That’s really comforting, actually! There will always, always be an appetite for local news. You can get national news from a myriad selection (but) you can only get local news … locally. It’s local journalists who gather local news and report it to the local public.”
Roper began her broadcasting career in 1970 in radio, at 1kw Class C KRTN-AM 1490 in her hometown of Raton, New Mexico.
She can thank her late father, Jim Roper, for the career opportunity. He first started working at KRTN in December 1948, some 20 days after the station signed on the air, while still a senior in high school.
In 1962, he acquired a 20% stake in KRTN, before acquiring the station outright in February 1964. He sold KRTN in 2005, four years after his induction into the New Mexico Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
Mary Lynn Roper followed her father into the New Mexico Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2005, and in 2008 was named New Mexico Broadcaster of the Year. Five years later, she received an American Advertising Federation of New Mexico Silver Medal.
When not at KOAT, Roper serves on the board of Foundation for Open Government, a non-profit organization of journalists and First Amendment attorneys working to ensure adherence to New Mexico laws governing public-record access and legislative and regulatory transparency. She also serves on the United Way Mission Families Council and on the New Mexico Broadcasters Association board.
Thus, there’s a good chance Roper will continue to play a vital role in the community.
It just won’t see her behind-the-scenes at a highly successful TV station she helped build.
