After more than a decade on the anchor desk, NBC 5’s Rob Stafford delivered his final newscast Friday. Here’s a look back at Stafford’s career and his farewell message to viewers.
Re-watch a recap of Rob Stafford's career, emotional messages from colleagues and his final words for NBC 5 viewers in the player above.
After more than a decade behind the NBC 5 anchor desk, award-winning journalist and investigative reporter Rob Stafford delivered his final newscast before retirement Friday.
Stafford joined NBC 5 News as weekend anchor and reporter in September 2007. He moved to the main anchor position in July of 2009, where he has since spent years working alongside co-anchor and friend, Allison Rosati.
Known for uncovering and digging deep in years-long mysteries, Stafford's 40-year career has seen him win nine reginal Emmy Awards, four Associated Press Awards and a number of others.
“One thing I like about Chicago is people here like real people," he said. "They will tolerate mistakes that you make on the air and that kind of thing as long as you don’t try to fake it.”
A native of New Hampshire, Stafford received a degree in political science and journalism from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota.
“I grew up in a very small town and nothing ever happened. And I decided I wanted to go to places where things did happen," Stafford said.
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Prior to joining NBC 5, Stafford spent a decade as a Chicago-based National Correspondent for the award-winning newsmagazine, Dateline NBC. During that time, he won two national Emmy awards for an investigation into hazing in the military and a prime-time hour on the Elizabeth Smart case. In 2000, he received an Edward R. Murrow Award for his Dateline investigation into racial profiling.
Stafford joined NBC News in 1996 after serving as a consumer reporter and substitute anchor at WBBM-TV, Chicago. Before that, he anchored the morning newscast at WFTV-TV in Orlando and founded the station's award-winning investigative unit. His two-year investigative series on hotel crime in Orlando exposed serious security problems and led to a grand jury investigation. Stafford also held various anchoring and reporting positions at WFRV-TV in Green Bay, Wisconsin and KBJR-TV in Duluth, Minnesota.
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But one of Stafford's biggest battles came from his own story.
Stafford was diagnosed with amyloidosis in 2017. He underwent six months of treatment and returned to work as soon as he could.
Stafford looks forward to spending time with his wife Lisa, whom he has been married to since 1986, as well as their three grown children and dog Bear.
No matter where he is, he will forever be a reporter.
"My parents drilled into all of us you should give back and make a difference. And I thought being a reporter would be a way to make a difference," he said.
And make a difference he did.
