Jack Hogan, Former TV-13 News Director, Passes Away in Florida

If you watched WZZM TV-13 back in the 70s and 80s, you are probably familiar with the name Jack Hogan. Jack was the News Director at TV-13 for many years. He hired all of the on-air talent you saw on TV-13 back then. Jack Hogan passed away last Thursday, August 4th in Clermont, Florida, at the age of 89.

Along with being the News Director, Jack was the news anchor and co-host for the long-time "Eyewitness at Noon" along with Dick Richards. (That's Jack on the right in the picture below.)

Jack was responsible for hiring the first meteorologist in the West Michigan area when he brought Craig James to TV-13 in 1973. A year later, Jack hired Bill Steffen to work alongside Craig.

On Bill's Blog on the WOOD TV-8 website, Bill tells the story on how he was hired back in November of 1974 for $175 a week. Bill goes on to say that there were many candidates for that job, but Jack noted that Bill was an Eagle Scout. Jack was a Scoutmaster himself and admired those who were able to reach the rank of an Eagle Scout.

Bill goes on to say that Jack Hogan knew just about everyone. When Jack retired, he was hired as an assistant manager for the City of Grand Rapids. He later worked as a greeter at Meijer -- just to keep in touch with people. For references on his job application, Jack gave the names Fred Meijer and President Gerald R. Ford. I'd say those were some pretty strong references!

Later in his life, Jack moved to Clermont, Florida where he was elected as a city councilman.

Jack's obituary is very short. On the legacy.com website It just reads...

John 'Jack' Lawrence Hogan, 89 of Clermont, Florida, passed away on August 4, 2022. Jack is survived by his loving family. He will truly be missed.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of John " Jack ", please visit our floral store.

Here is the link to that obituary.

A tribute on the 13 On Your Side website adds:

Jack is survived by his beloved wife, Jackie, his son, Scott, his daughter, Kristin and several grandchildren. He is fondly remembered by his colleagues for his sound news judgement, his engaging personality and his ability to attract, develop and retain great talent.

Even today, there are legions of journalists and former journalists all across the country who can proudly say, 'Jack Hogan gave me my start.'

Here is a video of the WZZM TV-13 Hot Air Balloon being inflated at some events back in 1985. You can see Jack, along with many other TV-13 personalities (most of which were hired by Jack) in the video...

(On some internet browsers, the video may load only a portion of the video. Here is a link to watch the video that may work better.)

Here is a video produced by WZZM TV-13 for their 35th Anniversary back in the late 90's

Rest in Peace Jack.