After 43 years of hauling his camera, chasing stories, and informing Nebraskans, KETV’s longtime Lincoln Bureau Chief Andrew Ozaki found himself the subject of a news conference Tuesday—for a change.
Ahead of his retirement on Monday, June 30, Governor Jim Pillen awarded Ozaki the honorary title of Admiral in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska, recognizing his more than four decades of service.
Despite working for the Omaha-based Channel 7, Ozaki is a Lincoln native and graduate of Lincoln High School and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of Journalism. Serendipitously, Ozaki was a neighbor of R. Neale Copple—the founding Dean and “father” of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at UNL.
From tornadoes to the Nebraska Unicameral and the many governors to occupy the office, Ozaki worked alongside numerous notable Lincoln reporters. He specifically recalled working with KLIN legends like Jim Fagin, Jim Rose, and Jane Monnich.
Ozaki was positioned as a trendsetter when KETV established the first Lincoln bureau for an Omaha TV station under the leadership of Doug Parrott. WOWT (Channel 6) and KMTV (Channel 3) shortly followed, according to Ozaki.
“I believe Lincoln was the most covered city in the state at the time, because you had Omaha stations coming in to cover Lincoln news, then Lincoln stations like KLIN, KOLN (Channel 10), and KLKN (Channel 8). It was competitive and it was fun,” Ozaki told KLIN News.
Reflecting on his long career, Ozaki noted several stories he covered that still stick with him to this day.
From the serious devastation of the 2004 Hallam tornado: “We were there. I remember actually the tornado came right over me. I was on Highway 77, and it went over me and then hit Hallam.”
For his coverage of Whiteclay, Nebraska, Ozaki earned an award from Project Extra Mile: “That was a serious issue that was so far away. It was hard to cover, just to physically get out there. But it was amazing to see after years and years of the struggle to close down the beer stores in Whiteclay, it actually succeeded.”
In 2013, Ozaki and KETV’s Julie Cornell were sent to South Sudan, Africa to document a medical mission team from Omaha and their work bringing medical care to the war-torn country: “One doctor in particular was a South Sudan-native. Many of the places they tried to build up are now, again, under war. It’s very sad.”
As for retirement plans, Ozaki says he plans to focus on spending time with his four grandkids, sail, and travel. “…and then I’ve got a lot of housework I put off for a number of years,” he said.
The entire KLIN News team wishes Ozaki the best in his retirement and thanks him for his service to the state.