St. John the Baptist parishioner Mary Nickles to be inducted into Broadcasters Hall of Fame

Friday, Jun. 20, 2014

SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Utah Department of Communication will induct Mary Nickles and two others into the Utah Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame June 26.

Nickles, a member of Saint John the Baptist Parish, joined KUTV2 News in 1991 and currently co-anchors the news weekdays on 2NEWS This Morning and 2NEWS at Noon. She is also KUTV’S Check Your Health spokesperson, hosts the Workouts on the Web, writes two health blogs, and does in-depth reporting for the station, for which she won an Emmy for Best News Series in 2012. That series started with Nickles getting a mammogram to encourage more women to get screened; her exam found an invasive, malignant tumor. The stories that followed tracked her surgery, chemotherapy treatments, wig shopping, radiation and long recovery.

“I feel I’m too young for this award,” said Nickles. “This is a lifetime achievement award that you get when you are old and ready to retire. I was surprised because I’m not a legend, but I have been here a long time. I am an advocate for health and I am active in the community.” 

Nickles chairs the Advisory Board for Head Start, and is on the boards for the Intermountain Catholic newspaper and for the Police Athletic League. She donates home-cooked meals and many hours to help other charities, including The Ronald McDonald House, Guadalupe Schools, Life After Breast Cancer, The Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the Heart Walk. She has participated in the Utah Summer Games for many years, and was inducted into the Hall of Honor in 2003. She also played professional volleyball for the Utah Predators.

Nickles grew up with eight brothers and sisters in Renton, Wash. 

“My parents were both smart and inquisitive, and if I asked a question watching the news or reading a book, my parents would say ‘Let’s find the answer in the encyclopedias,’” she said. “Being in a big family around the table, I wanted to have something interesting to talk about or somebody else would take over. My dad was an awesome storyteller and I was always interested in English. In the eighth grade, I decided I wanted to be a reporter to ask questions, write stories, learn about things and meet interesting people.”

Nickles worked on the high school newspaper; then, at a community college in Seattle, she worked a midnight to 3 a.m. Blues radio show writing news breaks. She then attended Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho, on a volleyball scholarship, and majored in English with a speech minor. In addition, she announced at baseball games, and also published a few poems. 

At her first television job, she reported, shot, edited, produced and anchored in the Yakima, Wash. market before coming to Utah as the weekend anchor and reporter.

“I became fascinated with the challenge of telling a story to video,” she said. “You have a minute and a half and you can’t leave out any important details or lose the audience’s attention. Every day is different, every story is different and every person is different, and that is what is fascinating about my job.”

The stories Nickles remembers most are those that she would not have had the opportunity to do without her job, she said.

“I went to Budapest when the International Olympic Committee announced that Salt Lake City would host the 2002 Winter Olympics, and I went to the Utah Summer Games in Cedar City,” she said. “I played volleyball and did news stories at the same time. I had my microphone and earpiece on while I was playing in the Gold Medal volleyball match on center court at Southern Utah University, while Terry Wood and Bill Marcroft were asking me questions.”

Although Nickles’ brothers tease her that she has the “face for radio and the voice for newspaper,” she said, “it is being myself that I hope makes me watchable, and gives me the longevity I have had.” 

Nickles calls herself and her husband, Kent, the parents, tutors, coaches and taxi drivers for 17 year-old twins Zachary and MacKenzie.