'He was News 9:' David Griffin on Gary England’s enduring legacy

For Griffin Media CEO David Griffin, Gary England wasn’t just the face of Oklahoma weather. He was News 9.

“When I moved back to Oklahoma in 1990, Gary England was News 9,” Griffin said. “And what he did here still lives to this day. The way we cover severe weather, the way we take severe weather seriously, is all because of a guy who started work here in the 1970s. Guy from Seiling, Oklahoma: Gary England.”

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Mission Above All

Griffin said England’s focus was never about flash or fame, it was about one clear mission.

“Everything about Gary England was how do I keep people safe?” he said. “It doesn’t matter what it cost. It doesn’t matter what we do. That’s our mission. That’s our public service is to keep people safe. And that was Gary.”

Innovation That Was Once Unheard Of

Today, Doppler radar is a staple in weather coverage. But back in the early 1980s, England’s push to invest in one was considered radical.

“In the early ’80s, nobody knew about Doppler radar,” Griffin said. “There was only one or two that existed — we had the first commercial Doppler radar in the world. And that investment paid off in saving people’s lives.”

Though Griffin lost his father at a young age, he knows the former station leader trusted England. “My father understood that our primary purpose is to keep people safe and informed. And Gary came up with some ways to do that.”

A Man of the People

From severe weather coverage to state fairs and community shows, Griffin said England never lost sight of what mattered.

“I just never forget being at the state fair with him and seeing the lines of people that just flocked to him,” he said. “He cared about every single person there.”

England’s “Terrible Twister” shows regularly packed auditoriums across Oklahoma. “We’d have to turn people away... but Gary shook everybody’s hand,” Griffin said. “Every Oklahoman deserves to be safe. And that was Gary England.”

Yes, He Had a Pig

Though known for saving lives, England also made people smile, sometimes in unexpected ways.

“He ended up getting a pig,” Griffin said. “Spike the pig, which was more the second most popular anchor we had.”

When Spike outgrew the newsroom, he retired to a farm. “People lined up to go visit Spike. It was pretty incredible.”

A Blueprint That Changed an Industry

From hiring storm chasers to pushing the boundaries of broadcast technology, England’s approach changed the standard not just at News 9 and News On 6 but across the country.

“His legacy is the way weather is done in our company, certainly, but in this market and even in severe weather markets across the country,” Griffin said. “The hiring of storm chasers, the technology that was used, it was invented here. Created here. Gary did all that.”

A Legacy That Lives On

Today, the company continues to follow the mission England set in motion.

“Our mission is to keep Oklahomans safe and informed,” Griffin said. “We will continue to follow that. We’ll take what he built and continue to build on it and continue to invest.”

England’s granddaughters are now students at the University of Oklahoma, studying journalism and meteorology — a legacy Griffin says doesn’t surprise him.

“They obviously grew up with a grandfather who had incredible passion,” he said. “To have another England in the business would be fantastic.”

A Message to the Family — and the Future

To England’s family, Griffin offered his thanks.

“We feel a great loss, but we also have incredible memories of Gary and what he has done,” he said. “We just appreciate the whole family and what they’ve done. And we’re just thinking of them, and we love them.”

To younger generations who never got to work with England, Griffin had one message:

“Appreciate the responsibility this job gives you,” he said. “Just learn from what he accomplished, and how he went about doing it. Treating everybody with respect.”