We’ll celebrate George’s 40-year KCCK career Aug. 27 at Jazz Under The Stars
One of Iowa’s longest-tenured broadcasters will soon turn in his headphones. KCCK News and Operations Director George Dorman will retire Sept. 11. KCCK will host a retirement party for Dorman at Jazz Under the Stars, August 27, 6pm at Noelridge Park.
Even though KCCK’s primary focus is music, George’s newscasts have been an important part of KCCK’s program day across the four decades he’s been at the station. He has won five Associated Press reporting awards.
We’ll celebrate George’s 41 years at KCCK with a reception at Jazz Under The Stars on August 27. If you’d like to attend and enjoy cake and lemonade, rsvp to Laura Carson.
In addition to daily newscasts, George has written and produced “Clean Up Your Act,” one of Iowa’s first environmental feature shows. Begun in 1991, the show recently celebrated its thirty-fifth year of production. Clean Up Your Act has placed in the Iowa Broadcast News Association (IBNA) awards fifteen times, four of those first place.
The award George is most proud of was in 2002 for KCCK’s coverage of the 9/11 attacks. George marshalled a team of part-time staff, volunteers, and even management to produce day-long coverage that went far beyond that of larger, better-resourced organizations.
“We’re a small station,” George says, “but we’re located in one of the larger markets in Iowa. So, we were competing against stations in Des Moines, the Quad Cities, Sioux City and Cedar Rapids. It was a wonderful honor, especially because it was a team effort that brought it about.”
Over the years, members of the Dorman family have also become involved with the station. George’s son Daniel was bitten by the audio production bug after seeing his dad in action, and went on to become a sound engineer. Daniel and George often team up to produce KCCK remote events like the Iowa City Jazz Festival. Eldest son Michael designed and maintained the first versions of the KCCK website in the early Nineties, later handing the duties over to the remaining Dorman brothers, Andy and Brady.
KCCK General Manager Dennis Green says George’s value goes well beyond his skills as a journalist. “George also serves as KCCK’s Operations Director, which means he administers pretty much every aspect of the station that isn’t covered by a live DJ show. That includes dozens of hours of shows during evening and overnight hours. If you’ve ever had trouble getting to sleep in the middle of the night and turned on KCCK for company, you have George to thank.”
Born in Castlewood, South Dakota, George’s dad ran a weekly newspaper. Following college at South Dakota State, George was among the last Americans to be drafted into the military and served a year in South Korea. After starting in field artillery, he began his broadcasting career first as a reporter and photographer for his division newspaper and later as a newscaster for the American Forces Korea Network (AFKN). After his discharge, George worked at KSFY-TV in Sioux Falls and KCRG-TV9 and KCRG Radio in Cedar Rapids before arriving at KCCK, where he has worked since 1986.
Over his four decades, George has seen a lot of changes in broadcasting and at Iowa’s Jazz Station, but is proud of what he has seen KCCK accomplish over the years.
“You won’t find a better jazz station anywhere. I’m so proud to be a part of that. But, what I get the most satisfaction out of is just working here with this group of people and the things that this little station accomplishes.”
George isn’t leaving KCCK completely. He will continue producing Clean Up Your Act in his retirement, as well as returning to help with remote production at KCCK events.