KTVU, Channel 2

Call us crazy, but we like our TV anchors straight -- talking, that is. Richmond's banter-free, no-nonsense style (not to mention his longevity) serves him well in an era of increasingly obnoxious talking heads. The 60-year-old Ohio native came to the station as a part-time clerk-typist in the mid-'60s, won a special scholarship to Columbia University in 1969, and returned as a beat reporter before sliding into the anchor chair in 1976. His 10 p.m. newscast (with co-anchor Leslie Griffiths) is consistently rated tops in the Bay Area, as is the station overall in the local news wars. As the dean of late-night anchors, Richmond has weathered the occasional angry viewer, economic downturns, a stalker, and -- for a couple of months last year -- even a case of chronic hiccups. Through it all, he's avoided turning into a suited smiley-face, and at a Fox affiliate, no less.