MOVING ON

KATHY FOUNTAIN BAKED JACK A PULSE PLUS! CAKE
HELPING JACK DISPLAY IT IS LARRY ELLISTON

Big changes were on there way when WTVT was sold to its new owners in 1989.  “They built a new studio right behind the old one where we did Pulse Plus!,” explains Jack. “When they finished construction Liz Brunner asked me if I had seen the new building. She showed me the offices were everybody would be…and I noticed there wasn’t a Pulse Plus! office. That was when I realized for the first time that Pulse Plus! wasn’t going to be on the air very much longer.  So I went to Ahearn and said ‘Is there something you haven’t told me?  Is the show about to come to an end?’ He said, ‘I’ve been meaning to tell you about that.’”

Pulse Plus! went on with Jack hosting until September 1st, 1989. They were very “classy” about it, as Jack put it, as he hosted the last Pulse Plus! before the replacement program, Eyewitness News, began the following Monday.

“The last show they had a lot of surprises,” he recalls.  “Lots of clips from the previous few years...animals from Busch Gardens and a lot of gifts.  Kathy Fountain was on with me talking about her show, and a lot of the regulars stopped by to say ‘howdy’. It was a great time and a fun time and a great way to go out.” 

To his delight, Jack was presented a plaque by The City of Tampa along with a very special honor; September 1st was designated "JACK HARRIS DAY" in Tampa.

BOB BUCKHORN PRESENTS JACK WITH A SPECIAL HONOR

Shortly after the demise of Pulse Plus!, Jack went on to host NewsWatch 8 at Noon on WFLA until 1992, when he was given his own noontime show that ran until 2000. Today, he is still in the TV business with a daily segment on Channel 28’s ABC Action News at 5, and he is still spending his mornings in radio on 970/WFLA.

Summing up his time at WTVT, Jack states that “It was a great six year experience. And I have such fond memories of Pulse Plus!”.

His philosophy in broadcasting? “Be yourself…unless you’re boring and dull. Then be someone exciting.”

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BIG 13 thanks our newest correspondent, Jackson Harris, for this article on his dad Jack. 

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