Your feed is full of throwbacks, but why do a few seconds of old local news footage hit harder than a Hollywood reboot? We sit down with Acadiana TV legend Hoyt Harris to talk about what it’s like to resurface online after years away and why nostalgia feels so loud right now for so many of us in Lafayette and across South Louisiana.
Hoyt takes us from Middle Tennessee to the Medill School of Journalism, through early stops in TV news where the stories were real and the newsroom culture could be downright chaotic. Then we rewind into the moment he arrives in Acadiana, gets thrown into Mardi Gras, and realizes this place welcomes you fast and holds on tight. We also dig into the digital media shift that changed everything, from appointment television to news on your phone, and what that means for community connection.
Some of the most meaningful parts land in health reporting: the power of local broadcast journalism to educate, motivate, and sometimes save lives. Hoyt shares unforgettable memories from KLFY and beyond, including hurricanes, community-wide food drives, and the kind of reporting that makes you believe media can still do good. And then, just when you think you’ve heard it all, he tells the story of getting cast in the Peter Sellers film Being There and ending up with an on-screen credit.
Sponsored by How the Cajun Lady Accent, with a sweet shoutout to Blue Rose Bakes for the custom cookies. If you enjoy stories that bring Acadiana’s past back to life, subscribe, share this with a friend who remembers “Channel 10 days,” and leave a review so more people can find the Rewind Podcast.