Rob Wolchek

Everyone knows me as the guy who puts people in the "HHHHHAAAALLLLL of Shame!" It's a job I never thought I'd end up doing but one that I have grown to love.

As a kid, I only had one ambition: to be a deejay on the radio. In 1978, I got my first broadcasting job playing country music at a radio station in Farmington, New Mexico. I was a terrible country deejay and was almost fired my first week. Luckily, I hung on to that job for a few months and finally got hired at a Top 40 station. The first song I played was "Hot Blooded" by Foreigner and it was such a relief after playing twangy country songs.

I worked in radio for many years and loved it until I got to be about 30 years old, when I decided it was time to get a 'real' job. The problem was, not too many real jobs interested me.

I was working as a traffic reporter for KNX radio in Los Angeles when a friend told me he was running the intern program at a local television station. I signed up but didn't really get anywhere until another intern and I went to San Francisco to cover the 1989 earthquake. I must have done a good job because I sold a bunch of stories to some of the big networks.

I took a job as a full time reporter at KGET-TV in Bakersfield shortly afterward. It was hard work. I had to shoot my own stories, produce, write, edit and report them too. And the pay was horrible. But, I'd convinced my wife to move from the glamour of Los Angeles to sticks of Bakersfield with the promise that someday I'd be a great reporter, so I had to grind it out for three long years.

After that, I went to KJEO-TV in Fresno. During the first week I was there, I was sent on a story about a special park made for disabled children that had been burned to the ground by arsonists. I was really moved by the story and angry with the hoodlums that torched a place that meant so much to kids who'd already had been dealt a tough hand. My stories started a drive to rebuild the park and I got a special award from the city of Fresno. All of a sudden, I got a reputation as an advocate for the people. I was soon dubbed the 'Scambuster' because I went after the bad guys who ripped off and cheated everybody. I won my first Emmy in Fresno for 'Scambusting.'

In 1997, I came to Fox 2. Since then, I've continued to hunt down scam artists and been lucky enough to win 25 more Emmy awards. I'm proud of the accomplishments I've had here in Detroit...exposing all kinds of scams, stopping bad guys and helping send a lot of them to prison. I've worked with lawmakers and the Governor to change laws and worked with police and prosecutors to make sure justice is served. Plus, I get to put all the crazy confrontations I have with the bad guys on Fox 2 for everyone to see!