HOUSTON – Nearly 50 years in the news industry are simply not enough to capture the phenomenal gem that is Khambrel Marshall.
For 24 years at KPRC 2, Marshall has been a trusted journalist and a household name for Houstonians, embodying charisma, charm, style, and excellence in everything he does.
“I can’t believe how many generations of television change I’ve been through when I look back on it,” Marshall said. “I started when we were shooting film… to tape and various iterations of tape, so it’s been interesting over these years, and of course, people I’ve worked with for many, many, many years are no longer here.”
In a candid interview with Houston Life’s Derrick Shore, Marshall looked back over his career in six stations and five states. He’s undoubtedly made an impact in local television as a news anchor, sports director, executive producer, meteorologist and host of the weekly favorite Houston Newsmakers.
Marshall has considered KPRC 2 to be a part of his family.
“We spend more time here at work than I spend at home, and that’s been the way it’s been over the whole generation. My whole career it’s been that way, which my wife (Debbie) is probably happy about,” Marshall jokingly said to Shore. “I’ve gotten more ‘honey-do’s’ to do probably, more things to be done at her direction.”
‘I’d stepped through with faith’
When asked if he knew if he would accomplish so much in his career, Marshall said no.
“There was a fair amount of insecurity about what I was going to be able to do,” he said. “I mean, I was excited about trying to get into the business but I didn’t know what I wanted to do in the business. I just happened to take a sports job because somebody called me and said, ‘Hey, there’s a sports opening here at the station in Phoenix.’ So that’s why I did that. I didn’t have this big plan, and no one had told me that I could do that.”
Marshall said there were very few people that looked like him when he got into the business.
“I didn’t have any template to follow either, so it was just kind of opening doors that God would open for me and I’d stepped through with faith and hoped things would work out. And they have so far,” Marshall explained.
Longevity in the industry
Marshall credits his longevity in the industry to a few things, including not burning bridges.
“Making sure that as I take on each job and each opportunity that I treat people the way I want to be treated,” he said.
He also focuses on being happy in life.
“There were times in my career where I wasn’t happy that my contract wasn’t being renewed and I had a family to care for, and I just had to go deep into prayer and know that when I got to work, whatever is going to happen, I need to exude good energy and not negative energy. And that’s what I’ve done throughout my career and so all of these opportunities that came to me came because of, I think, positive vibes and being in the right place at the right time,” he shared. “Clearly that’s a part of it. If I hadn’t been in Miami when Hurricane Andrew hit and they needed somebody to be on the set to do coverage while the hurricane was coming in, this would not have happened. Both our main anchors were out of town. And so they called the sports director to come sit on the set during Andrew. That’s how I started the news journey.”
The news journey would later bring him to Houston, where he got into management and meteorology. All of these elements created what Shore described as a “perfect storm” that would be beloved by many in the community.
Changes in the news industry and diversity
While there weren’t many people in broadcast television who resembled Marshall in 1975, he said that has changed in some ways.
“There’ve been so many changes in so many different ways and many ways, there have not been changes,” Marshall said. “We’ve seen a lot more faces and people like me in positions on TV. We still don’t see as many behind-the-scenes making decisions about what goes on and so that brings about the editorial piece of what we’re covering. If the people who are covering our communities don’t look like us or people who are groups of people who are covering our communities don’t look like us, they don’t really have the same understanding.”
Marshall said he’s seen an evolution over the years of people wanting to be more “empathetic” while covering communities properly and credited KPRC 2 for doing a good job of it, but the concern still lingers as the industry continues to transform through streaming platforms.
“It’s going to be a challenge. We’ve gone through all these different changes, you know, from film to tape to different kinds of tape to digital to now streaming and now social media, phones. There’s just so much going on,” he explained.
Marshall also talked about the role journalists play in social activism and justice, mentioning the Jan. 6 insurrection at the nation’s capitol as an example.
“Our business, which should be on the forefront of solving it, is not because we’ve got people in our business who really aren’t journalists, who are (like) parroting stuff and so they’ve got to parrot the truth if they’re gonna do things, so that’s one of the frustrations of my life,” he said.
A look back over the years and Houston Newsmakers
Marshall’s overflowing catalog of stories he’s produced has gained lots of attention over the years, but he told Shore there are a few that stick out to him.
“Through the years here at this station, over the last 24 years, it’s been incredible being able to talk to the leadership of the community and the one common denominator is that they all have this passion for wanting this community to be better,” he said. “That’s what stands out more than anything else. I mean everybody has this passion. It wasn’t all politics, of course. The educators that I met – Dr. Ruth Simmons, who is amazing, and Simone Biles and all these people who we’ve had a chance to interact with but there’s this common denomination of goodness within the city of Houston, where everybody wants our city to be better.”
Philanthropy and community
Some of Marshall’s philanthropic efforts include his participation with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Houston, March of Dimes, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness events, the Houston Association of Black Journalists, and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated, to name a few. He says his love for giving back can be attributed to his parents.
“My mother and father were tremendous givers to the community. They believed in that, and I am just carrying on what they would’ve done if they were alive,” he said. “My mother was an amazing woman. I was a mama’s boy, by the way, and I was a daddy’s boy too. So that’s what has motivated me to always get out there.”
Marshall continued, saying, “Giving back means rolling up your sleeves, helping to make decisions about some of these non-profits that are doing things in the community, whether it be the YMCA or Big Brothers Big Sisters, or the AD Players or the JCC or the Holocaust Museum. Those are organizations that I’m either involved in or have been involved in and they all are big, big parts of this community. And when you get into there and you get to see the people who are making decisions about what makes this community so great, it invigorates you to want to do more.”
‘Time is so valuable’: Family and home life
Marshall looks forward to spending more with his family after his retirement. He became a grandfather again and said it means a lot to enter into this new chapter in life with his wife, three daughters, 14-year-old son, and grandchildren.
“With all of these kids, I’ve just, I’ve run out of time being able to see them and so one of the reasons that I’m stepping away now is because that time is so valuable, and you don’t get it back,” Marshall said. “My 14-year-old, he’s getting in middle school, now his voice has changed and whoa, I’ve got to spend more time with this guy. And so all of this is what’s driving me to them, away from this business.”
What about the signature bow tie collection?
While Marshall is retiring, his popular bow tie collection isn’t going anywhere. The look became a staple when he showed up on air after emceeing an event where he was wearing one. Unable to change, he went with it.
“After that night, I got all these calls, mostly women. They said, ‘You look great!’ and I said, ‘You know what, I want to do this again tomorrow!’ And so I started doing it.”
Marshall told Shore that while he won’t wear as many, he’s still going to keep them and possibly donate some.
“I thought about maybe giving some away to some charities if they want them but you know, who would want my bow ties?”
(Lots of people, Khambrel. Lots of people.)
Message to KPRC 2 viewers
In closing the interview, Marshall told Shore, “This has just been an amazing community from the very beginning.”
“In May of 1999 when I first got here and neighbors’ kids came to the door to find out if we had kids there and neighbors brought pies and cakes and stuff like that and I said, ‘Wow, this is good.’ And from that moment on, I felt, ‘OK, this is where I need to be.’”
Marshall is looking forward to seeing what the future holds.
“I know it’s going to be wonderful because of the citizens of Houston and this community here. And they’re going to make it a beautiful experience.”