‘It was always a fight’: Mark Alford was controversial inside Kansas City TV station

Former Fox 4 anchor Mark Alford spent 23 years building a prominent public on-air persona in Kansas City before quitting a year ago to run for Congress. But off the air, sources tell The Star, he was a controversial figure inside the station.

Launching his campaign, Alford declared that working in TV as a conservative had been “like being a fish swimming up river – it was always a fight.”

Alford, the Republican nominee in Missouri’s 4th District, now stands on the verge of being elected Nov. 8. It’s the culmination of more than two decades in the public eye, including a year waging a campaign that emphasized his conservatism and faith.

With over 23,000 hours on live television, Alford says he has “informed, influenced, and inspired” millions of people and helped to raise millions of dollars for charity. Even before he entered politics, he was already a well-established local figure – known not only as a TV anchor, but also as a licensed realtor and clothier.

Off the air, however, Alford was a divisive presence at his former workplace. The Star spoke with seven former Fox 4 colleagues of Alford, including four who described the anchor as toxic and bullying. One praised him, however, saying he was a positive force in the newsroom.

Five former colleagues said Alford’s political views affected how he did his job, with one source saying in some instances the anchor would substitute his own words for the scripts he was supposed to read, a practice called “bad-libbing.” One former colleague said Alford had stood up for journalistic objectivity, however.

Nearly every alleged incident of bullying conduct described by the former colleagues involved either demeaning remarks directed at lower-ranking employees or an outburst following a mistake of some kind. One former colleague said Alford was the most difficult person she had ever worked with in television.

The former colleagues who were critical of Alford spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the fear of professional consequences.

A former colleague said Alford created a “very toxic, hostile” environment when she worked at the station. She described an incident in 2017 where Alford stood over her during a commercial break, slammed a paper cup down in front of her and told her it was her job to make coffee in the morning.

“He was like, ‘There should always be coffee here when I get here in the morning. It’s your job to make the coffee and make sure I have coffee on the desk waiting for me in the morning,’” the former colleague said.

“I was in a room full of men and he didn’t tell any of them to make his coffee, but somehow it was my job.”

Another former colleague corroborated the account, saying she witnessed the former colleague tell the station’s former news director about this incident.

Alford declined an interview request, but answered questions in writing.

“I’ve been outspoken about leaving my career in news because of the dishonesty and forced one-sided reporting. Just like this article, it’s clear the media has become one-sided and focused on their agenda and not the truth. I am proud of my time in journalism and looking forward to fighting for the people of the 4th Congressional District in Congress,” Alford said in an email.

Fox 4 didn’t respond to a voicemail left with the station. A media contact for the station’s owner, Nexstar Media Group, didn’t respond to emails seeking comment.

Others say they have had positive experiences with Alford, who is originally from Texas and started working at Fox 4 in 1998.

Kim Byrnes, a morning show anchor who worked at Fox 4 from 1998 to 2022, was among four individuals the Alford campaign suggested The Star should interview. She said Alford was always great to her personally, but she also said he “doesn’t suffer fools gladly” and confirmed that some coworkers found him difficult to work with at the station.

“Mark is one of those kind of polar personalities that for every person who you talked to that said, he was, you know, a bully, you’d find another person who said just the opposite,” she said. “He was just one of those people who people had strong reactions about and viewers as well. We always said that it was like people loved him or they hated him. But regardless, they watched because they wanted to see what he was going to say or do next.”

Shannon O’Brien, a Fox 4 reporter from 2013 to 2021, said working with Alford was “awesome.” She also said she was not aware of his political leanings or plans to run for office when they worked together.

“He was super supportive of me, my stories and he was a great resource,” said O’Brien, another former coworker recommended by Alford’s campaign.

Running to the right in Missouri

Alford’s campaign also pointed The Star to two people, outside of the station, who praised him as a man of faith.

Pastor John Miles of Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church Of Jesus Christ in Kansas City said Alford once helped the church procure a truck that it has now used for years to haul food. Alford isn’t a member of the church, Miles said, but has still aided its charitable efforts.

“I think it would be good for the community. I really do,” Miles said of Alford potentially serving in Congress. “The Mark I know, I think it would be good for the community, good for people.”

Gail Worth, a friend of Alford who sells motorcycles, said the candidate has a “heart of gold.”

Worth said Alford likely found it difficult to work in media, given his beliefs.

“I know he was probably made to say things that he didn’t believe in. But that’s the job,” Worth said. “And that is why it would be difficult for a person like Mark because Mark does not want to say something just because it feels like the right thing to say. He’s all about the truth.”

In a Twitter video teasing his campaign last year, Alford said it was tough being a conservative and person of faith while working in the media industry.

“It has not been easy being in the media while also being a conservative Christian who respects law enforcement and wants to promote local entrepreneurs and small business owners,” he said in the video. “I’ve been saying for some time now on the air and on social media that God has a plan for your life and it’s your job to figure out what that is and to make it happen.”

In an email to The Star, Alford said his Christian faith is central to him and “guides every aspect of my life.”

Alford, who in addition to his TV career has sold custom clothing in the past and has posted images of his original watercolor paintings online, launched his congressional campaign on Oct. 27, 2021, just weeks after leaving Fox 4.

His campaign has focused on strict conservative stances on social issues like pushing back on gun control and COVID-19 mandates. He also has touted a need to finish former President Donald Trump’s border wall with Mexico and has promoted claims that the 2020 presidential election was not secure.

“I would be the loudest, strongest, most conservative, unwavering voice for the 4th Congressional District that they have ever seen,” Alford said at a Kansas City rally in October.

The rally featured Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a hard-right senator who voted to overturn Biden’s 2020 electoral victory, and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt. Schmitt, the Republican Senate nominee, supported a baseless lawsuit that sought to block Biden’s victory.

In his response to The Star’s 2022 voter guide questionnaire, Alford did not specifically answer when asked if he believed the 2020 election was secure and that Joe Biden was the legitimate president.

“Both parties have denied election results over the years,” he wrote. “I don’t support violence in any way. I want to be accessible to voters and be a loud, effective voice for rural Missouri. Looking forward, it would be wise for us to not change election procedures for some sort of ‘emergency’ as those changes can cause even more distrust in government. This is not a topic folks in the district ask me about.”

During the Republican primary, Alford, along with three of his other opponents, faced calls to drop out of the race for living outside of the 4th Congressional District. Alford later said in June that he signed up to be a resident in the district’s Cass County.

Alford won the Aug. 2 Republican primary with 36% of the vote, beating out six other candidates. In the general election, he is running against Democrat Jack Truman, but the 4th District is heavily Republican and Alford is favored to win.

Alford has raised nearly $714,000, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Truman told The Star earlier this month he had raised just $700 and donated $600 to his own campaign.

Whoever wins will replace Rep. Vicky Hartzler, a Republican who mounted an unsuccessful Senate campaign instead of running for reelection.

Alford’s career at Fox 4

At public speaking events and candidate forums, Alford often tried to appeal to the passionate hard-right base by touting a need to push back against Biden’s policies. He has talked about how he “fought for truth” at Fox 4 and plans to do that for rural Missouri.

Prior to the 2020 election, a former colleague recalled Alford second-guessing story selection amid the presidential race.

“One time I put a Trump story in, I can’t remember specifically, but he was like, ‘Oh you’re going to put this and not the one about Hunter Biden,’” the former colleague said.

As Alford made a name for himself on air, stories of off-air bullying behavior at the station began to accumulate among his coworkers.

One former Fox 4 employee recounted an incident around 2001 in which a team of camera operators forgot to yell “standby” to alert the anchors that the show was coming back from a break. The former co-worker said Alford, frustrated by the error, pulled out a $5 bill, wadded it up and threw it at the crew, saying “here’s $5, can I get a standby?”

This former employee, who worked at Fox 4 for over a decade, said Alford was a “loose cannon and a loud mouth.”

Another former colleague recalled Alford, roughly five years ago, telling her she looked like “a hunchback” because she had tucked her microphone behind her dress. “This was not in a joking, haha kind of way,” she said. “There was a condescending, bullying tone there.”

The former colleague who said Alford demanded coffee from her recounted another incident in which, during a broadcast, Alford began to ad lib while on air but lost his train of thought and repeated himself. The former colleague said that Alford, still on air, criticized her for the script without directly mentioning her name.

“On air, he was like ‘well, whoever wrote this was really stupid,’” the former colleague said. “That was really awful, made me feel terrible and I’m pretty sure I left work crying that day.”

The former colleague said she reported both the coffee incident and script incident to an executive producer and news director but didn’t hear back. However, a few weeks later, she said, Alford’s schedule was changed and the two no longer worked together, she said.

Nearly all of the former colleagues who spoke to The Star described Alford as allowing his personal views to shade his presentation of the news. One former colleague said Alford had a tendency to “wear his politics on his sleeve when he was on the news desk.”

One former colleague shared a story that Alford had kept editing a script following the death of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in 2004 to describe Arafat as a “terrorist.” One of the producers of the show changed the script back and told Alford not to call Arafat a terrorist on air. The former colleague said that Alford, against the wishes of the producer, referred to Arafat as a “terrorist” on air..

Asked about the incident, in an email Alford said the U.S. government has defined Arafat as a terrorist, citing a portion of U.S. law that designated the Palestine Liberation Organization as a terrorist organization.

“As I’ve said before, it’s my job to provide the facts to the viewers and let them draw their own conclusions,” Alford said.

Alford said one of the reasons why he left journalism was because he was increasingly assigned stories that he said were “more one-sided and less objective.”

“I’ve always seen the role of the reporter to be to provide a report that allowed the viewers to decide their positions for themselves,” he said. “It became clear to me that I was no longer able to do that, so I made the hard choice to leave a career I once loved.”

O’Brien, the former Fox 4 reporter, pushed back on claims that Alford was difficult to work with, saying that he may have rubbed people the wrong way due to his propensity to push for objectivity in news stories.

“Mark really advocated for fairness, you know,” O’Brien said. “I experienced this myself at times when there was a story that was kind of one-sided — either written by the producers or kind of pitched by management — he really was adamant about telling both sides of the story and having representation from both sides.”

Now outside of TV news, Alford has portrayed his campaign as a corrective to what he contends is the United States’ drift toward liberalism and away from God.

“They are teaching kids the craziest things now — that maybe they’re a different gender, creating doubts, planting seeds of doubt in their mind,” Alford said at a candidate forum in Warrensburg ahead of the Republican primary. “We need to focus on the ABCs and the three R’s. We need parental involvement in our schools.”

Alford said at the forum that America needed to go back to “the Norman Rockwell days” and decried how the country was becoming too progressive.

“Folks, we need to turn back to God,” Alford said.

Throughout the race, Alford has frequently referenced his Christian faith, even going so far to say his campaign was sparked by a call from God.

“I just feel like God’s calling me at this time, kind of pushing me out the window and said, ‘You better start flying and here’s what I want you to do,’” Alford said on KCMO Talk Radio after announcing his decision to run.

Worth, Alford’s friend, said she has known the candidate for over 20 years – most of the time he has been in Kansas City. She praised Alford’s charitable involvement, as well as his spirituality.

“He believes he is following God and I can see that. He and I, we talk about it a lot because we both have the same beliefs,” Worth said. “I truly see God with his hand on his shoulder as you would a friend as you’re walking down the street and he’s just guiding him along.”