WAXAHACHIE, Texas — You probably know Dale Hansen. Even if the name doesn’t ring a bell, you have surely seen his work by now.
Hansen, a white-haired grandfather who hasn’t voted since 1972, has become an unlikely viral video star at age 69. You probably have noticed him scroll by as you traverse the Facebook feeds and Twitter timelines and pop culture websites that now serve as America’s secondary news source. All of them have helped to disseminate the folksy commentaries Hansen delivers on WFAA in Dallas, the ABC affiliate that has employed him for more than 30 years, to a much, much wider audience.