Harry Porterfield (August 29, 1928 – October 23, 2023) was an American news anchor for WBBM-TV.

Life and career

Porterfield was born in Saginaw, Michigan, and began his career in 1955, working as a disc jockey for WKNX. Porterfield began working at WBBM in 1964 as a news writer. Porterfield left WBBM in 1985 for WLS-TV, where he worked for 24 years, but returned to WBBM in 2009 as the 11 a.m. news anchor.[1][2] In December 2015, Porterfield announced his retirement.[3][4]

While working for both WBBM and WLS, Porterfield was known for his "Someone You Should Know" segments.[5]

CBS Boycott

In 1985, Porterfield was demoted from his job as anchorman at CBS affiliate WBBM to reporter when former anchorman Bill Kurtis returned to the station and was given his old time slot and position back. As a result, Porterfield resigned from WBBM and moved to the ABC affiliate WLS.[6][7] This resulted in a 10-month boycott of CBS led by Jesse Jackson and Operation PUSH.[8][9]

Death

Harry Porterfield died on October 23, 2023, at the age of 95.[10]

Awards

Porterfield won eleven Emmy Awards, a Studs Terkel Award, and the Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award.[3] Porterfield also received the Legacy of Leadership Award at the Indiana University Neal-Marshall Eleventh Annual Alumni Graduation Reception.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Harry Porterfield". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  2. ^ Rosenthal, Phil. "Porterfield set to return to WBBM-Ch. 2 roots". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  3. ^ a b Feder, Robert. "CBS 2 announces Harry Porterfield retirement". Robert Feder. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  4. ^ Eck, Kevin. "Longtime Anchor Retires From WBBM, Co-Anchor Moved to Reporter". Adweek. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  5. ^ Magers, Ron. "HARRY PORTERFIELD: SOMEONE YOU SHOULD KNOW". WLS-TV. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  6. ^ Boyer, Peter (20 March 1986). "NEW HEAD OF CBS UNIT IN CHICAGO". New York Times. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  7. ^ Boyer, Peter (19 March 1986). "CBS AIDES MEET JACKSON OVER CHICAGO BOYCOTT". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  8. ^ Battaglio, Stephen (23 June 2015). "Door of opportunity swings wide for new 'NBC Nightly News' anchor Lester Holt". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  9. ^ Rosenthal, Phil. "Porterfield's WBBM exit spurred protests, minority hiring". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  10. ^ "Harry Porterfield, beloved former CBS 2 News anchor, dies at 95". The Bharat Express News. 23 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  11. ^ "IUN alums put TV anchor in spotlight". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved 17 June 2016.


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