Posted by chicagomedia.org on July 17, 2009 at 15:46:52:
Harry Porterfield leaving WLS-Ch. 7
Anchor and reporter Harry Porterfield, a celebrated Chicago TV fixture for 45 years, the last 24 at WLS-Ch. 7, is leaving the ABC owned-and-operated station at the end of this month, the latest casualty of the revenue crunch that's squeezing the media business.
Porterfield, 81, most recently has been working four-day weeks and filing his human-interest "Someone You Should Know" reports twice weekly in addition to hosting occasional "People, Places & Things You Should Know" specials.
"Harry has been a legend and a pioneer in Chicago broadcasting," Emily Barr, Channel 7's president and general manager, said in an interview. "These are very difficult times and every decision we make is a challenge and, frankly, anguished. I adore Harry. He's a treasure. ... But because of the economy, we have to be looking at everything. In the last few months, we have looked at other situations and other contracts. Some get renewed. Some don't."
Channel 7 employees learned of Porterfield's imminent exit in a memo Friday from Jennifer Graves, WLS' vice president and news director. Porterfield could not be reached for comment immediately.
Before joining Channel 7 in 1985, Porterfield spent 21 years at CBS-owned WBBM-Ch. 2, where he launched the DuPont-Columbia Journalism Award-winning "Someone You Should Know" series in 1977.
His Channel 2 demotion to reporter from 6 p.m. weeknight co-anchor to accommodate the return of Bill Kurtis from CBS News in New York not only precipitated Porterfield's departure but a boycott of Channel 2 led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson. The boycott sought to spotlight a need for more minority hiring both on-camera and in management.
Channel 2's ratings already were in decline when Porterfield was bumped for Kurtis, but WLS's ratings surged with Porterfield's arrival. WLS research at the time indicated that nonwhite viewers abandoned WBBM in significant numbers.
More than two decades later, Channel 7 continues to enjoy its No. 1 status and Channel 2 is still struggling to regain its one-time success.
"I do expect that there are people out of love for Harry and admiration for his work will say, 'Why couldn't you figure out a way to keep him?' And we tried every which way," Barr said. "But we are up against something here that is quite immovable."
In recent months, between buyouts and other reductions, Barr estimated WLS has reduced its workforce of around 270 by about 6 percent.
Joe Trimarco, 64, WLS's head of engineering operations, was set to retire Friday after 43 years at the station and his job will not be filled. No one was hired after Jeff Blanzy, a weekend sportscaster at Channel 7 for 11 years, left last month when his contract was not renewed. When veteran Charles Thomas moved from general assignment to succeed retired Andy Shaw as political reporter in January, Thomas' old position also was left unfilled.
"Harry is a true Chicago broadcasting treasure," Graves wrote in her staff memo Friday. "For the past 24 years, his reports have added an important dimension to our newscasts. In that time, he's introduced us to thousands of people we should know and has been honored with accolades and awards too numerous to list.
"He's been a role model in our industry and has mentored producers, reporters and interns along the way, all while working with a grace and humility unmatched by his peers," Graves noted. "We know that humility is one of Harry's hallmarks. So in keeping with his wishes, his upcoming farewell will be decidedly low-key."
The station plans a tribute on its 5 p.m. broadcast on July 30, Porterfield's final day.
Porterfield, who has an undergraduate degree in chemistry from Eastern Michigan University and a law degree from DePaul University, began his broadcasting career 54 years ago. He was a gospel and jazz disc jockey and wrote commercials for a radio station WKNX-AM in Saginaw, Mich. He later became cameraman and stagehand at WKNX-TV, before joining Chicago's WBBM in 1964 as a news writer.
Among the many honors Porterfield has received, the National Association of Black Journalists gave him its Lifetime Achievement Award last summer. Previous recipients included the late Ed Bradley of CBS' "60 Minutes," Black Enterprise Publisher Earl Graves and CNN anchor emeritus Bernard Shaw.
(Phil Rosenthal, Chicago Tribune)