Most iconic news anchors in your area

[Billy F 1988]

It's odd I ask this, but, since most of the forum's talking iconic meteorologists in the Weather board, who is, in your mind, the most iconic news anchor in your area?

I couldn't find a meteorologist in Missoula that could garner the "iconic" nod, but I do know one that gets my nod in terms of "iconic" news anchors - Jill Valley. She's Missoula's currently long running anchor and news director at KPAX. I think she sharted at KPAX back in c. 19...91 or 2? She's had some well known co-anchors over the years that have gone on to other markets. Dennis Bragg is Valley's current co-anchor.

[GaryV]

Former ones in Detroit: Mort Crim (supposed inspiration for Ron Burgundy in Anchorman), Carman Harlan, Bill Bonds

Current: would definitely have to include Devin Scillian, who replaced Crim. I don't watch enough news to know other current anchors.

[tmoore952]

Former ones in Detroit: Mort Crim (supposed inspiration for Ron Burgundy in Anchorman), Carman Harlan, Bill Bonds

Current: would definitely have to include Devin Scillian, who replaced Crim. I don't watch enough news to know other current anchors.

Mort Crim used to be in Philadelphia in the mid '70s.
I could list 10 names easy for Philadelphia, but they are all either old, retired, and/or dead.
I haven't lived in that area for 25 years, so I'll let someone who currently lives in the area take the honor. There are certainly some newer names now.

[MATraveler128]

I remember Bill Shields from WBZ TV who retired recently although he died shortly after.

[bing101]

For San Francisco its Dave MacElhaton, Pete Wilson, Dennis Richmond, Leslie Griffith, Anna Chavez, Wendy Tokuda, Cheryl Jennings, Dan Ashley, Pam Moore, Kristen Sze, Belva Davis, and Dan Noyes

For Sacramento its  Stan Atkinson, Dick Cable and Alan Frio. The rest that I looked up the people who spent a stint in Sacramento ended up being legends in other places like Lester Holt was from Sacramento as KCRA-TV intern until CBS got him to anchor the WBBM news in Chicago and currently NBC News. Joan Lunden from Sacramento later anchored Good Morning America, Stu Nahan was at KCRA before he made it big in Los Angeles.

Interestingly for San Francisco and Sacramento there would be TV Anchors that had stints in those areas but later became legends somewhere else Like Roger Grimsby he was on KGO-TV San Francisco in the early 1960's before ABC Moved him WABC-TV New York and VanAmburg and Jerry Jensen took over Roger Grimsby's San Francisco Anchor seat.

David Ono, Ellen Leyva, Tony McEwing, Susan Hirasuna all had anchor and reporting stints in Sacramento but they became legends in Los Angeles.  Kaity Tong had a stint in Sacramento before she became a legend in New York.
For Los Angeles specifically it's Jerry Dunphy, Christine Lund, Chuck Henry, John Schubeck, Tricia Toyota, Harold Greene, Ann Martin, Colleen Williams, Hal Fishman, Larry McCormick, Paul Moyer, Marc Brown, John Beard, Stan Chambers.

[Road Hog]

I used to work in a small TV market where the news people largely ripped-and-read the local newspaper's stuff (especially sports), but they got better at developing their own sources.

Weather people on TV are different no matter the market. It's all personality. Even when the weather is crap, at least they warned you. I can do without Delkus pushing back against critics on social media, however. You're gonna take arrows. Man up, dude.

[Scott5114]

Whichever member of the Ogle family is on your favorite TV station.

[vdeane]

For the Capital District, John Gray of News10.  He even got his own segment on the 2023 funniest moments video.

For Rochester, I believe it's still Don Alhart of 13WHAM.

[Hobart]

If we're strictly talking anchors, for Chicago, it's probably Larry Potash and Robin Baumgartner. They anchor the 6 to 10 AM segment of WGN Morning News in Chicago, which isn't famed for being the most serious morning news program in the area, but is the highest rated. A lot of the non-anchor people on that program are pretty well known as well for the same reason.

If you allow me to include weathermen, Tom Skilling on WGN is probably the most iconic one in Chicagoland, mainly because he's been doing it forever, is about to retire, and is the brother of discgraced Enron CEO Rich Skilling! He's also acclaimed for his proficiency in the field.

[Flint1979]

For Flint/Saginaw, Bill Harris from WJRT ABC-12 for news anchor, John McMurray from the same station for weather, Ed Phelps from again the same station for sports.

[Bruce]

For Seattle, KOMO's Dan Lewis and Kathi Goertzen were mainstays and probably the most prominent TV news duo in the city for 20 years.

Honorable mention to Steve Raible, long-time KIRO anchor and Seahawks play-by-play commentator.

[cwf1701]

Former ones in Detroit: Mort Crim (supposed inspiration for Ron Burgundy in Anchorman), Carman Harlan, Bill Bonds

and to add from Detroit, Weatherman Sonny Eliot.

[KeithE4Phx]

If we're strictly talking anchors, for Chicago, it's probably Larry Potash and Robin Baumgartner. They anchor the 6 to 10 AM segment of WGN Morning News in Chicago, which isn't famed for being the most serious morning news program in the area, but is the highest rated. A lot of the non-anchor people on that program are pretty well known as well for the same reason.

Are you kidding?  They're both good, but when one talks about "legendary Chicago news anchors," Fahey Flynn, Joel Daly, John Drury (WBKB/WLS-TV), Bill Kurtis, Walter Jacobson, Harry Porterfield (WBBM-TV), Floyd Kalber, Carol Marin, and Ron Magers (WMAQ-TV).  Jacobson also spent time at WFLD.  Kalber and Magers were also at WLS-TV.  Drury also spent a lot of years at WGN-TV.  These people defined the news in Chicago for decades.

If you allow me to include weathermen, Tom Skilling on WGN is probably the most iconic one in Chicagoland, mainly because he's been doing it forever, is about to retire, and is the brother of discgraced Enron CEO Rich Skilling! He's also acclaimed for his proficiency in the field.

Not only Skilling, but there was also John Coleman, Harry Volkman, Jerry Taft, Jim Tilmon, and probably many others that I've since forgotten.  Even "Ringmaster Ned" Locke did weather at WGN-TV in the '60s.

[Flint1979]

I mentioned John McMurray for WJRT ABC 12 in Flint. John was also the morning weatherman on WJR radio in Detroit on the most famous morning radio show in Michigan history the J.P. McCarthy Show.

[-- US 175 --]

Dallas-Fort Worth:
Of the current crop, there really is only one, Clarice Tinsley (KDFW).  She just celebrated her 45th anniversary with the station.  Among those from the past who deserve their props, there is Tracy Rowlett (WFAA, KTVT) and the late/great Chip Moody (KXAS, KDFW, WFAA).  Moody is the first and only anchor to work at all 3 pre-Fox stations in DFW.

[Ted$8roadFan]

Boston has had  number of them. In my lifetime, Jack Williams and Liz Walker at WBZ (NBC, then CBS), and perhaps the most iconic, Chet Curtis and Natalie Jacobson at WCVB (ABC).   

[bing101]

Here's one iconic News Anchor who is considered a legend in more than one place and it's John Beard who is known as a TV anchor in Los Angeles and Buffalo. Here's are clips from Buffalo and Los Angeles where John Beard anchored the news.

[Rothman]

Bob Costas, WSYR.

[bing101]

Former ones in Detroit: Mort Crim (supposed inspiration for Ron Burgundy in Anchorman), Carman Harlan, Bill Bonds

Current: would definitely have to include Devin Scillian, who replaced Crim. I don't watch enough news to know other current anchors.

Wait I thought Ron Burgundy was based on Harold Greene who was a news anchor in Los Angeles. I don't think the Ron Burgundy reference is Mort Crim though. Also I heard Paul Moyer was a reference for Ron Burgundy.

[bing101]

https://www.cleveland.com/tv-blog/2013/09/former_cleveland_news_anchor_john_hambrick_dies_of_cancer.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judd_Hambrick
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Hambrick


Here's one interesting one there's the Hambricks who are iconic local TV anchors around the country.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Rascon


And here's another one the Rascon's who are well known in Houston and Los Angeles.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Rascon

[GaryV]

Former ones in Detroit: Mort Crim (supposed inspiration for Ron Burgundy in Anchorman), Carman Harlan, Bill Bonds

Current: would definitely have to include Devin Scillian, who replaced Crim. I don't watch enough news to know other current anchors.

Wait I thought Ron Burgundy was based on Harold Greene who was a news anchor in Los Angeles. I don't think the Ron Burgundy reference is Mort Crim though. Also I heard Paul Moyer was a reference for Ron Burgundy.

And I always thought it was Bill Bonds. Per Wikipedia, Will Ferrell supposedly said it was Crim. But that was years after the fact.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mort_Crim  So he may have been thinking of someone else by then.

[1995hoo]

I don't think any of our current anchors have reached that status. The late Jim Vance, who was the longtime anchor on the local NBC affiliate (Channel 4), is probably the most iconic in recent years (and the fact that Vance, a black man, was popular with all demographics in the DC area surely helped). Prior to him, the now-retired Gordon Peterson, who was the chief anchor on Channel 9 (CBS) for many years before moving to Channel 7 (ABC), probably qualified.

If you've seen the video of sportscaster George Michael and his colleague laughing at a model who fell down multiple times on a runway, you've seen Jim Vance.

[02 Park Ave]

Here in the Delaware Valley it could only be John Facenda of WCAU-TV.  He was also the Voice of NFL Films.

[Ted$8roadFan]

Here in the Delaware Valley it could only be John Facenda of WCAU-TV.  He was also the Voice of NFL Films.

Don't forget Jim Gardner of WPVI (ABC-6).

[route17fan]

Cleveland Ohio has had several!!
WKYC NBC Channel 3 - Al Roker (weather)
                                  Leon Bibb (broadcasters hall of fame)
                                  Doug Adair-Mona Scott (husband and wife team - moved to Columbus, Ohio NBC affiliate WCMH Channel 4)

WEWS ABC Channel 5 - Ted Henry
                                   Fred Griffith - Joel Rose - Liz Richards - The Morning Echange
                                   Don Webster (weather)
                                   Wilma Smith  (and WJW)

WJKW (WJW) CBS (later FOX) Channel 8 - Dick Goddard (weather)
                                                           - Virgil Dominick (involved with WKYC too)