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Jerry Taff (born September 9, 1940) is an American former television
anchorman A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...
for
WISN-TV WISN-TV (channel 12) is a television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on the west end of the Marquette University campus, and its transmitter ...
in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
.


Early life

Taff was raised in
Lamesa, Texas Lamesa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Dawson County, Texas, United States. Its population was 8,674 at the 2020 census, down from 9,952 at the 2000 census. Located south of Lubbock on the Llano Estacado, Lamesa was founded in 1903. M ...
. And he also lived in
Anadarko, Oklahoma Anadarko is a city in and the county seat of Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The city is 50 miles (80.5 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. The population was 5,745 at the 2020 census. History Anadarko got its name when its post offic ...
in the 1940s. His aunt and uncle had a small grocery store south of the school. Taff was a son of Doris and E.B.Teaff. He dropped this letter "e" from his surname around 1969. He worked in his grandparents' grocery store which was named Allen's Grocery. Jerry then worked as a bookkeeper at the Cameron Lumber Company, and served in the US Air Force. His family was living in Anadarko Oklahoma from 1942 to 1945, and then they moved to Texas. In 1958 Taff graduated from Lamesa high school and then received a degree in government from
Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...
in Lubbock in 1962.


Media career

He began working in the media at 17, when he worked at KPET in Lamesa. He went on to work at stations in
New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...
at WTNH-TV,
Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...
at
WJRT-TV WJRT-TV (channel 12) is a television station licensed to Flint, Michigan, United States, serving as the American Broadcasting Company, ABC affiliate for northeastern Michigan. Owned by Allen Media Group, the station maintains studios on Lapeer R ...
and
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
at
WFAA-TV WFAA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Decatur-licensed independent station KFAA-TV (channel ...
. While working in Flint, Taff covered the story of a local teenager named
Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Moore's work frequently addresses various Social issue, social, political, and economic topics. He first became publicly known for his award-winning debut ...
who had been elected to the school board of
Davison, Michigan Davison is a city in Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan and a suburb of Flint. The population was 5,536 at the 2000 census and fell to 5,173 by the 2010 census. Davison is located within Davison Township survey township area (7N 8E) ...
. Taff mentored Moore and his friends for a year and a half, showing him the news business. Moore later said of Taff: "He was the one media person in a town dominated by General Motors to have the courage to report the truth."


WISN-TV career

Taff joined WISN-TV as anchor in September 1979. He interviewed
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
in October 1980. While working at WISN, Taff mentored reporters such as Shaun Robinson, Ben Tracy, and Jason DeRusha. He also taught a course on journalism at
Carroll University Carroll University is a private university in Waukesha, Wisconsin, United States. It was established in 1846 as Wisconsin's first four-year institution of higher learning. The university is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). History ...
. After serving as lead male anchor for WISN-TV for 25 years, Taff retired on May 25, 2005. Taff was inducted into the Milwaukee Media Hall of Fame on October 23, 2009. He lives in
New Braunfels, Texas New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal County, Texas, Comal and Guadalupe County, Texas, Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a population of 90,403 as of the 2020 United Sta ...
. He has two daughters DiAnn Curtis and Denise McMahan.


Controversy

Taff's parents sued him in a
Waukesha County, Wisconsin Waukesha County () is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its median income of $88,985 placed ...
court in 1985, claiming he owed them nearly $90,000. Though the lawsuit was dismissed, Taff was fired from WISN. The station later re-hired him in 1987.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taff, Jerry 1940 births Living people Journalists from Milwaukee People from Lamesa, Texas People from New Braunfels, Texas Military personnel from Texas Texas Tech University alumni Carroll University faculty Journalists from Texas People from Anadarko, Oklahoma