Maureen Bunyan (born February 27, 1946, in

Aruba Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...

) is an Aruban-American

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

–based television journalist. She was the lead co-anchor at WUSA for 22 years from 1973 to 1995. In 1999 she returned to television when she co-anchored

WJLA-TV WJLA-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Washington, D.C., affiliated with ABC. It is one of two flagship stations of Sinclair Broadcast Group (alongside dual Fox/MyNetworkTV affiliate WBFF hannel 45in Baltimore), and is also sister ...

, helping them to rise to number two in the market. Bunyan is a founder and board member of IWMF (International Women's Media Foundation), a founder of the

National Association of Black Journalists The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational and professional organization of African Americans, African American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 197 ...

. and President of Maureen Bunyan Communications, Inc. She was named a "Washingtonian of the Year" in 1992 and has been inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Washington Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, "The Silver Circle" of the

National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), also known as the National Television Academy until 2007, is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of televisio ...

(NATAS), and the Broadcast Pioneers Club of Washington.

Biography

Early life

Bunyan was the eldest of three daughters, and settled 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 ...

, with her family when she was 11. Her parents are Wilhelmina and Arthur who are from

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

and immigrated to

. After the death of her mother Wilhelmina, a nurse, Bunyan and her family continued to pursue educational opportunities; at one point, all of the members of the immediate family were enrolled at local colleges and universities, each studying for an undergraduate degree.

Early career

Bunyan started her journalism career freelancing at the ''

Milwaukee Journal The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

'' while attending the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a Public university, public Urban university, urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropo ...

nearby, then went on to television jobs at

WGBH-TV WGBH-TV (channel 2), branded GBH or GBH 2 since 2020, is the primary PBS List of PBS member stations, member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Affiliated stations and facilities WGBH-TV is the Flagship (broadcasting), ...

in Boston and

WCBS-TV WCBS-TV (channel 2), branded CBS New York, is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–lic ...

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before arriving in Washington in 1973 and joining WTOP-TV (now WUSA-TV), a station that was known for its

Eyewitness News ''Eyewitness News'' is a style of television presentation that emphasizes visual elements and action videos, instead of the older ,"man-on-camera" style of newscast, and is most prominently featured in the New York City metropolitan area. Hi ...

team that included Max Robinson, Gordon Peterson and Warner Wolf.

Promotion to anchor

Originally a reporter and weekend co-anchor with Patrick McGrath, Bunyan was promoted to co-anchor alongside Gordon Peterson at 6 p.m. after Robinson joined

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

in 1978 (she would add the 11 p.m. newscast a decade later) and settled in as a member of a local news team that also included sportscaster Glenn Brenner and meteorologist Gordon Barnes. In addition to reporting on major local, national and international stories, she also hosted the award-winning magazine programs ''22:26'' and ''Studio Nine''.

Leaving WUSA

On December 11, 1995, after the management at WUSA offered her an anchor demotion and salary cut to stay at the station, Bunyan surprised viewers when she announced her resignation on the air during the 6 p.m. news. Channel 9 soon afterwards lost their first-place spot in the ratings to rival

WRC-TV WRC-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Washington, D.C., serving as the market's NBC outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Class A television service, Class A Telemundo outlet W ...

Return to the DC airwaves

Bunyan briefly worked for

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

and ran a public relations firm for a few years before returning to the Washington airwaves in February 1999, replacing Paul Berry as the lead anchor at WJLA-TV. Five years later, she was reunited with longtime friend and former WUSA co-anchor Gordon Peterson when they were teamed up on the 6 p.m. news. That pairing helped WJLA move from third to second place in that timeslot behind current leader WRC. On January 9. 2017, Sinclair Broadcasting, the owners of WJLA, announced her contract was not being renewed. Her last evening newscast with WJLA was on January 31, 2017.

Personal life

During the many years she has worked in Washington, she has received numerous awards. Ms. Bunyan also attended

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism sch ...

and Harvard University Graduate School of Education, where she earned a master's degree in 1980.

Awards

*Foremother Award from The National Center for Health Research, 2017

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bunyan, Maureen Living people Aruban emigrants to the United States Journalists from Milwaukee Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni Television anchors from Washington, D.C. 20th-century American women journalists 20th-century American journalists 21st-century American women journalists 21st-century American journalists American women television journalists 1946 births 20th-century American women