Ralph Penza (November 22, 1932 – February 16, 2007) was an American broadcast journalist who appeared for many years on

WNBC WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey� ...

and WCBS in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, serving as anchor of news broadcasts. He was known for his aggressive reporting style and won multiple awards, including six

Emmys The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

Biography

Penza grew up in Long Island, New York and graduated from

Valley Stream Central High School Valley Stream Central High School is a public senior high school (grades 10–12) in the Incorporated Village of Valley Stream in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is part of the Valley Stream C ...

in Valley Stream, New York. He lived most of his adult life in Malverne, immediately adjacent to his boyhood hometown in Valley Stream. While in high school, Penza served as a copy boy for

Walter Winchell Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and c ...

. Penza graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, where he was a member of Alpha Phi Delta, with a bachelor's degree in radio and television. Penza reported in

Coatesville, Pennsylvania Coatesville is the only city in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,350 at the 2020 census. Coatesville is approximately 39 miles west of Philadelphia. It developed along the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike ...

and

Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 67,314, making it the List of cities in Iowa, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

. Prior to joining WNBC, Penza worked as the news director at WSAV-TV in

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

, Georgia, as an anchor and reporter at WDVM in

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 ...

, as an anchor at

WCAU WCAU (channel 10) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is owned and operated by the NBC television network through its NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Mount Laurel, New Jersey–licensed ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, as a producer, reporter and anchor at WCBS, and as a producer at WABC. Penza first joined WNBC in 1980, left the station in 1995 and rejoined it in October 1997. Among his many honors were six Emmy Awards and two

New York Press Club The New York Press Club, sometimes ''NYPC'', is a nonprofit membership organization that promotes journalism in the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area. It is unaffiliated with any government organization and abstains from ...

''Gold Typewriter'' awards. In February 1998, while covering

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

's trip to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, Penza located Joanne Chesimard, who was convicted of killing New Jersey state trooper Werner Foerster twenty-four years earlier. She was sentenced to life in prison but escaped in 1979 and fled to Cuba for

political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...

. She spoke to Penza in an interview, during which she maintained her innocence and recounted the night of the shooting. Penza's coverage of the Pope's visit to the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

earned him an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

in 2000.

Personal life and death

Penza died from an undisclosed illness at the age of seventy-four in 2007. He was survived by his wife Lucille and two children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Penza, Ralph 1932 births 2007 deaths American male journalists People from Malverne, New York American television journalists Television anchors from New York City New York (state) television reporters New York University alumni Television anchors from Philadelphia Television anchors from Washington, D.C. American people of Italian descent People from Valley Stream, New York Valley Stream Central High School alumni