Steve Powers (born February 25, 1934, 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 ...
) is a musician, journalist and teacher who has had a 45-year career in New York City radio and television,
[Hinckley, David]
"From JFK to 'QXR: Powers Signs Off"
''The Daily News''. June 13, 2007. as well as academia.
Education
Born and Bar Mitzvahed in the Bronx, on February 25, 1934, Powers attended the City College of New York where he became editor of Roundhouse Magazine. In 1956 he received a degree in Business Administration from CCNY. Powers attended the University of Virginia where he worked at the student radio station, WUVA. He was a member of the UVA Jazz Club, which integrated the university auditorium with a concert by Dizzy Gillespie. Mr. Gillespie invited Powers to sit in. It was an experience that was repeated thirty years later when he played another concert with Gillespie at New York's Blue Note club. In 1987 Powers earned a PhD from New York University in Neil Postman's Media Ecology program.
[Reuters]
"Veteran Reporter Sues Fox For Age Discrimination"
''The Kingsport Daily News''. August 17, 1994. "Before joining WNYW, Powers, who holds a doctorate in journalism, had worked for the ABC Radio Network."
Journalism career
After graduating from CCNY in 1956, and serving as a Search and Rescue officer in the
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...
in
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
, Powers returned to the New York area and started looking for work as a jazz disc jockey. He was hired by radio station
WADS, in
Ansonia, Connecticut
Ansonia is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. Located on the Naugatuck River, it is immediately north of Derby, and about northwest of New Haven. The city is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. The population was ...
, in 1961 as a newscaster. He subsequently worked as a newscaster and news director for several radio stations in Connecticut. In 1963 he anchored the coverage of the
assassination of John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onas ...
on
WICC for 13 straight hours.
Powers moved to
WMCA radio in New York City and went on to anchor his own morning drive-time news/talk show. He left WMCA in 1972 to become a correspondent at
ABC radio network news and worked at
RKO
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Kei ...
radio network news.
In 1980, Powers became an anchor/reporter on television at
WNYW
WNYW (channel 5) is a television station in New York City, serving as the Flagship (broadcasting), flagship of the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside Secauc ...
-TV, NY (Fox-TV) where he worked for 12 years. He was the first reporter to cover
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
's death on December 8, 1980, broadcasting the first network radio reports while assisting with WNYW-TV's television coverage of the story. From 1980 until December 1992, he was the anchor/reporter for WNYW-TV Channel 5 News,
[ where he was awarded 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 1981; in 1986 he was also nominated for an Emmy for an Outstanding Feature story. In later years, Powers was the anchor of noon-6:00 P.M.newscasts for New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
Radio, and the writer/producer/voice of the "Health Times" medical reports on WQXR-FM
WQXR-FM (105.9 FM) is an American non-commercial classical radio station, licensed to Newark, New Jersey, and serving the North Jersey and New York City area. It is owned by the nonprofit organization New York Public Radio (NYPR), which also op ...
, NY. He signed off for the last time from New York Times radio] in June 2007.[
In addition to his work in radio and television, Powers served as a college professor in the field of media communications. From 1976 to 1993 Powers periodically taught as an adjunct professor at the ]Columbia School of Journalism
Columbia most often refers to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical personification of the United States
* Columbia University, a private university in New York City
* Columbia Pictures, an American film studio owned by Sony Pictures
* ...
, The New School
The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...
, and New York University. In 1993, he became an associate professor at St. John's University teaching journalism and media.
Powers has also lent his voice narrating Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, critic, writer, teacher, pianist, and conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as the "Dean of American Compos ...
's '' Lincoln Portrait'' in concert and has appeared in diverse commercials and documentaries. He has appeared in the films "In The Spirit" and "Home Free All.
Books authored
In 1992 Powers co-authored the book ''How to Watch TV News'' with media theory pioneer Neil Postman. The book is an explication of the difference between what TV news says it is presenting and what it actually delivers - "real news" versus entertainment fodder - illuminating the biases, strengths, and weaknesses of TV news as well as the influence of commercials.[Peterson, Clarence]
"How to Watch TV News, by Neil Postman and Steve Powers..."
''The Chicago Tribune''. September 13, 1992. It has been adopted by college professors and teachers as required reading for their journalism and media literacy courses. In the year following his retirement from broadcasting, Powers released a new, updated edition of the book (Penguin Books, June 23, 2008). This newly revised edition explores the power of the Internet and the abundance of cable channels and their influences on the devolving quality of America’s television news programming.
''The Putnam County News and Reporter''. September 3, 2008.
Music career
In addition to the Gillespie concerts, Powers had a career as a professional musician. He taught himself Latin percussion and
played with Willie Rodriguez, Charlie Palmieri
Carlos Manuel "Charlie" Palmieri (November 21, 1927 – September 12, 1988) was an American bandleader and musical director of salsa music. He was known as the "Giant of the Keyboards".
Early years
Palmieri's parents migrated to New York from P ...
and Randy Carlos as well as playing drums with Tony Bennett
Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...
, Joe Jones, and David Amram. Powers was a co-inventor of a drum that can change its pitch while being played, receiving a patent in 1987.
Personal life
Powers currently lives in New Mexico with his wife, Sheri Powers. He has four adult children from a previous marriage; Lisa, Marisa, Laura and Anthony Powers.
Professional honors and awards
*1970 Clio Award, Broadcast Radio Promo, WMCA RAdio, New York.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, Steve
Living people
1934 births
American television journalists
American radio journalists
American male journalists