Ukee Washington
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Ulysses Samuel "Ukee" Washington III (born August 20, 1958) is an American news co-anchor for the weekday evening
newscast News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or tele ...
on
KYW-TV KYW-TV (channel 3), branded as CBS Philadelphia, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is owned and operated by the CBS television network through its CBS News and Stations division alongside WPSG (channel 57 ...
in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 ...
. He currently anchors ''CBS News Philadelphia'' on CBS 3 at 5pm alongside Natasha Brown and solo anchors 6 & 11pm on KYW and 8pm on sister station WPSG-TV. Washington originally co-anchored the opening segment of ''CBS3 @ 4pm'' along with main anchors Natasha Brown and Alexandria Hoff until May 2020, when Brown & Hoff were inexplicably removed from their anchor positions on the broadcast. The move came as a result of layoffs that occurred due to corporate restructuring in the wake of both the December 2019 merger of Viacom and the station's parent company CBS Corporation to become
ViacomCBS Paramount Global (Trade name, d/b/a Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and Headquarters, headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, ...
(now officially known as
Paramount Global Paramount Global (Trade name, d/b/a Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and Headquarters, headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, ...
) and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, however neither Brown nor Hoff were laid off from the station. His co-anchor at the time Jessica Kartalija, who was his co-anchor until she departed the station in September 2024, was added to join Washington in co-anchoring the broadcast until October 2021. In that month Brown was reinstated as the sole anchor of the 4pm newscast until she would be joined by former
WMAQ-TV WMAQ-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the market's NBC outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Telemundo station WSNS-TV (chann ...
sports anchor Siafa Lewis on November 15, 2021. While Washington no longer anchors the 4pm newscast, he will on occasion fill in for Lewis or Brown whenever either is off or on special assignment, while Lewis fills in for Washington whenever he is off. Hoff left CBS3 in August 2021 after 6 years at the station and is currently a general assignment reporter for Fox News. Washington formerly anchored ''Eyewitness News This Morning'' on CBS 3 and The CW Philly with co-anchor Erika von Tiehl, as well as the hybrid news and entertainment program ''Talk Philly'' with
Pat Ciarrocchi Pat Ciarrocchi ( ; born July 2, 1952) is a retired American broadcast journalist who co-anchored the weekday noon newscast of CBS3 Eyewitness News on KYW-TV in Philadelphia alongside Ukee Washington. A Padua Academy and Rosemont College alumna, ...
which aired weekdays at noon until it was cancelled and reverted to a regular newscast on June 29, 2015, which was anchored by von Tiehl until she left the station in March 2016. On July 1, 2015, just four days after hosting the final episode of ''Talk Philly'', Washington was named the new co-anchor of ''Eyewitness News'' weeknight broadcasts. Washington is the son of Ulysses S. Washington, a professor and former football coach at
Delaware State University Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a Statutory college#Outside New York State, privately governed, state-assisted Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Land-grant university, land-grant research universi ...
. He is the godfather of former
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
safety Nate Allen. Washington also is the second cousin of actor
Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles Denzel Washington on screen and stage, on stage and screen, Washington has received List of awards and nominations ...
. Washington attended
University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approxim ...
.


Career at KYW-TV

Prior to joining
KYW-TV KYW-TV (channel 3), branded as CBS Philadelphia, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is owned and operated by the CBS television network through its CBS News and Stations division alongside WPSG (channel 57 ...
in 1986 as a weekend sportscaster, he was a sports anchor at
WBBH-TV WBBH-TV (channel 20, cable channel 2), known as Gulf Coast NBC, is a television station licensed to Fort Myers, Florida, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for Southwest Florida. It is owned by Hearst Television, which provides certain ...
in Fort Myers, Florida, and at
WSB-TV WSB-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is the flagship television property of locally based Cox Media Group, which has owned the station since its inception, and is sister to rad ...
in Atlanta. In 1996, he began his co-anchoring duties at KYW on morning newscasts. In addition to his daily anchor duties, he provides viewers with "Keepin' It Reel," a special segment of the morning newscast during which he previews one of the week's theatrical releases and interviews the releases'
stars A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by self-gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night; their immense distances from Earth make them appear as fixed points of ...
and directors. Washington also hosted the local teen issues discussion show "Rap Around," which dealt with topics such as race, prom fashions, and having a brother. In 2004, he put together a special report on the still controversial
Philadelphia Experiment The Philadelphia Experiment was an alleged event claimed to have been witnessed by an ex- merchant mariner named Carl M. Allen at the United States Navy's Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, some time aroun ...
. On November 11, 2011, a performance was aired on KYW-TV where Washington joined the
Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale is a boys' choir and men's chorale based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, currently under the direction of Jeffrey R. Smith. They are known as "America's Ambassadors of Song" and are considered to be one of the best ...
, of which he is a former member, and the "
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Volunteer Choir" at the Zion Baptist Church in north Philadelphia in singing ''
God Bless America "God Bless America" is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin during World War I in 1918 and revised by him in the run-up to World War II in 1938. The later version was recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature song. "Go ...
'', in tribute to America's
military veterans A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the armed forces. A topic of interest for resea ...
. He had been asked by the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
to sing ''God Bless America'' at a
seventh-inning stretch In baseball in the United States and Canada, the seventh-inning stretch (also known as the Lucky 7 in Japan and South Korea) is a long-standing tradition that takes place between the halves of the seventh inning of a game. Fans generally stand up ...
at
Citizens Bank Park Citizens Bank Park is a baseball stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the city's South Philadelphia Sports Complex. Home to Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies, the stadium opened April 3, 2004. It is named after Citizens Financi ...
during the
2011 National League Championship Series The 2011 National League Championship Series (abbreviated NLCS) was a best-of-seven playoff in Major League Baseball’s 2011 Major League Baseball postseason, 2011 postseason pitting the winners of the 2011 National League Division Series, the ...
, but because the Phillies had been eliminated from the playoffs in the previous round by the
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...
(who went on to win the
2011 World Series The 2011 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2011 Major League Baseball season, 2011 season. The 107th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American Le ...
), he could not perform for the Phillies. Instead, he chose to film a performance for
Veterans Day Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces. It coincides with holidays in several countries, i ...
. The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia inducted Washington into their Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2013 he was inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame.


Other appearances

Washington is the second cousin of actor
Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles Denzel Washington on screen and stage, on stage and screen, Washington has received List of awards and nominations ...
and has had small parts in such movies as ''
Unbreakable Unbreakable may refer to: Books * ''Unbreakable'' (book), the 2017 autobiography of Australian tennis player Jelena Dokic * '' Unbreakable: My Story, My Way'', the 2013 autobiography of singer Jenni Rivera Film and television * ''Unbreakable' ...
'' (2000), '' Signs'' (2002), '' Shooter'' (2007), and the 2004 remake of ''
The Manchurian Candidate ''The Manchurian Candidate'' is a novel by Richard Condon, first published in 1959. It is a political thriller about the son of a prominent U.S. political family who is brainwashed into being an unwitting assassin for a communist conspiracy. T ...
''. He also appeared in '' The Happening'' (2008) portraying a television news anchor, his real-life profession. He had a minor, non-speaking part in the film ''
Live Free or Die Hard ''Live Free or Die Hard'' (released as ''Die Hard 4.0'' outside North America) is a 2007 American action thriller film directed by Len Wiseman, the fourth installment in the Die Hard (franchise), ''Die Hard'' film series. It is based on the 199 ...
'' (2007). On television, he appeared in an episode of the short-lived
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
series ''
Hack Hack may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * Hack (Unix video game), ''Hack'' (Unix video game), a 1984 roguelike video game * .hack (video game series), ''.hack'' (video game series), a series of video games by the multimedia fran ...
'' and has made four appearances as a co-host of the CBS daytime show '' The Talk'' during a week each season where anchors from CBS stations from around the country are invited to be on the show and co-host with the show's regular panelists. Washington appeared in October 2013, July 2016, April 2019 and May 2020 (the last of which Washington did virtually from his home due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Philadelphia).


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Ukee 1958 births Living people Television anchors from Philadelphia Philadelphia television reporters University of Richmond alumni Journalists from Pennsylvania