Max Robinson (May 1, 1939 – December 20, 1988) was a television journalist and was the Chicago based co-anchor of ABC News "World News Tonight" from 1978-1983 in the United States, and is best known for being the first African American broadcast network news anchor in the United States. Events 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 69 - Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor. Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic A journalist (also called a newspaperman) is a person who practices Journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events trends African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa The United States of America —commonly referred to as the He was also a founder of the National Association of Black Journalists. The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ was founded in 1975 by 44 men and women in Washington D Robinson influenced many African American journalists who have since had high-profile anchor positions on national news broadcasts, including Ed Bradley, Bryant Gumbel, Carole Simpson, Lester Holt, Robin Roberts, Deborah Roberts, and Gwen Ifill. Edward Rudolph Bradley Jr ( June 22, 1941 – November 9, 2006) was an American Journalist, best known for 26 years Bryant Charles Gumbel (born September 29, 1948) is an American Television personality for news and Sports programs Carole Simpson was an American Television news anchor at ABC News. Lester Holt (born March 8, 1959 in Marin County California) is an American Anchor for NBC News ' weekend NBC Nightly Robin Roberts may refer to Robin Roberts (baseball, member of the Hall of Fame who played mostly for the Philadelphia Phillies Robin Roberts (newscaster Deborah Roberts (born September 20 1960) is an American journalist and television news correspondent Gwen Ifill ˈaɪfəl (born September 29 1955 is an American Journalist, television newscaster and author
Contents |
Career
Born in Richmond, Virginia, Robinson worked in radio in his early years, including a stint at WSSV-AM in Petersburg Virginia, where he called himself "Max The Player," and later at WANT-AM in Richmond. This article is about the city of Richmond the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Robinson began his television career in 1959, when he was hired for a news job at WTOV-TV in Portsmouth, Virginia. The year 1959 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1959. WGNT, channel 27 is a CW Television Network -owned and operated station licensed to Portsmouth Virginia, and serving the Portsmouth- Norfolk - Virginia Portsmouth is an Independent city located in the US Commonwealth of Virginia. He had to read the news while hidden behind a slide of the station's logo. One night, Robinson had the slide removed, and was fired the next day.
He later went to Washington, D. C. based WRC-TV, and stayed for three years, winning six journalism awards for coverage of civil rights events such as the riots that followed the 1968 assassination of Dr. WRC-TV, channel 4 is the NBC owned and operated Television station in Washington D Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King Jr ( January 15, 1929 April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, Activist and prominent leader
In 1969, Robinson joined the Eyewitness News team at WTOP-TV (now WUSA-TV) in Washington, D.C. He was teamed with anchor Gordon Peterson, and the newscast took off. The year 1969 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1969. Eyewitness News is a name used by local television newscasts widely used in different markets across the United States. For the former Minneapolis TV station see KARE. WUSA is a television station broadcasting on channel 9 in Washington D Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D Gordon Peterson is an American broadcast journalist and Washington D During that time, he was so well liked by viewers, that when Hanafi Muslims took hostages at a Washington Mosque, they would only speak with Robinson. The Hanafi ( Arabic حنفي school is the oldest of the four schools of thought ( Madhhabs
ABC News
Robinson was tapped by Roone Arledge to become the Chicago-based co-anchor of ABC World News Tonight in 1978 after Arledge had seen Robinson in a documentary on CBS' 60 Minutes. Roone Arledge ( July 8, 1931 &ndash December 5, 2002) was an American sports broadcasting pioneer who was chairman of ABC Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. World News with Charles Gibson (previously known as World News Tonight, often called ABC World News Tonight, also often abbreviated The year 1978 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1978. Not to be confused with the BBC news magazine program Sixty Minutes (TV series. He served in that position until 1983, when ABC named London-based World News Tonight co-anchor Peter Jennings the sole anchor following the death of Washington-based WNT co-anchor Frank Reynolds. The year 1983 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1983.
Robinson's ABC tenure was marked by conflicts between him and the management of ABC News over viewpoints and the portrayal of Black America in the news. This article is about the American news organization See also ABC News (disambiguation ABC News is a division of American In addition, he was known by his co-workers to show up late for work or sometimes not show up at all, along with his moods, and his use of alcohol escalated. In addition, Robinson was known to fight racism at any turn and often felt unworthy of the admiration he received and was not pleased with what he had accomplished. He was often considered a mentor to young black broadcast journalists.
Max unleashed
During most of Robinson's tenure, ABC News used the Westar satellite to feed Robinson's segment of WNT from Chicago to New York. Westar was the name for the fleet of Geosynchronous Communications satellites operating in the C band which were launched by Western Union from This article is about artificial satellites For natural satellites also known as moons see Natural satellite. TVRO receiver earth stations were also coming into use at the time, and anyone who knew where to find the satellite feeds could view the feed. Television receive-only, or TVRO is a term used in North America to refer to the reception of Satellite television from FSS -type satellites On the live feed, Robinson could be seen to have a drink or two, but never during the actual aired segment, which led some bars around the country to even have drink specials during the nearly 90 minutes, and inviting patrons to come in and see the "Max 'R'" feed. ABC eventually caught on to what was happening, and even resorted to hide what was going on by pasting a slide with the words "ABC News Chicago" on the screen during the live feed during times that Robinson was not live over the actual WNT broadcast. In addition, Robinson could often be seen being harsh towards those who worked around him during the live feed. [1]
Departure from ABC
By the time Robinson departed ABC News to become the first black anchor at Chicago's WMAQ-TV in 1984, he had been relegated to the weekend news and news briefs. WMAQ-TV, channel 5 is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, located in Chicago Illinois. The year 1984 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1984. Robinson would not last at WMAQ, leaving the station in 1985. The year 1985 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1985.
Health decline and death
Robinson had been found to have AIDS while he was hospitalized for pneumonia in an Illinois hospital, but he kept it a secret. Pneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the Lung. Frequently it is described as lung Parenchyma / alveolar inflammation and abnormal The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. In the fall of 1988, Robinson was in Washington to deliver a speech at Howard University's School of Communications when he became increasingly ill. Howard University is a private, Coeducational Nonsectarian University located in Washington D Robinson checked himself into Howard University Hospital, where he died of complications due to AIDS on December 20, 1988, aged only 49. Events 69 - Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor. Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar)
At his service, he was eulogized by the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Jesse Louis Jackson Sr (born October 8 1941 is an American Civil rights activist and Baptist minister.
Robinson was married three times and had four children. He was a brother to Randall Robinson. Randall Robinson ( 6 July, 1941 -) is an African-American Lawyer, Author and Activist, noted as the founder of
References
- ^ Robert B. Cooper, Jr. ; Television's Pirates: Hiding Behind Your Picture Tube, 2006.
External links
- Max Robinson at the Internet Movie Database
- Africanpubs Biography
- Clip from one of the infamous "Max R" feeds (contains coarse language)
- ABC News' "Time Tunnel" page containing clips of numerous newscasts on which Robinson appeared
| Preceded by Harry Reasoner and Barbara Walters |
ABC World News Tonight anchor with coanchors, Frank Reynolds, and Peter Jennings July 10, 1978–September 4, 1983 |
Succeeded by Peter Jennings |
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic