Warner Saunders

Warner Saunders is the 5p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. co-anchor for WMAQ-TV in Chicago. Saunders' co-anchor is Allison Rosati. A Chicago native, Saunders holds a bachelors degree from Xavier University and a Masters degree from Northeastern Illinois University. He and his wife, Sadako live in Chicago.

Career

He is a member of the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame and the Chicago Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Silver Circle. He was once President of the Chicago Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists. He also did a series of reports from South Africa in 1990 on the historic release of Nelson Mandela culminated in the documentary titled, . Saunders came to WMAQ from WBBM where he was Director of Community Affairs, host of Common Ground, and a children's show known to many kids as "The Good Gang Express".

Saunders was a former public school teacher, youth worker and Boys Club Executive Director. His WBBM-TV documentary, The End of the Line, spurred investigations of local gangs. His teaching career includes Chicago Public Schools, National College of Education, Malcolm X College, Northeastern Illinois University, and Indiana University where he was voted teacher of the year for two consecutive terms.

Awards

He has won 19 Emmy Awards for news, sports, documentaries, children's shows, talk shows, and town meetings. Other awards he won are the Illinois Broadcasters Association Public Service Award, the Gabriel Award, The Ohio State Award, and the 1999 Hull House Jane Addams Award for his commitment to the Chicago community.