Maureen Bunyan

Maureen Bunyan is an Aruban-American Washington, D.C.-based television journalist. Currently she is the lead co-anchor at WJLA-TV.

Bunyan is a founder and board member of IWMF (International Women's Media Foundation),^[1][2] a founder of the National Association of Black Journalists.^[3] and President of Maureen Bunyan Communications, Inc.^[4]

She was named a a ʺWashingtonian of the Yearʺ in 1992 and has been inducted into the ʺHall of Fameʺ of the Washington Chapter of  the Society of Professional Journalists, ʺThe Silver Circleʺ of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and the Broadcast Pioneers Club of Washington.^[5]

Biography

Early life

Bunyan was born in Aruba, the eldest of three daughters, and settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her family when she was 11. After the death of her mother Wilhelmina, a nurse, Bunyan and her family continued to pursue educational opportunities; at one point, all of the members of the immediate family were enrolled at local colleges and universities, each studying for an undergraduate degree.

Early career

Bunyan started her journalism career freelancing at the Milwaukee Journal while attending the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee nearby, then went on to television jobs at WGBH-TV in Boston and WCBS-TV in New York before arriving in Washington in 1973 and joining WTOP-TV (now WUSA-TV), a station that was known for its Eyewitness News team which included Max Robinson and Gordon Peterson.

Promotion to anchor

Originally a reporter and weekend co-anchor with Patrick McGrath (now at WTTG-TV,and who has since retired, Bunyan was promoted to co-anchor alongside Peterson at 6 p.m. after Robinson joined ABC News in 1978 (she would add the 11 p.m. newscast a decade later) and settled in as a member of a local news team that also included sportscaster Glenn Brenner and meteorologist Gordon Barnes. In addition to reporting on major local, national and international stories, she also hosted the award-winning magazine programs 22:26 and Studio Nine.

Leaving WUSA

On December 11, 1995, after the management at WUSA offered her an anchor demotion and salary cut to stay at the station,^[6] Bunyan surprised viewers when she announced her resignation on the air during the 6 p.m. news. Channel 9 soon afterwards lost their first-place spot in the ratings to rival WRC-TV.

Return to the DC airwaves

As for Bunyan herself, she briefly worked for MSNBC and ran a public relations firm for a few years before returning to the Washington airwaves in February 1999 replacing Paul Berry as the lead anchor at WJLA-TV. Five years later, she was reunited with longtime friend and former WUSA co-anchor Gordon Peterson when they were teamed up on the 6 p.m. news. This has helped WJLA move from third to second place in that timeslot behind current leader WRC.

Personal life

During the many years she has worked in Washington, she has received numerous awards. Ms. Bunyan also attended Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and Harvard University Graduate School of Education, where she earned a Master's degree.

References

1. ^ Maureen Bunyan
2. ^ IWMF website http://www.iwmf.org/staff.aspx
3. ^ Women in the news
4. ^ Biographies
5. ^ [1]
6. ^ Marlane, Judith (1 January 1999). Women in television news revisited: into the twenty-first century. University of Texas Press. p. 183. ISBN 9780292752283. http://books.google.com/books?id=2j4-PmLEwroC&pg=PA183. Retrieved 16 August 2010. 

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Name	Bunyan, Maureen
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