Tom Ellis (journalist)

Tom Ellis is NECN’s weekend evening anchor. His career in television news spans more than 35 years, and he is well known throughout New England where he has served as anchor for three of Boston's network-affiliated stations. Ellis was a correspondent for WNBC-TV and an anchor for WABC-TV – both in New York City, and for KONO-TV Channel 12 (now KSAT-TV) in San Antonio. Additionally, his broadcast career in radio included anchor/reporter duties for KVET-AM in Austin, Texas, KWED-AM in Sequin, TX, and KONO-AM/FM in San Antonio.

His high-profile career in New England began in 1968, when he became the new lead anchor at WBZ-TV, a role he would hold alone, and during other periods alongside station vets such as Jack Chase, through 1975. Ellis established himself as a dependable figure in regional journalism on WBZ, and kept the (then) NBC affiliate at top of the Boston news ratings all through his tenure. His shining moments of glory in the eyes of viewers were his organization of team coverage during the 1972 presidential election and subsequent 1974 presidential replacement, where he won accolades for his performance. Ellis became so renowned that the station began issuing political campaign-style pins and bumper stickers featuring the faces of Ellis and then co-anchor Tony Pepper, encouraging viewership; the public stuck them all over the area.

Ellis originally left Boston in 1975, as he jumped at the offer to anchor for ABC's flagship affiliate WABC-TV in New York. Tom added a lot of journalistic power to WABC's team, and enjoyed three high-profile years in this stint. In the midst of his tenure at WABC, Ellis took on a role in the 1976 feature film "Marathon Man", which starred Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier. Many of Tom's fans fondly regard his performance of a period TV announcer in the film.

Before Ellis could have possibly been considered for spots of ABC network news, he decided not to renew his contract with WABC in order to pursue other ventures before considering jobs on national television. Just as he was leaving in 1978, the country's #1 (ratings and acclaim-wise) ABC affiliate, WCVB-TV in his old stomping ground of Boston, heard that the former heavyweight in Boston news was available. WCVB offered Ellis the chance to return to the market with not only a salary to rival WABC's, but to join the red-hot anchoring duo of Chet Curtis and Natalie Jacobson, who had been taking the market by storm in the late 1970s. Ellis, who had seen WCVB's husband-and-wife team rise to prominence, didn't think twice and signed-on with the station for an initial four year contract. From 1978 to 1982, the three-person lead anchor team was setup so that Tom or Chet would alternate in the male anchor position (between the 6 and 11pm newscasts), with Natalie being the constant.

Ellis' return to Boston with his addition at WCVB only meant better things for a station whose news department and commitment to local programming would soon garner it national attention. Although Curtis and Jacobson were initially responsible, it was Ellis, whose dominance and professionalim shot WCVB up to a close second in the evening news ratings, right behind longtime principal leader WBZ. There was seemingly an ecletic repetiore between Tom and the rest of the staff, and even more so when Tom began frequently anchoring beside both Chet and Nat for a period beginning in 1980 - the catalyst for WCVB busting into the first place in 1981 (WBZ, for the record, hasn't been #1 ever since). This victory was on the heels of WCVB being voted by the "New York Times" as the "best TV station in the country". Ellis contiuned to attract attention and awards for his interviews and work during key political campaigns as well.

Despite the success that surrounded Ellis during his tenure at WCVB, there was enough behind-the-scenes controversy to equal it. In 1980, when Natalie Jacobson found out she was pregnant, Ellis reportedly overheard Jacobson discussing the matter in phone conversations (whether it was a doctor or not has not been verified) at the station. Viewers then recall that one night on the news, as Jacobson returned after a few sick days off, Ellis made a few too obvious on-air remarks about how her taking ill had to do with her preganancy, thus spilling the news before Jacobson was not only ready to tell the public - but tell husband Chet Curtis, who was just two seats down at the anchor desk - that she was having a baby. Jacobson, both surprised and angered by the premature exposure of her pregnancy by Ellis, saw their professional relationship nosedive after that event, to the point where Natalie opted out of anchoring with him by the end of his time at the station. The other major drama of Tom's time at "NewsCenter 5" was his surprise departure in the spring of 1982. Ellis had originally told management that he was renewing his contract with WCVB that year; at the last minute, however, he cut an under-the-table deal with Boston's re-launched Channel 7, WNEV-TV (now WHDH), to be a lead-anchor boost for that station's re-organized news department. WCVB staff saw this as a slap in the face to four excellent years he brought them, due to his shady actions. Channel 5 needn't have worried; Nat and Chet, sans Tom Ellis, kept WCVB at the top of the Boston news wars for well over a decade to come.

On September 13, 1982, Ellis officially became the new leading newsman at the new WNEV-TV's NEWSE7EN. The news of Ellis coming aboard at SE7EN, along with his new co-anchor Robin Young (formerly of WBZ-TV's "Evening Magazine") hailed them as the "Dream Team" that would finally make Channel 7 the dead last of the Boston network stations no longer. Billboard, radio and TV advertisements over the summer of 1982 tugged at viewers by depicting Tom & Robin as saits both professionally and with family & the community. The promotional effort was not that far different from political campaigns that Ellis had covered so often in his career. Initial viewer curiosity from the "official" NEWSE7EN launch night rose ratings temporarily, but unfortunately, victory was not in the cards for WNEV. While Ellis was still at the zenith of his game, professional and smooth as ever, co-anchor Young, who had no prior hard news experience, was seemingly out of her league and in sharp contrast with her seasoned co-anchor. Young amazingly lasted as lead anchor through late 1983, among recent quick firings of other 1982 "dream team" hires. WNEV, not willing to give up on the dream yet, kept Ellis, convinced that weak ratings for NEWSE7EN was not because of him. Tom's new co-anchor became Diane Willis, a more adept & experienced anchor who finally put a more solid and balanced image to the station's lead team. Despite other changes, such a new marketing campaigns, additional turnover in certain positions, and a name change to The New England News, it eventually became obvious that the "dream team" had officially backfired. In 1986, Ellis and Willis were both fired from WNEV. Ironically, Robin Young, who had struggled opposite Ellis on WNEV's news, outlived them both on the station, as she remained as host of a series of specials and other events through 1987.

The late 1980s and early 1990s was a period of transition for Ellis. He returned to New York for a brief period to handle radio news anchoring work, but, rather by accident, stumbled into a secondary career path when he was asked to appear as a spokesperson in an Anasin aspirin commercial. Tom's widely circulated Anasin ad let him to dabble back in acting for a while, showing up in cameo roles in a number of different daytime soap operas and then breaking back into feature films. In 1991 alone, Ellis played an FBI Agent in the John Cusack/James Spader film "True Colors", and the natural role of a newscaster in "28th Street", starring Danny Aiello. Around the time of his latest movie exposure, Ellis began another return to hard news full time when he signed on to anchor/host "NewsWorthy" a weekly news and analysis show produced in New York, and seen nationally on Superstation WPIX. This stint only lasted a year, as by mid-1992 Tom was back on the New England news scene as he arrived at New England Cable News, which had only launched just a few months earlier.

For nearly the next decade, Ellis was featured on weeknight newscasts, where he instantly regained a following and gave birth to new trademarks; including his common wearing of southwestern cowboy hats on the air, due to his longtime hobby of collecting them. Eventually, Tom would be cited for sparking a trend that would come to define the regional news channel, as it rose in dominance: it's employing of the elder statesmen of Boston TV news, who had since moved on from the network affiliated broadcast stationss where they had made their names. Following Ellis to NECN were Margie Reedy (formerly of WXBY and WHDH), R.D. Sahl (who was Reedy's partner at WHDH, who co-anchored with her yet again on NECN and the channel's produced 10pm newscast for WSBK), Maryanne Kane, and Chet Curtis, who joined in 2001 after a well-publicized divorce from Natalie Jacobson and departure from WCVB.

By 2000, Ellis had already repositioned himself to covering weekend evening news only, the schedule he still has today.

He has received numerous awards for his work, including the prestigious Emmy and Peabody awards. ¹

References

¹http://www.boston.com/news/necn/About/bios/ellis/