Harry Edwin Chapman was a news anchor at WTVF CBS (NewsChannel5) in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, Tennessee for 35 years before retiring in 2006. He was a long time co-host of the midday CBS show "Talk of the Town" and hosted "Words and Music" on NewsChannel5+.

Early life

Chapman grew up in Hartwell, Georgia and played football at Hart County High School until a broken arm ended his playing career. He started in broadcasting during high school at WKLY in Hartwell. He then enrolled at the University of Georgia where he earned his journalism degree from the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism. While an undergraduate in Athens, he worked for Georgia Public Television and was hired by H. Randolph Holder to work at

WGAU WGAU (1340 AM, "News-Talk 1340") is a radio station licensed to serve Athens, Georgia, United States, that broadcasts a news/ talk format. The transmitter is located at the studios (with WNGC) in Five Points. WGAU began broadcasting on May 1, 19 ...

and WNGC. As a student, he was also the voice of the Redcoat Band.

Career

In the fall of 1967, Chapman was hired straight out of the University of Georgia at WSB (AM) and WSB-FM in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1967-1971, he worked both the night shift and the early afternoon shift for the station. During this time, he traveled back to Athens, Georgia on Saturdays in the fall where he was the PA announcer at

Sanford Stadium Sanford Stadium is the on-campus playing venue for football at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States (also known as UGA). The 92,746-seat stadium is the tenth-largest stadium in the NCAA. Architecturally, the stadium is kn ...

for home football games. In 1971, Chapman was hired by WTVF (NewsChannel5) in

, Tennessee. He did everything from anchor the midday report to producing documentaries. He was the entertainment reporter covering the country music industry in Nashville. In 1974, he teamed with

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

to be Nashville's first male-female anchor team. He was the co-host of "Talk of the Town", the longest running locally produced talk show in the country. He still hosts "Words and Music" on (NewsChannel5+), where he conducts personal interviews with

songwriters A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

in Music City. Chapman is on staff at Belmont University as the Director of Development and Major Gifts. He is also a contributing author for ''Southern Exposure Magazine''.

Awards

*In 1998, the Georgia Legislature honored him with a resolution for his career accomplishments. *He received the Country Music Awards Media Achievement Award in 2001. *He received the John Holloman, Jr. Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism in 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Harry Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Hartwell, Georgia University of Georgia alumni American television personalities