John Henning (May 22, 1937 – July 7, 2010) was an American
news reporter
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
and political analyst who spent many years on
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
television before becoming a commentator on radio.
Biography
Early life and education
Born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, the son of Mary and Walter Henning (his father spent 36 years as a New York City police detective), he was the oldest of six children. His younger brother is veteran college football and NFL coach Dan Henning. Henning graduated from
St. Peter's College in
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.[Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...]
.
Career
![John Henning in 1980](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/John_Henning_in_1980.jpg)
While studying, he interned at
WGBH-TV
WGBH-TV (channel 2), branded on-air as GBH or GBH 2 since 2020, is the primary PBS member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship property of the WGBH Educational Foundation, which also owns Boston's sec ...
(channel 2), where among his duties, he covered sports. But his heart was in news and politics. After two years at WGBH, he spent eight months in the Army. In 1964, he was hired at what was then known as
WNAC-TV
WNAC-TV (channel 64), branded on-air as Fox Providence, is a television station in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, affiliated with Fox and The CW. It is owned by Mission Broadcasting, which maintains a local marketing agreement (LMA) ...
(now
WHDH-TV
WHDH (channel 7) is an independent television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is owned by Sunbeam Television alongside Cambridge-licensed CW affiliate WLVI (channel 56). WHDH and WLVI share studios at Bulfinch Place (nea ...
) as a street reporter. He also began covering local and national elections, something he would become known for. By 1965, WNAC promoted him to news anchor, and he did the 6pm and 11pm newscasts. It was during this time that he began to gain the reputation as a dependable, accurate and savvy reporter who knows how to separate spin from fact. Henning left WNAC-TV in 1968, going to work for the
old WHDH-TV (now
WCVB-TV
WCVB-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on TV Place (off Gould Street near the I-95/ MA 128/Highland Avenue int ...
), Channel 5.
Henning remained at Channel 5 till April 1977, when he returned to the anchor desk at Channel 7. While his reporting continued to win him praise, the ratings at WNAC-TV did not go up, and he was taken off the anchor desk and reassigned to other duties. Not long after that, in late June 1981, he decided to resign. At that time, media critic Robert MacLean of the ''
Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' wrote that "It is acknowledged among his colleagues that Henning, a veteran Boston TV newsman,
sperhaps one of the best street reporters in the history of Boston TV news..."
Due to a non-compete clause in his contract, he remained off the air till January 1982, at which time he was hired by
WBZ-TV
WBZ-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent station WSBK-TV (channe ...
(Channel 4) to anchor the noon news. Henning spent the rest of his career working for WBZ, winning a number of awards in the process. In 1994, he was able to report on the success of his brother
Dan Henning
Daniel Ernest Henning, (born June 21, 1942) is a former American football player and coach. A quarterback, he played college football at the College of William & Mary and professional football in 1966 for the San Diego Chargers of the America ...
, who was named the football coach at
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
.
Meanwhile, after many years of anchoring, John stepped down from anchoring the noon news in May 1995, and WBZ-TV made him their senior correspondent, with a specialty in local and national politics. The veteran reporter also covered the
State House. Henning retired from full-time reporting in 2003, but continued to do commentary for WBZ-TV and
WBZ Radio, where he teamed up with another political commentator, Jon Keller, to do a feature called "Eye on Politics."
Death
Henning was diagnosed with
myelodysplastic syndrome
A myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is one of a group of cancers in which immature blood cells in the bone marrow do not mature, and as a result, do not develop into healthy blood cells. Early on, no symptoms typically are seen. Later, symptoms may ...
, a condition in which the
bone marrow
Bone marrow is a semi-solid tissue found within the spongy (also known as cancellous) portions of bones. In birds and mammals, bone marrow is the primary site of new blood cell production (or haematopoiesis). It is composed of hematopoietic ce ...
does not produce enough blood cells, in November 2009. He underwent a
bone marrow transplant
Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood in order to replicate inside of a patient and to produce ...
, but it was unsuccessful. Henning died on July 7, 2010 at
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United Stat ...
from
leukemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...
complications at the age of 73.
Awards
*1999: Dennis Kauff Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award
*2003: George Heller Memorial Gold Card, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
References
Bibliography
*Claffey, Charles E. ''"Henning Knows the People, the City in Which He Works."
Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', July 21, 1981.
*Powers, Dick. ''"Channel 4 Revamps Early Morning News Format."
Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', December 17, 1981.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henning, John
1937 births
2010 deaths
Deaths from myelodysplastic syndrome
American male journalists
Television anchors from Boston
Boston University College of Communication alumni
Deaths from cancer in Massachusetts
Deaths from leukemia
Saint Peter's University alumni
Journalists from New York City