John Stehr (born August 20, 1958,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
), is a former American television journalist. He is currently running for Mayor of
Zionsville, Indiana
Zionsville is a suburban town located in the extreme southeast area of Boone County, Indiana, United States, northwest of Indianapolis. The population was 14,160 at the 2010 census, 30,693 at the 2020 census, and grew to 33,891 in the 2022 est ...
, where municipal elections will be held in 2023.
He retired as full-time lead anchor at
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
affiliate
WTHR
WTHR (channel 13) is a television station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside low-power, Class A MeTV affiliate WALV-CD (channel 46). Both stations share studios on North Meridian ...
in
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...
in December 2018 after nearly 24 years. He and his wife Amy reside in
Zionsville, Indiana
Zionsville is a suburban town located in the extreme southeast area of Boone County, Indiana, United States, northwest of Indianapolis. The population was 14,160 at the 2010 census, 30,693 at the 2020 census, and grew to 33,891 in the 2022 est ...
, and have five children. While he is no longer employed as a journalist, Stehr retains the title as WTHR's “Anchor Emeritus”.
Stehr attended
Gannon University
Gannon University is a private Catholic university in Erie, Pennsylvania. Gannon University has approximately 4,500 students and 46,000 alumni. Its intercollegiate athletics include 18 athletic programs for men and women competing at the NCAA D ...
in
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...
, and is the only member of his class to receive a "Distinguished Alumni" award. He graduated with a dual-degree (Communications/Political Science) in 1980. His children are named Morgan, Connor, Jeanie, Riley, and Meredith.
Career
Stehr started his broadcast career at
WJET-TV
WJET-TV (channel 24) is a television station in Erie, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which provides certain services to Fox affiliate WFXP (channel 66) under a local marketing agreement ...
in Erie while still attending
Gannon University
Gannon University is a private Catholic university in Erie, Pennsylvania. Gannon University has approximately 4,500 students and 46,000 alumni. Its intercollegiate athletics include 18 athletic programs for men and women competing at the NCAA D ...
. After leaving WJET, he went to
WSEE-TV
WSEE-TV (channel 35) is a television station in Erie, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW Plus. It is the flagship television property of locally based Lilly Broadcasting, and is a sister station to NBC affiliate WICU-TV ...
, also in Erie. While at WSEE, he was named solo anchor of the weekday 6 pm and 11 pm newscasts at the age of 21.
From there, he made stops at
WOTV
WOTV (channel 41) is a television station licensed to Battle Creek, Michigan, United States, serving West Michigan as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Grand Rapids–licensed NBC affiliate WOOD-TV (channel 8) ...
(now WOOD-TV) in
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...
,
WISH-TV
WISH-TV (channel 8) is a television station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is locally owned by Circle City Broadcasting alongside Marion-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate WNDY-TV (channel 23) and low-power, ...
in Indianapolis, and
KUTV
KUTV (channel 2) is a television station in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside independent station KJZZ-TV (channel 14) and St. George–licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate K ...
in
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
.
From 1989 to 1991, Stehr anchored the business news for
CNBC
CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...
's ''
The Money Wheel
''The Money Wheel'' is a business news television program aired on weekdays on the CNBC network from its inception in 1989 until 1998. Initially, ''The Money Wheel'' covered almost all of the channel's business day hours, airing continuously from ...
''.
In 1991, he became a correspondent at
CBS News. Stehr's reporting focused on personal finance and business issues, appearing primarily on
''CBS This Morning''. He also anchored the ''
CBS Morning News
The ''CBS Morning News'' is an American early-morning news broadcast presented weekdays on the CBS television network. The program features late-breaking news stories, national weather forecasts and sports highlights. Since 2013, it has been anc ...
''.
In 2018, Stehr was inducted into the Silver Circl
of the Lower Great Lakes Region of the National Academy of Television Arts and Science
for contributions made the broadcasting over at least 25 years.
In December 2018, he was designated a “Sagamore of the Wabash” by Indiana Governor
Eric Holcomb
Eric Joseph Holcomb (born May 2, 1968) is an American politician who is the 51st and current governor of Indiana, serving since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 51st lieutenant governor of Indiana from 2016 to 2017 under ...
— the highest civilian honor bestowed by the state of
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
.
Stehr was inducted into the Indiana Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in October 2022.
From CBS News to WTHR
In July 1995, Stehr was hired away from
CBS News to become main anchor of
WTHR
WTHR (channel 13) is a television station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside low-power, Class A MeTV affiliate WALV-CD (channel 46). Both stations share studios on North Meridian ...
's weeknight newscasts. His work has earned him multiple regional Emmy Awards. During his tenure, WTHR has consistently maintained the top-rated newscasts in the Indianapolis market. The station won the 2011 Edward R. Murrow Award for overall excellence. Stehr announced his retirement on March 28, 2018, but stayed on several extra months due to a co-anchor's illness.
References
External links
John Stehr Biography
Living people
American reporters and correspondents
Journalists from Pennsylvania
People from Zionsville, Indiana
Television personalities from Pittsburgh
CNBC people
CBS News people
Gannon University alumni
1958 births
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