Lawrence David Mendte (born January 16, 1957) is an American
news anchor
A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...
, commentator and radio talk show host. Mendte is currently hosting three TV shows, ''Jersey Matters'', ''The Delaware Way'', and ''Another Thing with Larry Mendte''. Mendte also hosts ''The Larry Mendte Show'' on WABC (AM) in New York. Until a few years ago, Mendte wrote and delivered nightly commentaries at
WPIX
WPIX (channel 11) is a television station in New York City. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, it is operated under a local marketing agreement (LMA) by Nexstar Media Group, making it a ''de facto'' owned-and-operated station and flagship (broadcas ...
in New York City that were aired at TV stations across the country. He continued writing and delivering the commentaries on "Another Thing with Larry Mendte," which airs in the New York and Philadelphia TV markets. Mendte was the first male host of the American syndicated television show ''
Access Hollywood
''Access Hollywood'', formerly known as ''Access'' from 2017 to 2019, is an American weekday television entertainment news program that premiered on September 9, 1996. It covers events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was created ...
''. From 2003 to mid-2008, he was the lead anchor of the 6pm and 11pm
newscast
News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or televis ...
s for
KYW-TV
KYW-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside CW affiliate WPSG (channel 57 ...
(Channel 3), the CBS O&O in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. After nearly two decades in last place, Mendte led the station to compete with first place
WPVI-TV
WPVI-TV (channel 6), branded on-air as 6 ABC, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station ...
(Channel 6). KYW lured Mendte away from
WCAU-TV
WCAU (channel 10) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Mount Laurel, New Jerse ...
(Channel 10), where he had anchored the 4, 6 and 11 pm newscasts and led the station to win news ratings in some time slots for the first time in 30 years.
Biography
Born and raised in
Lansdowne, Pennsylvania
Lansdowne is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, located southwest of the Center City Philadelphia. It was named for the Marquess of Lansdowne. As of the 2010 census the borough had a population of 10,620.
Lansdowne grew quickly in the ...
, a suburb of Philadelphia, he attended St. Philomena Catholic School elementary school. During this time he began delivering the ''
Philadelphia Bulletin
The ''Philadelphia Bulletin'' was a daily evening newspaper published from 1847 to 1982 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the largest circulation newspaper in Philadelphia for 76 years and was once the largest evening newspaper in the United ...
''. Mendte graduated from
Monsignor Bonner High School
Monsignor Bonner High School was an all-male Augustinian Catholic High School in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It was located in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. Bonner was created in 1953 as Archbishop Prendergast High School for Bo ...
in nearby
Drexel Hill
Drexel Hill is a neighborhood and census-designated place (CDP) located in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. The population was 29,181 at the 2020 census, up from 28,043 at the 2010 census, and accounting for over a third of Upper Darby's population.
G ...
. In 2003, Mendte was inducted into the high school'
Hall of Fame He earned a B.A. in Communications from
West Chester University
West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public research university in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university is accredited by the Middle ...
and was named a distinguished alumnus. After giving a commencement address in 2006, Mendte was awarded the President's Medal for Service in recognition of his community work.
Career
From 1984 to 1988 he was a weekend anchor on
WABC, as well as fill-in sports anchor. He anchored the news and was an investigative reporter at
WBBM in Chicago from 1991 to 1995. While at WBBM, Mendte's series of reports on school bus safety resulted in a new state law. Mendte won a record 27 Emmy Awards in Chicago and was twice named Best reporter by the Illinois Associated Press. He anchored the news at
WCMH
WCMH-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Columbus, Ohio, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios are located on Olentangy River Road near the Ohio State University campus, and its tran ...
in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
,
WLYH in
Lebanon, Pennsylvania
Lebanon () is a city in and the county seat of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,814 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Lebanon is located in the central part of the Lebanon Valley, east of Harrisbu ...
(where he also did the sportscast),
WTAJ in
Altoona and
KIEM
KIEM-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Eureka, California, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Imagicomm Communications alongside low-power CBS affiliate KVIQ-LD (channel 14). Both stations share studios on South Broadway ...
in
Eureka, California
Eureka (Wiyot: ''Jaroujiji'', Hupa: ''do'-wi-lotl-ding'', Karuk: ''uuth'') is the principal city and county seat of Humboldt County in the Redwood Empire region of California. The city is located on U.S. Route 101 on the shores of Humboldt ...
.
Mendte was a weather personality at
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
's
KFMB and also performed
stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up.
Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...
in Southern California
comedy club
A comedy club is a venue—typically a nightclub, bar, hotel, casino, or restaurant—where people watch or listen to performances, including stand-up comedians, improvisational comedians, impersonators, impressionists, magicians, ventriloquists, ...
s. Mendte wrote and produced a humor commentary feature called "How Come?" for the Paramount Studios syndicated program ''
Hard Copy
''Hard Copy'' is an American tabloid television show that ran in syndication from 1989 to 1999. ''Hard Copy'' was aggressive in its use of questionable material on television, including gratuitous violence.
The original hosts of ''Hard Copy'' ...
''. Mendte was the first male host of ''
Access Hollywood
''Access Hollywood'', formerly known as ''Access'' from 2017 to 2019, is an American weekday television entertainment news program that premiered on September 9, 1996. It covers events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was created ...
'' when the show debuted in 1996. He co-hosted Monday through Friday with
Giselle Fernández
Giselle Fernández (born May 15, 1961) is an American television journalist and anchor for Spectrum News 1. Her appearances on network television include reporting and guest anchoring for ''CBS Early Show'', ''CBS Evening News'', ''Today'', and ...
and also co-hosted the weekend edition with future weekday host
Nancy O'Dell
Nancy O'Dell (born Nancy Evelyn Humphries; 1966) is an American television host and entertainment journalist. She served as co-anchor of the syndicated entertainment news show ''Entertainment Tonight'' from January 3, 2011, to August 2, 2019.
E ...
. Mendte debuted "Access Hollywood" on September 9, 1996, with the words "Hello everyone, I'm Larry Mendte and this is Access Hollywood."
Returning home
Mendte left ''Access Hollywood'' in 1997 to return to Philadelphia and become the main anchor of
WCAU
WCAU (channel 10) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Mount Laurel, New Jerse ...
(Channel 10)'s newscasts, including the 4 pm, 6pm and 11 pm programs, with the 4 pm show being the first on at that time in the market. He also created and hosted the Sunday morning news talk program ''Live at Issue''. During his time at WCAU the 11 pm newscast outrated market leader
WPVI
WPVI-TV (channel 6), branded on-air as 6 ABC, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station ...
(Channel 6) for the first time since the 1970s.
Anchoring at KYW
Mendte joined KYW in 2003 after being wooed from WCAU. KYW launched a massive "Make the Switch" promotional campaign when Mendte arrived. The idea for the campaign was Mendte's. He also helped reformat the newscast and introduced the "walking anchor" to KYW that he was famous for at WCAU. KYW's ratings immediately jumped with Mendte in the main seat with
Alycia Lane
Alycia Lane (born May 10, 1972) is an American television journalist. Until October 2013, she served as weekday morning anchor at KNBC-TV in Los Angeles. From September, 2003 until January, 2008, she was co-anchor of the weekday evening newscast ...
co-anchoring, and within a year the station would overtake WCAU at 11 pm and 6 pm for second place. Lane was later fired in December 2007 after being charged with a felony for assaulting a female police officer in New York.
Mendte then anchored solo for a short time before being teamed with
Susan Barnett
Susan Barnett (born October 24, 1972) is an American television news anchor. She spent five years at KYW-TV as co-anchor of the 5, 6, and 11 P.M. newscasts and is a former beauty queen from Levittown, Pennsylvania who competed at Miss Teen USA 19 ...
, but Mendte was fired in June 2008 after an investigation revealed he accessed Lane's email accounts.
While at KYW, Mendte also co-hosted the Eagles pre-game show from Lincoln Financial Field. Mendte wrote and directed several documentaries while at KYW, including "Stealing Lightning From The Sky," about the Ben Franklin kit experiment, "Alex Scott: A Stand for Hope," about the little girl who started Alex's Lemonade Stand, "The Children of 9/11," about the children who lost parents in the 9/11 attacks and "The Beanie Baby Soldier," about Corporal Stephen McGowan, a soldier who died in Iraq but left a legacy of caring for the Iraqi children.
For his work, Mendte won over 50 regional Emmys at KYW.
Commentary for Tribune
In February 2010 Mendte returned to television with a nightly commentary on current events, originating from
Tribune Broadcasting
Tribune Broadcasting Company, LLC was an American media company which operated as a subsidiary of Tribune Media, a media conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois. The group owned and operated television and radio stations throughout the United Sta ...
's
WPIX
WPIX (channel 11) is a television station in New York City. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, it is operated under a local marketing agreement (LMA) by Nexstar Media Group, making it a ''de facto'' owned-and-operated station and flagship (broadcas ...
in New York. This segment is also seen on
WPHL-TV
WPHL-TV (channel 17) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group and has studios in the Wynnefield section of West Philadelphia; it maintains a ...
's 10 pm newscast (which, until September 2012, was produced by NBC's WCAU, a former employer of Mendte),
WGN-TV
WGN-TV (channel 9) is an Independent station (North America), independent television station in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, it is sister station, sister to the company's sole radio property, talk ra ...
in Chicago and several other Tribune and
Local TV-owned stations across the country.
In June 2010, Mendte aired the first of several commentaries urging Congress to pass the "9/11 First Responders Health and Compensation Bill". Six months later when the bill was passed, Mendte was given several award from 9/11 First Responders organizations, including 2011 Humanitarian Award from the New York Fire Department's Columbia Association.
In 2011, 2012 2013, and 2014, and 2015, all five years he was eligible, Mendte won the New York regional Emmy award for Outstanding Commentary/Editorialist, setting a record and Mendte won a total of 8 Emmys during his time at WPIX. Aside from the record five Emmys for Outstanding Commentary/Editorialist, Mendte won in 2011 and 2014 for Outstanding Writer for his commentaries and for Outstanding Speciality Reporting in 2014 for his series of commentaries on the media.
Anchoring at WPIX
In October 2012, Mendte co-anchored with
Kaity Tong
Kaity Tong (; born July 23, 1947) is a Chinese-born American broadcast journalist. She has been a television news anchor in New York City since 1981.
Early life
Kaity (pronounced "kite-ee")Tong, Kaity"What's in a name?" ''WPIX Blog'', March 4, 20 ...
the day that
Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...
pounded the New York City area. For the next ten days, he co-anchored an extended 5 and 10 pm newscast at WPIX with
. In April 2013, Mendte solo anchored the coverage of the
Boston Marathon bombing
The Boston Marathon bombing was a domestic terrorist attack that took place during the annual Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Two terrorists, brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, planted two homemade pressure cooker bombs, w ...
and then co-anchored 12 hours straight with
Tamsen Fadal
Tamsen Fadal (born ) is an American journalist, news anchor at WPIX in New York City and author of ''The New Single: Finding, Fixing and Falling Back In Love With Yourself.'' She is host/executive producer of ''The Broadway Show''. Fadal is an ad ...
as Boston Police killed one of the suspects,
Tamerlan Tsarnaev
Tamerlan Anzorovich Tsarnaev (; October 21, 1986 – April 19, 2013)russian: link=no, Тамерла́н Анзо́рович Царна́ев ; ce, Царнаев Анзор-кIант Тамерлан ; ky, Тамерлан Анзор уул ...
, in a shootout and later captured his brother and second suspect
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
Dzhokhar "Jahar" Anzorovich Tsarnaev born July 22, 1993)russian: Джоха́р Анзо́рович Царна́ев, link=no ; ce, Царнаев Анзор-кIант ДжовхӀар o; ( Kyrgyz language, Kyrgyz: Жохар Анзор уу ...
.
Trip to Libya
In April 2011 Mendte was the only journalist to travel with former Congressman
Curt Weldon
Wayne Curtis Weldon (born July 22, 1947) is an American politician. He served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 2007, representing the 7th district of Pennsylvania. He was defeated in November 2006 ...
on a peace mission to end the conflict in Libya.
[ ] It was promoted that Weldon would meet with
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
and that Mendte might get an interview. But Gaddafi reportedly cancelled a face-to-face meeting after Weldon's op-ed piece in ''The New York Times'' ran on the same day as the scheduled meeting. But Weldon did return with direct communication between the Iraqi Prime Minister to Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
and the promise that four detained journalists would be freed.
''Philadelphia'' magazine
Mendte was a contributor to the online version of ''
Philadelphia Magazine
''Philadelphia'' (also called "''Philadelphia'' magazine" or referred to by the nickname "Phillymag", once called ''Greater Philadelphia'') is a regional monthly magazine published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by the Lipson family of Philadelphia ...
''from 2010 to 2015.
Mendte's post on the drowning death of his niece stands as one of the most read columns ever on the site.
Mendte occasionally writes for the print version of the magazine including a feature article on his life after he was let go by KYW.
Mendte wrote over 200 articles for the site in five years.
IQ 106.9 FM
Mendte made his return to the Philadelphia air waves on May 7, 2012, with the debut of
WWIQ.
Mendte started with the station as co-host of the morning drive from 5 am to 9 am with radio veteran Al Gardner, who is originally from Philadelphia and anchored the same format at
WBT in Charlotte, N.C.
Mendte provided commentary on news events in a format that is a mixture of talk and news. Mendte started solo hosting a talk show from 8:30 until 9 in July 2012. On October 1, 2012, Mendte's was expanded from 8:30 to 10 am. On the new show, Mendte broke the national story of the high school student who was bullied for wearing a Romney/Ryan T-shirt to class.
On December 31, 2012, Mendte was fired, claiming his tenure there was 'a big experiment'. The dismissal of Mendte only fueled speculation that the radio station was up for sale. After Mendte's firing, the station's ratings dropped in half from a 3.6 rating in November to 1.8 in January. In August 2013 it was announced that Merlin was selling the station to Educational Media Foundation.
WDPN and WJLP
In late June 2014, Mendte was hired by KJWP (now
WDPN-TV
WDPN-TV (channel 2) is a television station licensed to Wilmington, Delaware, United States, serving the Philadelphia area as an affiliate of the classic television network MeTV. It is owned by Maranatha Broadcasting Company alongside Allentown, P ...
), a station moved from Wyoming under an FCC loophole, which carries
MeTV
MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...
and is now licensed to
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...
, with a commitment to serve the state of
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
. He serves as the station's
public affairs director and hosts two programs for the station. Airing on Saturday nights before primetime, they are ''The Delaware Way'', a week-in-review rundown of state issues, and ''Another Thing with Larry Mendte'', a more general news and commentary program which feature Mendte's traditional commentary segments.
In 2016, Mendte won a Mid-Atlantic Emmy award for in the category, Outstanding Writer News/Commentary for his commentaries that air at the conclusion of ''And Another Thing with Larry Mendte.'' It was Mendte's 95th Emmy award and was the first for WDPN.
Mendte also serves as the public affairs director for
WJLP
WJLP (channel 33) is a television station licensed to Middletown Township, New Jersey, United States, broadcasting the classic television network MeTV to the New York City area. It is owned and operated by network parent Weigel Broadcasting alon ...
, WDPN-TV's sister station in the New York market licensed to
Middletown Township, New Jersey
Middletown Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township had a total population of 67,106, making it the most-populous municipality in the county and the state's 16th ...
which also was a move-in operation. ''Another Thing with Larry Mendte'' also is carried by WJLP, along with a New Jersey-specific program for WJLP hosted by Mendte, ''Jersey Matters''. In 2016, Mendte won three more Emmy Awards, this time for WJLP in the New York Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS). One for On-Camera Talent: Commentator/Editorialist; Another for Writer: Commentary/Editorial; and, finally, one for On-Camera Talent: Reporter - Specialty Assignment, for a series of reports called Mendte on the Media.
WABC Radio
In June 2014, Mendte was hired by
WABC (AM)
WABC (770 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial Radio broadcasting, radio station licensed to New York City, New York, New York, carrying a Conservative talk radio, conservative talk format known as "Talkradio 77". Owned by John Catsimatidis' R ...
radio in New York City to host a Sunday Night talk show called "The Larry Mendte Show." He also fills in frequently for
Geraldo Rivera
Geraldo Rivera (born Gerald Riviera; July 4, 1943) is an American journalist, attorney, author, political commentator, and former television host. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Geraldo'' from 1987 to 1998. He gained publicity with the liv ...
and
Curtis Sliwa
Curtis Sliwa (; born March 26, 1954) is an American activist, radio talk show host and founder and chief executive officer of the Guardian Angels, a nonprofit organization for unarmed crime prevention. Sliwa was the Republican nominee for the 2 ...
during the week. Mendte has also filled in for
Ronn Owens Ronn Owens (born Ronald Lowenstein on October 17, 1945, in New York City), is the host of ''The Ronn Owens Report'', a ten-minute weekday program airing on KGO in San Francisco.
Career
Owens began his career in broadcasting in 1968 after graduatin ...
on
KGO-AM
KGO (810 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to San Francisco, California, and owned by Cumulus Media. KGO operates with 50,000 watts, the highest power permitted AM radio stations by the Federal Communications Commission, but uses ...
radio in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
.
Mendte returned to WABC in October 2016 to host "The Larry Mendte Show" on Saturday Night from 11 PM to 2 AM. On election night 2016, Mendte co-hosted the station's coverage with
Rita Cosby
Rita Cosby (born November 18, 1964) is a television news anchor and correspondent, radio host, and best selling author. She is currently a special correspondent for the CBS syndicated program ''Inside Edition'', specializing in interviewing news ...
.
iHeartMedia Delaware
In June 2015, Mendte was hired by
iHeartMedia
iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
in Delaware, as the morning talk show anchor for
WILM-AM
WILM (1450 kHz) is a news/talk AM radio station broadcasting in Wilmington, Delaware, United States. The station is owned by iHeartMedia. WILM is known as the station where radio and television talk show Joe Pyne developed the confrontational st ...
in
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...
and WDOV-AM in
Dover, Delaware
Dover () is the capital and second-largest city of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County and the principal city of the Dover, DE, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County and is part of ...
. The Larry Mendte Show was heard from 5:30 to 9 am in both markets. After helping change the format from news to talk and increasing the morning ratings, Mendte returned to WABC in New York in October 2016.
Honors
Mendte received acclaim for a series of reports he did on the
eternal flame
An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which can ...
, a tribute to American veterans, in Philadelphia's historic
Washington Square. Mendte highlighted the flame's failing infrastructure, forcing the city to take action to repair the
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
line which provided the flame's fuel and relight it. His efforts were read into the Congressional record by U.S. Senator
Rick Santorum
Richard John Santorum ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, and political commentator. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007 and was the Senate's thir ...
(R-PA). Mendte was also honored with a regional
Edward R. Murrow Award in the writing category for his reports on the eternal flame and a report on the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
. He received a national Edward R. Murrow Award in 2008 for a report he wrote and produced about a soldier from Delaware, Stephen McGowan, who died in Iraq.
Mendte wrote, narrated and directed "Alex Scott: A Stand for Hope" in 2006. It told the story of the little girl who started
Alex's Lemonade Stand
Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (previously known as Alex's Lemonade Stand and currently abbreviated as ALSF) is an American pediatric cancer charity founded by Alexandra "Alex" Scott (January 18, 1996 – August 1, 2004), who lived in Connecticu ...
to raise money to fight pediatric cancer, before dying of cancer. The documentary won several film festivals, including the West Chester Film Festival, where Mendte was named Pennsylvania Filmmaker of the year in 2006. Mendte also won the national
Sigma Delta Chi Award
The Sigma Delta Chi Awards are presented annually by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) (formerly Sigma Delta Chi) for excellence in journalism. The SPJ states the purpose of the award is to promote "the free flow of information vital ...
from the Society of Professional Journalists in Washington D.C. for the documentary. The documentary was honored and placed on exhibit by The Paley Center for Media in New York in 2008.
In 2006, Mendte was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame. Mendte has over 80 Regional
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
s from the New York, San Diego, Chicago and Philadelphia markets, and holds the record in several categories in Philadelphia and Chicago. In Philadelphia, he has won a record 4 Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Anchor category and seven in various writing categories. In 2007, Mendte was named as one of the 75 Greatest Living Philadelphians by the ''
Philadelphia Daily News
''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''.
The ''Dail ...
'' in honor of the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
75th anniversary.
Mendte is a member of the Saint Philomena's Hall of Fame, his elementary school in Lansdowne, PA., Monsignor Bonner's Hall of Fame, his high school and West Chester University's alumni Hall of Fame, his college. Mendte was inducted into the Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneer's Hall of Fame in Mendte is also a member of the Philadelphia Irish Americans Hall of Fame
Guilty plea
On August 22, 2008, Mendte pleaded guilty to the charge of intentionally accessing his co-anchor
Alycia Lane
Alycia Lane (born May 10, 1972) is an American television journalist. Until October 2013, she served as weekday morning anchor at KNBC-TV in Los Angeles. From September, 2003 until January, 2008, she was co-anchor of the weekday evening newscast ...
's email account without authorization.
Mendte read a statement and acknowledged having had an "improper relationship" with Lane. He said that he ended the relationship and it "quickly turned into a personal feud" and that a vengeful Lane was attempting to get him fired. On November 24, 2008, Mendte received a sentence of 3 years probation (later reduced), including 6 months home confinement and 150 hours of community service.
Federal Judge
Mary A. McLaughlin
Mary A. McLaughlin (born 1946) is an inactive Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Education and career
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, McLaughlin received a Bache ...
ended Mendte's probation and all other sentencing requirements.
Mendte has continued to fight the felony conviction on several grounds. In a court filing, Mendte claims that the U.S. Attorney promised a misdemeanor charge in return for his cooperation. Mendte and his attorney agreed to a
proffer
A proffer is an offer made prior to any formal negotiations.
In a trial, to proffer (sometimes profer) is to offer evidence in support of an argument (for example, as used in U.S. law), or elements of an affirmative defense or offense. A part ...
wherein Mendte told investigators the entire story. However, they claim that the US Attorney informed them weeks later that they were going back on the deal and charging Mendte with a felony. In his post-sentence motion, Mendte's lawyer claimed his client's civil rights had been violated. The filing accuses then-U.S. Attorney
Pat Meehan
Patrick Leo Meehan (born October 20, 1955) is a former American Republican Party politician and federal prosecutor from Pennsylvania who represented parts of Delaware, Chester, Montgomery, Berks, and Lancaster counties in the United States Ho ...
of changing the deal so he could hold a news conference to launch his political career. The filing details a purported early morning phone call wherein Meehan "beg
ed Mendte's attorney for a guilty plea before Meehan left office so that Meehan could make a "policy statement". The appeal was turned down by the
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:
* District of Delaware
* District of New Jersey
* Ea ...
citing that Mendte pleaded guilty and gave up his rights to appeal.
Family
Mendte is married to Dawn Stensland,
the former 10 pm news co-anchor at Fox's
WTXF
WTXF-TV (channel 29) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the Fox network. Owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on Market ...
(Channel 29), since 2000. She came to Philadelphia in 1997 as an anchor for KYW, then anchored CBS News Saturday Morning for a year and a half. In the 1990s, she was an anchor and reporter at WBBM in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, and
WKYC
WKYC (channel 3) is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. Its studios are located on Tom Beres Way (a section of Lakeside Avenue in Downtown Cleveland named after the station's longti ...
in
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
. Together, they have two sons: Michael was born in 2004, and David was born in 2006. In addition, Mendte has two adult children, Stacia and Jonathan, from a previous marriage.
Filmography
Mendte appeared in three movies in cameo roles: ''
Primary Colors
A set of primary colors or primary colours (see spelling differences) consists of colorants or colored lights that can be mixed in varying amounts to produce a gamut of colors. This is the essential method used to create the perception of a bro ...
'', ''
Shadow of Doubt'', and "Snipes", a film starring
Zoe Saldana
Zoe (also ZOE, Zoë, Zoé, etc.) can refer to:
*ζωή (''zōḗ''), the Ancient Greek word for "life"
People
* Zoe (name), including list of persons and fictional characters with the name
Film and television
* ''Zoe'' (film)
* ZOE Broadcast ...
. He wrote and directed four short documentaries. ''Ben Franklin: Stealing Lightning from the Sky'' aired across the country on
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
's birthday in 2006. The documentary questioned whether Franklin really did conduct his famous kite experiment. Later that year Mendte wrote and directed ''Alex Scott: A Stand for Hope'', a short documentary about Alex Scott, founder of
Alex's Lemonade Stand
Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (previously known as Alex's Lemonade Stand and currently abbreviated as ALSF) is an American pediatric cancer charity founded by Alexandra "Alex" Scott (January 18, 1996 – August 1, 2004), who lived in Connecticu ...
. ''Alex Scott: A Stand for Hope'' won the award for Best Documentary at the Reno, Oxford, Danville, West Chester, Lake Arrowhead and Reel Award film Festivals. Mendte was named best Pennsylvania Filmmaker for 2006 at the West Chester Film Festival.
Past Award Winner, West Chester Film Festival, 2006
References
External links
New WPIX Larry Mendte Page
Former WPIX Larry Mendte Page
The Mendte Report
Larry Mendte's Post for Philadelphia Magazine
Deja Vu Dad – Blog by Larry Mendte
Larry Mendte's Commentaries – Fan Site
*
Article in Philadelphia's CityPaper
Larry Mendte Blog Site
Larry Mendte Petition
* http://www.broadcastpioneers.com/mendte.html
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendte, Larry
1957 births
Living people
People from Lansdowne, Pennsylvania
American computer criminals
American television journalists
American infotainers
Television anchors from Philadelphia
Television anchors from New York City
Television anchors from San Diego
West Chester University alumni
American male journalists
Journalists from Pennsylvania
20th-century American journalists
21st-century American journalists
Regional Emmy Award winners