Patricia Jeanne Burns (January 27, 1952 – October 31, 2001) was an American journalist and television news anchor. Burns was a familiar face to television audiences in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, where she worked for many years for

KDKA-TV KDKA-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Jeannette-licensed CW affil ...

, a station for which her father, Bill Burns, was also a journalist and anchor. Father and daughter made history when on October 18, 1976, they began to anchor the news together.

Biography

Early life

Patricia Jeanne Burns was born in 1952, while her father was still working for radio station

KQV KQV (1410 AM) is a non-commercial radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and covering the Greater Pittsburgh Region. Owned by Broadcast Educational Communications, the station simulcasts FM 88.1 WKGO in Murrysville and airs an easy liste ...

. She attended Mt. Lebanon High School and went on to the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

Career

Her first job was at

WFAA-TV WFAA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Decatur-licensed Estrella TV affiliate KMPX (channel 29) ...

, the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

affiliate in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

. Burns, trying to make a name on her own, suffered a hostile work environment. Pittsburgh station

WTAE-TV WTAE-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with ABC. It has been owned by Hearst Television since the station's inception, making this one of two stations that have been built and signed on ...

tried to woo Burns back to Pittsburgh. She nearly accepted, but when her father's station heard about the proposal, they made a counteroffer, and Burns joined KDKA on July 15, 1974. In September 1976, the station made history when it paired father and daughter for the noon news. Initially, the move was criticized and labeled "The Patti and Daddy Show", but the concept proved popular with viewers. Burns anchored the news for over 20 years, until her relationship with station management deteriorated over the direction of the broadcast. Her last broadcast for KDKA was January 16, 1997. After her departure, she created Burns Communications, a video production company, and eventually contributed stories to news programs for

WQED-TV WQED (channel 13) is a PBS member television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Owned by WQED Multimedia, it is sister to public radio station WQED-FM (89.3). The two outlets share studios on Fifth Avenue near the Carnegie Me ...

, the local

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

affiliate. She worked for a wide range of charities and causes, including Animal Friends, St. Peter's Child Development Centers, and Magee-Women's Hospital Foundation. She was chosen by

Carlow University Carlow University is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1929 by the Sisters of Mercy. Carlow's thirteen athletic teams are the Celtics, a reflection of the university's Irish heritage and roots. In 201 ...

as its first Woman of Spirit and awarded honorary doctorates from

Rollins College Rollins College is a private college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several graduate programs. It is Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institution. History Rollins Colle ...

and

La Roche College La Roche University is a private university in McCandless, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1963 by the Sisters of Divine Providence as a Roman Catholic college and now sits on an campus in McCandless within the Diocese of Pittsburgh. History ...

Death

Burns was diagnosed with

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

in early 2001. She married longtime companion Charles Cohen, a noted lawyer in Pittsburgh, shortly after her diagnosis on May 18, 2001 at the

Allegheny County Courthouse The Allegheny County Courthouse in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is part of a complex (along with the old Allegheny County Jail) designed by H. H. Richardson. The buildings are considered among the finest examples of the Romanesque Revi ...

. Burns died on October 31, 2001, with memorial services held on December 9, 2001.

References

External links

Obituary for Patti Burns
at post-gazette.com

at pittsburghlive.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, Patti 1952 births 2001 deaths American television journalists Television personalities from Pittsburgh Journalists from Pennsylvania KDKA people American women television journalists 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American women