Ralph Apperson Renick (August 9, 1928 – July 11, 1991) was a pioneer American television journalist for
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...
's
WTVJ
WTVJ (channel 6) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Fort Lauderdale–licensed WSCV (c ...
, channel 4 (now channel 6),
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...
's first television station.
He was WTVJ's first and longest running news anchor and the driving force behind television news in
South Florida
South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of ...
from the station's inception in March 1949 until his departure nearly 36 years later in 1985.
[
]
Education
Renick attended and graduated from the University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, ...
, where he studied under an H. V. Kaltenborn scholarship. Kaltenborn was an eminent CBS Radio
CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broa ...
commentator. While at the University of Miami, Renick interned with WTVJ
WTVJ (channel 6) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Fort Lauderdale–licensed WSCV (c ...
, then channel 4, and would build a 36-year career at the station.
Career
Renick was unopposed as a South Florida anchor from 1949 when WTVJ aired programs from all networks via kinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940 ...
s, until it became exclusively a CBS affiliate in 1956. In that year, WCKT (now WSVN
WSVN (channel 7) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is the flagship station of locally based Sunbeam Television. WSVN's studios are located on 79th Street Causeway ( SR 934) in North ...
), channel 7 began broadcasting in Miami as an NBC affiliate station, followed in the late 1950s by WPST-TV (now WPLG-TV
WPLG (channel 10) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, affiliated with ABC. The station is owned by Berkshire Hathaway as its sole broadcast property. WPLG's studios are located on West Hallandale Beach Boulevard in Pembroke ...
), channel 10, as 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 ...
's outlet in Miami (WTVJ was purchased by 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 ...
in 1987, but would not become an NBC station until 1989, when WSVN, the former NBC station, became a Fox affiliate, and WCIX assumed the CBS affiliation from WTVJ). Despite a strong attempt to challenge Renick and WTVJ over the years, he remained the dominant and number one rated news anchor for his entire 36-year run.
In 1957, Renick made history by broadcasting the first of nearly 30 years of nightly editorials on his 6 pm newscast, ''The Ralph Renick Report''. Two years later, in 1959, he traveled to Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
for an exclusive interview with its new socialist revolutionary prime minister Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 2 ...
, and later that same year to the Kremlin
The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (Ru ...
, to interview Soviet Premier
The Premier of the Soviet Union (russian: Глава Правительства СССР) was the head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The office had four different names throughout its existence: Chairman of the ...
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev ...
. In 1960, Renick named Dr. Manolo Reyes, a former lawyer in Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
, and a pioneering Spanish-language broadcaster, to launch South Florida's first Spanish-language newscast on WTVJ.
In 1967, he hired Jane Chastain Jane Chastain (born March 12, 1943) was the first woman sportscaster on the local and national level in the United States and is a current conservative political writer and commentator.
Early life
Jane Steppe was born in Knoxville, Tenn. to Lina ...
, the nation's first female sportscaster. A year later, in 1968, Renick made history again by hiring South Florida's first black reporter, C.T. Taylor.
Renick pushed WTVJ to pioneer video tape and ENG (Electronic News Gathering
Electronic news-gathering (ENG) or electronic journalism (EJ) is usage of electronic video and audio technologies by reporters to gather and present news instead of using film cameras. The term was coined during the rise of videotape technol ...
) in late 1974 and by November 1975 had the state's first truly mobile live truck up and running. Shortly after 3:00 pm on November 30, 1975, Renick broke
Broke may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Film and television
* ''Broke'' (1991 film), a 1991 British television film by Stephen Bill in the anthology series ''ScreenPlay''
* Broke (2009 film), a Canadian documentary film
* '' Broke*'', ...
into regular programming to report an attempted assassination on Ronald Reagan, in town for a speech at the Miami Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the greater Miami metropolitan area with over 1,000 daily flights to 167 domestic and international destinations, including most co ...
Ramada Inn
Ramada is a large American multinational hotel chain owned by Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. As of December 31, 2018, it operates 811 hotels with 114,614 rooms across 63 countries under the Ramada brand.
Name
The ''Ramada'' name derives from ...
. Because WTVJ's live capability was in place, Renick was able to throw to reporter Bob Mayer for the station's first live mobile field report (See link below).
Renick, then a widower with six children, served on the board of directors of the Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...
from October 1977 to May 1981.[ He also served as president of the Associated Press Broadcasters, an advisory group for the AP's news division. Additionally, Renick was also president of the ]Radio-Television News Directors Association
The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA, pronounced the same as " rotunda"), formerly the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), is a United States-based membership organization of radio, television, and online news dire ...
.
Though Renick and WTVJ would continue to dominate news ratings throughout the mid-1980s, his unique position at the station began to change when the founder and longtime owner of WTVJ, Wometco Enterprises
Wometco Enterprises (also known simply as Wometco) is an American company headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida; a suburb of Miami. It was once a large media company with diversified holdings, but slowly sold off its assets during the early 1980s ...
, Inc., sold off the Wometco empire following the death of founder and President Mitchell Wolfson
Mitchell Wolfson Sr. (1900 – January 28, 1983) was an American businessman, theatre owner, politician, and founder of Wometco Enterprises.
Biography
Wolfson was born in 1900 in Key West, Florida. He went to school in Key West and at Erasmu ...
in 1983. The station was acquired by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its stra ...
(KKR), an investment firm, for $1 billion, then the largest leveraged buyout in U.S. history.
Retirement
During the majority of his tenure at WTVJ
WTVJ (channel 6) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Fort Lauderdale–licensed WSCV (c ...
, Renick reported directly to Mitchell Wolfson
Mitchell Wolfson Sr. (1900 – January 28, 1983) was an American businessman, theatre owner, politician, and founder of Wometco Enterprises.
Biography
Wolfson was born in 1900 in Key West, Florida. He went to school in Key West and at Erasmu ...
. He was, in fact, believed to be the only news director
A news director is an individual at a broadcast station or network or a newspaper who is in charge of the news department. In local news, the news director is typically in charge of the entire news staff, including journalists, news presenters ...
in local American television news to report directly to a station owner rather than a station's general manager. As a result, Renick had unprecedented authority before Wolfson's death.
After the acquisition, KKR began to structure WTVJ's newsroom differently in the more traditional way of the 1980s with multiple persons in management, and slowly stripped Renick of that authority, making it uncomfortable for him to continue within his unique role as the station's top anchor, editorialist, news director, and vice president for news. As a result, Renick made the preemptive decision to resign on his terms rather than be forced out by KKR.
On April 10, 1985, Renick appeared for the last time on WTVJ,[ telling his audience "It is my decision, effective tonight, to step down as vice president and news director of WTVJ, and also relinquish my duties as newscaster/editorialist on this program." At the time, he did not announce what his plans were. He simply told viewers "I thank you for being the most supportive TV news audience anyone could ever hope to have." He ended his run on the station with his traditional sign-off, "Good night and may the good news be yours," but then added these three words: "... and hopefully mine."
Within six weeks, Renick announced he would be a candidate in the 1986 race for ]Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
as a Democrat.[ He spent $100,000 of his own money on his failed gubernatorial bid before quitting the race after six months.
In 1988, Renick returned to the air once again, after signing a multi-year contract with WCIX (now WFOR) to do a nightly commentary called "The Ralph Renick Report." As his health began to fail, Renick officially retired in September 1990.][
]
Death and legacy
After spending the last months of his life hospitalized, Renick died on July 11, 1991, at Cedars Medical Center in Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...
of complications from hepatitis
Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver parenchyma, liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), Anorexia (symptom), poor appetite ...
and liver disease
Liver disease, or hepatic disease, is any of many diseases of the liver. If long-lasting it is termed chronic liver disease. Although the diseases differ in detail, liver diseases often have features in common.
Signs and symptoms
Some of the s ...
. He was a month away from his 63rd birthday. His funeral mass at St. Mary's Cathedral was presided over by then Archbishop Edward McCarthy and was packed to standing room only. It was broadcast live in a 2-hour special report on WTVJ
WTVJ (channel 6) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Fort Lauderdale–licensed WSCV (c ...
.
News of Ralph Renick's death was the lead story on every Miami station, and was the end of an era in television news.
When WTVJ's analog nightlight service ended on June 26, 2009, long-time anchor Bob Mayer said farewell, and ended the analog transmission by running archive footage of Renick uttering his sign-off catchphrase, freeze-framing as he smiles, accompanied by a short, bombastic orchestral piece.
Accolades
* 1984: Paul White Award, Radio Television Digital News Association
The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA, pronounced the same as " rotunda"), formerly the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), is a United States-based membership organization of radio, television, and online news dire ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Renick, Ralph
1928 births
1991 deaths
People from Miami
Television anchors from Miami
Deaths from hepatitis
University of Miami alumni
Journalists from New York City