Roslyn Maria Abrams
(born September 7, 1948) is an American former television news
journalist
A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism.
Roles
Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
. She had a long career as an anchor on ''
Eyewitness News'', which is broadcast by
WABC-TV, working in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
. More recently she worked for
WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV (channel 2), branded CBS New York, is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–lic ...
, also in Manhattan, from 2004 to 2006.
Early life and education
Abrams holds a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree from
Western Michigan University, a master's degree from the
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
and an honorary doctorate of human letters from
New York Institute of Technology.
Career
Abrams received a New York Association of Black Journalists Award for the special "The Sounds of Harlem." She has been part of award-winning coverage for some of the biggest news stories from around the world, including
AIDS, the
Chernobyl disaster, the
end of apartheid in South Africa,
9/11, and the
Northeast blackout of 2003. She worked at
WSB-AM radio from 1975 to 1978. She worked on television at
WXIA-TV from 1978 to 1982, at
CNN from 1982 to 1983, and at
KRON-TV from 1983 to 1986.
In December 2003, Abrams was named to the Editorial Advisory Board of "Making Waves," the new quarterly publication of American women in radio and television. She is the current co-chair of NY READS TOGETHER a program sponsored by the
New York Women's Agenda.
New York
WABC-TV and WCBS-TV
Before joining WCBS-TV in 2004, Abrams had spent 18 years at WABC-TV, beginning in February 1986, first as a general reporter and later as 5 p.m. co-anchor. The quick move began Abrams's long association with the station. Her last partner at
WABC-TV was
Diana Williams, beginning in 2003. In 2003, she was offered a
contract
A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...
by
WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV (channel 2), branded CBS New York, is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–lic ...
to anchor CBS 2 News at 5 and 11.
Abrams then joined WCBS-TV as the co-anchor of "CBS2 News" at 5 and 11 p.m. on April 19, 2004. First she was paired with veteran New York news anchor
Ernie Anastos, who had co-anchored WABC Eyewitness News with her in the 1980s, and then with
Jim Rosenfield. In April 2006, she was moved from 11 p.m. to noon, co-anchoring with
Mary Calvi. Abrams was replaced at 11 p.m. with veteran
Dana Tyler (whom Abrams had replaced at 11 p.m. upon joining WCBS in 2003). In November 2006, however, Abrams left the air after WCBS-TV sports anchor
Chris Wragge and newly hired
Kristine Johnson (formerly of
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Media Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations r ...
and
MSNBC
MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...
) became the anchors at noon and 5 p.m. (and eventually moved from noon to 11 p.m.).
''New York Daily News'' report on Abrams departure
In popular culture
* In 2005, Abrams appeared as herself during a brief news segment in the feature film '' War of the Worlds'', an adaptation of H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...
novel of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise.
* Abrams appeared in the 2008 film '' Pride and Glory'', starring Ed Norton and Colin Farrell.
See also
* New Yorkers in journalism
References
External links
Announcement of Abrams's New Assignment
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070820054918/http://www.essence.com/essence/summit/bio_r_abrams.html Women Shaping the World: Roz Abrams
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abrams, Roz
1948 births
Journalists from Michigan
Living people
Television anchors from New York City
New York (state) television reporters
People from Lansing, Michigan
Television anchors from San Francisco
University of Michigan alumni
Western Michigan University alumni
American women television journalists
People from Briarcliff Manor, New York
20th-century American women journalists
20th-century American journalists
21st-century American women journalists
21st-century American journalists