Chuck Scarborough facts for kids

Charles Bishop Scarborough III (born November 4, 1943), known as Chuck Scarborough, is an American television journalist and author. For many years, from 1974 to 2024, he was the main news anchor at WNBC in New York City. WNBC is the main station for the NBC Television Network in New York. He also appeared on NBC News programs.

Chuck Scarborough's Life and Career

Chuck Scarborough grew up in Pittsburgh and went to the University of Southern Mississippi. Before becoming a journalist, he served in the United States Air Force. He also has a special license to fly airplanes as a commercial pilot.

Starting in Television News

Scarborough's career in TV started in Mississippi. He worked as a reporter at WLOX-TV in Biloxi and later at WDAM-TV in Laurel. After that, he moved to Atlanta to work at WAGA-TV.

His first big job as a news anchor was in 1972 at WNAC-TV in Boston. He was first hired to work with another anchor, Lee Nelson. But soon, he became the only anchor for the station's news shows. He also hosted a weekly show called Mass Reaction. On this show, people could come to the studio and ask questions to news reporters and important people.

A Big Moment in Boston

In his last broadcast at WNAC-TV, Scarborough shared his thoughts on a very important issue. He said that the biggest challenge for Boston was about race. A few months later, Boston faced difficulties because of a court order. This order aimed to end unfair separation of students in public schools. Even though WNAC had usually been the third most-watched news station in Boston, with Scarborough as anchor, it became number one for the 6 PM news.

Joining NBC News in New York

In March 1974, Scarborough joined NBC News. He became a co-anchor for WNBC-TV's new 5:00 PM newscast, NewsCenter 4. This show was later renamed News 4 New York. Over time, he became the main anchor for the 6 PM and 11 PM news.

In 2003, he became known as the "dean" (meaning the most experienced or longest-serving) of New York TV news anchors. This happened when WABC-TV anchor Bill Beutel retired after 37 years. In 2011, Scarborough passed Beutel as the longest-serving English-language news anchor in New York. Five years later, he also became the longest-serving anchor in New York television history. He even passed Rafael Pineda, who worked for a Spanish-language station.

For many years, Scarborough also appeared on the NBC network. He worked as a correspondent and often anchored short news updates. For example, he anchored NBC News' overnight coverage when the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake happened.

Working with Other News Stars

At WNBC, Chuck Scarborough worked with many famous people. Some of them include Marv Albert, Len Berman, Jack Cafferty, Dr. Frank Field, John Hambrick, Pat Harper, Pia Lindstrom, Sue Simmons, Michele Marsh, Al Roker, and Tom Snyder.

He also hosted other TV shows that were shown across the country. These included Images – A Year in Review and Memories...Then and Now in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He also co-anchored a documentary series called Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow with Maria Shriver and Mary Alice Williams.

Later Years and Retirement

On July 14, 2017, Scarborough anchored the 11:00 PM news for the last time as a regular anchor. He had been doing that for 42 years! He decided to work only the 6 PM news. Stefan Holt, the son of NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt, took his place at 11 PM. (Later, David Ushery took over from Holt.) Scarborough still filled in for the 11:00 PM news when Ushery was off. On November 21, 2024, Chuck Scarborough announced he would be retiring. His very last news broadcast was on December 12, 2024.

Awards and Honors

Chuck Scarborough has won 36 local Emmy Awards. These awards recognize excellence in television. In 2005, he was one of the first people to be added to the New York State Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame. He was inducted along with Sue Simmons, who was his co-anchor from 1980 until she retired in 2012. They worked together longer than any other anchor team in New York City television history.

Personal Life

Chuck Scarborough is married to Ellen Ward Scarborough. He was married before to Anne Ford and Linda Gross. He has two children, Chad and Elizabeth. His daughter Elizabeth also became a television journalist, following in her father's footsteps. Chuck Scarborough and his family live in Stamford, Connecticut.

It's important to know that Chuck Scarborough is not related to MSNBC anchor Charles Joseph "Joe" Scarborough.

Novels Written by Chuck Scarborough

Chuck Scarborough has written three novels, which are types of books that tell a story:

• Stryker (1978), ISBN: 0-02-606920-2.
• The Myrmidon Project (1980), ISBN: 0-698-11054-4.
• Aftershock (1991), ISBN: 0-517-58014-4.

His novel Aftershock was even made into a made for television movie in 1999. The movie was called Aftershock: Earthquake in New York and was shown on the CBS television network.

See also

• New Yorkers in journalism