Chuck Scarborough facts for kids

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

Life and Career of a News Anchor

Early Life and Start in TV

Chuck Scarborough was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He went to the University of Southern Mississippi. Before starting his TV career, he served in the United States Air Force. He also has a special license to fly planes.

His journey in television began in Mississippi. He worked as a reporter at WLOX-TV in Biloxi and later at WDAM-TV in Laurel. After that, he moved to WAGA-TV in Atlanta.

Becoming a Main Anchor

In 1972, Chuck Scarborough got his first big anchoring job at WNAC-TV in Boston. He started as part of a two-person team. 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.

When he left WNAC-TV, Chuck Scarborough shared an important message. He said that race was the biggest challenge for Boston. A few months later, Boston faced serious racial issues. This happened because a court ordered the city to end its policy of separating students by race in public schools. While WNAC had usually been last in ratings among Boston's TV news stations, with Chuck Scarborough as anchor, it became number one for the 6 PM news.

Joining NBC News in New York

In March 1974, Chuck 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 the most experienced news anchor in the New York area. This happened when WABC-TV anchor Bill Beutel retired after 37 years. Chuck Scarborough then became the longest-serving English-language news anchor in New York in 2011. Five years later, he became the longest-serving anchor in New York television history, even more than Rafael Pineda from Spanish-language WXTV. For much of his first 20 years at NBC, he also appeared on the network as a reporter. He often anchored short news updates during prime-time. For example, he anchored NBC News' overnight coverage during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

At WNBC, he worked with many famous people. These included Marv Albert, Len Berman, Jack Cafferty, Dr. Frank Field, John Hambrick, Pat Harper, Pia Lindstrom, Sue Simmons, Michele Marsh, Al Roker, and Tom Snyder.

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

Retirement from Regular Anchoring

On July 14, 2017, Chuck Scarborough anchored the 11:00 PM news for the last time as a regular anchor. He had been doing that for 42 years. After that, he only worked 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). Chuck Scarborough still filled in for Ushery on the 11:00 PM news sometimes.

On November 21, 2024, Chuck Scarborough announced he would retire completely. His very last news broadcast was on December 12, 2024.

Awards and Achievements

Chuck Scarborough has won 36 local Emmy Awards. These awards celebrate 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 with Sue Simmons, who was his co-anchor from 1980 until she retired in 2012. They were the longest-running anchor team in New York City television history.

Personal Life

Chuck Scarborough is married to Ellen Ward Scarborough. He was also married two times 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. He and his family live in Stamford, Connecticut.

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

Books Written by Chuck Scarborough

Chuck Scarborough has written three novels:

• 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 made into a made for television movie in 1999. The movie was called Aftershock: Earthquake in New York and aired on the CBS television network.

See also

• New Yorkers in journalism