Melba Tolliver | |
|---|---|
| Born | Melba Tolliver (1938-12-08)December 8, 1938 (age 87)[1] |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Years active | 1967–1994 |
Melba Tolliver (born December 8, 1939) is an Americanjournalist and formerNew York Citynews anchor andreporter.[2] She is best remembered for her defiant stance againstABC ownedWABC-TV when she refused to don awig orscarf to cover up herAfro in order to cover theWhite House wedding ofPresidentRichard Nixon's daughterTricia Nixon in 1971.[3]
Tolliver was born inRome, Georgia.
She worked as aregistered nurse and later became a secretary at ABC in November 1966.[4] Strikes by theAmerican Federation of Television and Radio Artists in April 1967 and by theNational Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians in September led to short stints where Tolliver filled in forMarlene Sanders.[4]
Tolliver later became a full-time reporter and anchor at WABC from 1967 to 1976. In the early 1970s, she was a recurring panelist onWhat's My Line? In 1976, she went toWNBC where she remained until 1980. She also worked atNews 12 Long Island from 1986 to 1994.[5] WithPia Lindstrom she was also half of the first all female co-anchor team in the New York television market.[6]
Tolliver has co-hosted, withGil Noble, ABC'sLike It Isseries which focused upon the Black Community.[7] Tolliver has a blog on her website and is working on a book about her experiences in the media. She is also featured in the documentary, "In Our Heads About Our Hair."[8] In 2015 Tolliver received a Distinguished Alumni Award fromEmpire State College.[9]
Among the American news personalities who were inspired and or influenced by Tolliver wasPBS News Hour anchorGwen Ifill.[10]
In 2015 Tolliver received theDistinguished Alumni Award from herAlma Mater,Empire State University.[11]
In 2024 Tolliver published the book "Accidental Anchorwoman: A Memoir of Chance, Choice, Change and Connection" (IngramSpark).[12][13][14]. The volume was the recipient of the 2024 "Outstanding Book" award from NABJ (National Association of Black Journalists).[15]
Wayne Dawkins writing of the volume in the periodicalAmerican Journalism reposted onTandFonline describes the tome as "A bird's-eye analysis ofcivil rights flashpoints, plus the changes that occurred during the television news media's adolescence".[16]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
.jpg) | This article aboutAfrican American topics is astub. You can help Wikipedia byadding missing information. |
