PRESS RELEASE
STEVE POWERS, NEW YORK TIMES RADIO NEWSCASTER, RETIRES
Steve Powers, a newscaster on 96.3 FM WQXR, most recently as part of the New York Times Radio news team, is retiring after 45 years in broadcasting. He has been a fixture on the New York news scene for many years; before coming to WQXR, he served as an anchor/reporter at WNYW-TV (Channel 5), host of “Steve Powers News-Talk” on WMCA, and a correspondent at the ABC Radio Network, as well as reporting news on the RKO Radio Network, WFAN, and WHN. He started his professional radio career in Connecticut at WADS, WICC, and WNAB.
Dr. Powers won an Emmy Award during his 1980-1993 tenure as an anchor/reporter for WNYW-TV in New York. He has also won a NY Press Club Deadline award and a Clio for radio. Dr. Powers earned a Ph.D. in Media Studies at New York University and taught as an associate professor at St. John’s University in New York City. He is the co-author of How to Watch TV News, with media theory pioneer Dr. Neil Postman. Dr. Powers is currently preparing a new edition of the book, which is scheduled for publication by Penguin Books in late 2007.
Steve Powers says he’s retiring after what he calls “a great adventure for a kid from the Bronx. What other job will give you the opportunity to meet President Kennedy in the Rose Garden of the White House, play with Dizzy Gillespie at the Blue Note and get chased by a mob in Crown Heights? I’ve met mayors, murderers, and the best…average people making their way through this difficult but rewarding life. I’m one lucky guy.”
Dr. Powers worked his way through school as a conga drummer and started broadcasting on the student radio station at the University of Virginia, WUVA. While enrolled, he was a member of the Jazz Club, which integrated the university auditorium with a concert by bebop legend Dizzy Gillespie. Dr. Powers played with Mr. Gillespie that night, and 30 years later again had the honor of playing with him, at New York's famed Blue Note jazz club. He has also performed with Tony Bennett, Joe Jones, David Amram, and Charlie Palmieri. Dr. Powers currently lives in upstate New York with his wife, Sheri Powers where he is active in playing music, writing and consulting.
Founded in 1936, 96.3 WQXR-FM was the nation’s first commercial classical music radio station, and since 1944 it has been owned and operated by The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT). The most listened-to classical station in the United States, with nearly a million listeners tuning in each week, WQXR also features regular news, analysis and commentary from correspondents of The New York Times. WQXR is available online at www.wqxr.com and through Radio@AOL. More information about the station and its programming are available at www.wqxr.com.
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STEVE POWERS, NEW YORK TIMES RADIO NEWSCASTER, RETIRES
Steve Powers, a newscaster on 96.3 FM WQXR, most recently as part of the New York Times Radio news team, is retiring after 45 years in broadcasting. He has been a fixture on the New York news scene for many years; before coming to WQXR, he served as an anchor/reporter at WNYW-TV (Channel 5), host of “Steve Powers News-Talk” on WMCA, and a correspondent at the ABC Radio Network, as well as reporting news on the RKO Radio Network, WFAN, and WHN. He started his professional radio career in Connecticut at WADS, WICC, and WNAB.
Dr. Powers won an Emmy Award during his 1980-1993 tenure as an anchor/reporter for WNYW-TV in New York. He has also won a NY Press Club Deadline award and a Clio for radio. Dr. Powers earned a Ph.D. in Media Studies at New York University and taught as an associate professor at St. John’s University in New York City. He is the co-author of How to Watch TV News, with media theory pioneer Dr. Neil Postman. Dr. Powers is currently preparing a new edition of the book, which is scheduled for publication by Penguin Books in late 2007.
Steve Powers says he’s retiring after what he calls “a great adventure for a kid from the Bronx. What other job will give you the opportunity to meet President Kennedy in the Rose Garden of the White House, play with Dizzy Gillespie at the Blue Note and get chased by a mob in Crown Heights? I’ve met mayors, murderers, and the best…average people making their way through this difficult but rewarding life. I’m one lucky guy.”
Dr. Powers worked his way through school as a conga drummer and started broadcasting on the student radio station at the University of Virginia, WUVA. While enrolled, he was a member of the Jazz Club, which integrated the university auditorium with a concert by bebop legend Dizzy Gillespie. Dr. Powers played with Mr. Gillespie that night, and 30 years later again had the honor of playing with him, at New York's famed Blue Note jazz club. He has also performed with Tony Bennett, Joe Jones, David Amram, and Charlie Palmieri. Dr. Powers currently lives in upstate New York with his wife, Sheri Powers where he is active in playing music, writing and consulting.
Founded in 1936, 96.3 WQXR-FM was the nation’s first commercial classical music radio station, and since 1944 it has been owned and operated by The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT). The most listened-to classical station in the United States, with nearly a million listeners tuning in each week, WQXR also features regular news, analysis and commentary from correspondents of The New York Times. WQXR is available online at www.wqxr.com and through Radio@AOL. More information about the station and its programming are available at www.wqxr.com.
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