Maureen Bunyan
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Maureen Bunyan is a Washington, D.C.-based television journalist.
Currently she is the lead co-anchor at WJLA-TV, seen on ABC 7 News at 6 and 11 p.m. on weeknights.
Bunyan was born in Aruba, the eldest of three daughters, and settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her family when she was 11. After the death of her mother Wilhemina, a nurse, Bunyan and her family continued to pursue educational opportunities; at one point, all of the members of the immediate family were enrolled at local colleges and universities, each studying for an undergraduate degree.
Bunyan started her journalism career freelancing at the Milwaukee Journal while attending the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee nearby, then went on to television jobs at WGBH-TV in Boston and WCBS-TV in New York before arriving in Washington in 1973 and joining WTOP-TV (now WUSA-TV), a station that was known for its Eyewitness News team which included Max Robinson and Gordon Peterson. Originally a reporter and weekend co-anchor with Patrick McGrath (now at WTTG-TV), Bunyan was promoted to co-anchor alongside Peterson at 6 p.m. after Robinson joined ABC News in 1978 (she would add the 11 p.m. newscast a decade later) and settled in as a member of alocal news team that also included sportscaster Glenn Brenner and meteorologist Gordon Barnes. In addition to reporting on major local, national and international stories, she also hosted the award-winning magazine programs 22:26 and Studio Nine.
On December 11, 1995, after the mangement at WUSA offered her an anchor demotion and salary cut to stay at the station, Bunyan surprised viewers when she announced her resignation on the air during the 6 p.m. news. Channel 9 soon afterwards lost their first-place spot in the ratings to rival WRC-TV. As for Bunyan herself, she briefly worked for MSNBC and ran a public relations firm for a few years before returning to the Washington airwaves in February of 1999 replacing Paul Berry as the lead anchor at WJLA-TV. Five years later, she was reunited with longtime friend and former WUSA co-anchor Gordon Peterson when they were teamed up on the 6 p.m. news. This has helped WJLA move from third to second place in that timeslot behind current leader WRC.
During the many years she has worked in Washington, she has received numerous awards. Ms. Bunyan also attended the the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, where she earned a Master's degree.
