Steve Powers
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Steve Powers (born February 25, 1934) is a highly accomplished and respected journalist and teacher who has enjoyed a 45 year career in both radio and television. Born in New York City, Powers has worked there for most of his career. Currently, Powers is the anchor of noon-6:00 P.M.newscasts for New York Times Radio, and the writer/producer/voice of the "Health Times" medical reports on WQXR-FM, NY.
From 1980-1993 he was the anchor/reporter for WNYW-TV Channel 5 News, where he was awarded an Emmy Award in 1981. In 1986 he was also nominated for an Emmy for an Outstanding Feature story. In 1992 Powers co-authored the highly renowned book, "How to Watch TV News" with media theory pioneer Dr. Neil Postman. Powers is currently working on a new edition of the book, which is scheduled for publication by Penguin Books in late 2007.
Powers presently lives in upstate New York with his wife, Sheri Powers and his grandson Hip Hop artist Dov Powers. He has four adult children by a previous marriage: Lisa, Marisa, Laura and Anthony.
Life in Journalism:
Growing up in New York City Powers had a love for music, but preferred stickball to practicing piano. He taught himself Latin percussion and became a professional musician playing with music luminaries, Willie Rodriguez, Charlie Palmieri and Randy Carlos. Over the years, he had the privilege of playing drums with Tony Bennett, Joe Jones, and David Amram. He worked his way through school as a musician and started broadcasting on the student radio station at the University of Virginia, WUVA. While attending the University of Virginia, Powers was a member of the Jazz Club, which integrated the university auditorium with a concert by bebop legend, Dizzy Gillespie. Powers played with Mr. Gillespie that night and 30 years later Powers again had the honor of playing with Gillespie, at New York's famed Blue Note. After U.Va., Powers attended the City College of New York (CCNY) where he became editor of Roundhouse Magazine. In 1956 he received a degree in Business Administration at City College of New York.
After graduation and a stint as a Search and Rescue officer in the US Coast Guard in Puerto Rico, Powers returned to New York and started looking for work as a jazz disc jockey. He landed a job at WADS, in Ansonia, Connecticut in 1961 as a newscaster and discovered he had a passion for broadcast journalism. He became a newscaster and news director for radio stations in Connecticut and in 1963 anchored the coverage of the assassination of John F. Kennedy on WICC for 13 straight hours Powers was given the opportunity to work as a newsman at WMCA, NY and later anchored his own highly rated morning drive-time news/talk show. He left WMCA in 1972 to become a correspondent at ABC radio network news and worked at RKO radio network news. In 1980, Powers became an anchor/reporter on television at WNYW-TV, NY (Fox-TV) where he worked for 13 years. He became the first reporter to cover Beatle John Lennon's death on December 8, 1980, broadcasting the first network radio reports of Lennon's assassination while assisting with WNYW-TV's television coverage of the story.
In addition to his broadcast work, Powers has also lent his voice narrating Aaron Copeland's Lincoln Portrait in concert and many diverse commercials and documentaries.
Receives Ph.D. and Becomes Professor:
In 1987 Powers earned a Ph.D. in Media Studies at New York University. Among the courses Powers studied: Communication Theory, History of the Media, Sociology of the Media, Language Habits and Human Affairs, and The Communication Revolution.
In addition to his work in radio and television, he served as a college professor in the field of media communications. From 1976 to 1993 Powers periodically taught as an adjunct professor at the Columbia School of Journalism, The New School, and New York University. In 1993, he became an Associate Professor at St. John's University teaching journalism and media.
Becoming an Author:
In 1992, Dr. Neil Postman and Dr. Powers collaborated on a book, How to Watch TV News, which is a no-holds barred revelation of the difference between what TV news says it is presenting and what it actually delivers - "real news" versus entertainment fodder. Many college professors and teachers have made "How To Watch TV News" a required reading for their journalism and media literacy courses and other journalists and critics have praised the book for its content. More than just an expose, this "must read" illuminates its biases, strengths, and weaknesses as well as the incredible influence of commercials. Insightful and thought provoking, Postman and Powers are by no means against TV as a news medium, but they warn us to use it intelligently and with full awareness of its biases. Powers is currently revising the book, which will be released in late 2007 published by Penguin Books.
PROFESSIONAL HONORS AND AWARDS:
1986 Emmy Nomination Best Feature
1981 Group Emmy Award, Member Best News Broadcast
1981 NY Press Club Deadline Award, Best TV News Reporting on a Breaking Story
1982 UPI NYS Broadcast Nomination, Best Enterprise TV Awards News Reporting
1978 NY Board of Education Career Award, Helping Youths
1970 Clio Award, Broadcast Radio Promo
