Max Robinson
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Max Robinson (May 1, 1939 – December 20, 1988) was a television journalist and was the Chicago based co-anchor of ABC News "World News Tonight" from 1978-1983 in the United States, and is best known for being the first African American broadcast network news anchor in the United States. He was also a founder of the National Association of Black Journalists. Robinson influenced many African American journalists who have since had high-profile anchor positions on national news broadcasts, including Ed Bradley, Bryant Gumbel, Carole Simpson, Lester Holt, Robin Roberts, Deborah Roberts, and Gwen Ifill.
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[edit] Career
Born in Richmond, Virginia, Robinson worked in radio in his early years, including a stint at WSSV-AM in Petersburg Virginia, where he called himself "Max The Player," and later at WANT-AM in Richmond.
Robinson began his television career in 1959, when he was hired for a news job at WTOV-TV in Portsmouth, Virginia. He had to read the news while hidden behind a slide of the station's logo. One night, Robinson had the slide removed, and was fired the next day.
He later went to Washington, D.C. based WRC-TV, and stayed for three years, winning six journalism awards for coverage of civil rights events such as the riots that followed the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
In 1969, Robinson joined the Eyewitness News team at WTOP-TV (now WUSA-TV) in Washington, D.C. He was teamed with anchor Gordon Peterson, and the newscast took off. During that time, he was so well liked by viewers, that when Hanafi Muslims took hostages at a Washington Mosque, they would only speak with Robinson.
[edit] ABC News
Robinson was tapped by Roone Arledge to become the Chicago-based co-anchor of ABC World News Tonight in 1978 after Arledge had seen Robinson in a documentary on CBS' 60 Minutes. He served in that position until 1983, when ABC named London-based World News Tonight co-anchor Peter Jennings the sole anchor following the death of Washington-based WNT co-anchor Frank Reynolds.
Robinson's ABC tenure was marked by conflicts between him and the management of ABC News over viewpoints and the portrayal of Black America in the news. In addition, he was known by his co-workers to show up late for work or sometimes not show up at all, along with his moods, and his use of alcohol escalated. In addition, Robinson was known to fight racism at any turn and often felt unworthy of the admiration he received and was not pleased with what he had accomplished. He was often considered a mentor to young black broadcast journalists.
[edit] Max unleashed
During most of Robinson's tenure, ABC News used the Westar satellite to feed Robinson's segment of WNT from Chicago to New York. TVRO receiver earth stations were also coming into use at the time, and anyone who knew where to find the satellite feeds could view the feed. On the live feed, Robinson could be seen to have a drink or two, but never during the actual aired segment, which led some bars around the country to even have drink specials during the nearly 90 minutes, and inviting patrons to come in and see the "Max 'R'" feed. ABC eventually caught on to what was happening, and even resorted to hide what was going on by pasting a slide with the words "ABC News Chicago" on the screen during the live feed during times that Robinson was not live over the actual WNT broadcast. In addition, Robinson could often be seen being harsh towards those who worked around him during the live feed.[1]
[edit] Departure from ABC
By the time Robinson departed ABC News to become the first black anchor at Chicago's WMAQ-TV in 1984, he had been relegated to the weekend news and news briefs. Robinson would not last at WMAQ, leaving the station in 1985.
[edit] Health decline and death
Robinson had been found to have AIDS while he was hospitalized for pneumonia in an Illinois hospital, but he kept it a secret. In the fall of 1988, Robinson was in Washington to deliver a speech at Howard University's School of Communications when he became increasingly ill. Robinson checked himself into Howard University Hospital, where he died of complications due to AIDS on December 20, 1988, aged only 49.
At his service, he was eulogized by the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Robinson was married three times and had four children. He was a brother to Randall Robinson.
[edit] References
- ^ Robert B. Cooper, Jr.; Television's Pirates: Hiding Behind Your Picture Tube, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Max Robinson at the Internet Movie Database
- Africanpubs Biography
- Clip from one of the infamous "Max R" feeds (contains coarse language)
- ABC News' "Time Tunnel" page containing clips of numerous newscasts on which Robinson appeared
| Preceded by Harry Reasoner and Barbara Walters |
ABC World News Tonight anchor with coanchors, Frank Reynolds, and Peter Jennings July 10, 1978–September 4, 1983 |
Succeeded by Peter Jennings |
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