| Wilma Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 24, 1946 Garfield Heights, Ohio |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | television news anchor |
Wilma Smith (born July 24, 1946) is an American television news anchor for Fox-TV affiliate station WJW-TV, Channel 8, in Cleveland, Ohio.
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Born Wilma Pokorny, Smith was born and raised in Garfield Heights, a southeast side Cleveland suburb. She is a 1964 Graduate of Garfield Heights High School. She serves as co-anchor for the 6:00 p.m. newscast with Lou Maglio on Cleveland Fox affiliate WJW-TV 8.
Smith is a graduate of Bowling Green State University with an undergraduate double major in speech and English. Smith also holds a Master's Degree in Broadcast Journalism.
After starting her TV career at a station in Richmond, Virginia, Smith became co-host of the Afternoon Exchange--an early evening news/interview program for the local ABC-TV affiliate WEWS-TV 5 from 1977-1982. She later co-hosted the news program Live On Five from 1982 until her departure in December 1993, as well as co-anchoring the 11 p.m. news at WEWS with Ted Henry for 10 years afterwards (1983–1993).
Smith (after waiting out a no compete contractual clause) moved to WJW in 1994, right around the time the station switched from a CBS affiliate to a Fox affiliate. From 1995-2005, she co-anchored the 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts with longtime anchorman Tim Taylor. In 2005, Smith and Taylor cut back to only doing the 6 p.m. news. In December 2005, Taylor retired and was replaced by Lou Maglio.
Among the many awards and citations Smith has achieved, Smith is the recipient of 10 local Emmy Awards for excellence in her television work. She was voted "Cleveland's Most Watchable Woman" by local viewers and "Best Anchorperson in Cleveland" in a poll of more than one million voters.
Additionally, has also been voted "Anchor of Excellence" by the National Association of Career Women, "Newscaster of the Year," a "Cleveland Pacesetter" and "Best Anchorperson" by Cleveland Magazine, and she is a member of the Ohio Television/Radio Hall of Fame. Wilma appeared on the cover of Cleveland Magazine five times.
Smith still resides in Geauga County with her husband Tom Smith and her two dogs. She talks about her one dog, Clifford getting attacked by a coyote in Dick Goddard's 2005 Weather Almanac.