Sandy Hill (Journalist)

Sandra Marth Hill (born February 2, 1947; Centralia, Washington) is best known as an American television journalist. She is also a writer and commercial real estate broker.

Early life

Born Sandra Lee Marth, Hill was raised on a farm in Centralia, Washington. Her father, John Marth, helped build the local Lutheran church. She was heavily involved with music and the church from an early age. She was smart and studious, graduating from Centralia High School near the top of her class. However, she was a self-proclaimed social outcast. That did not stop her from being crowned Miss Lewis County in 1965 and Miss Washington in 1966.^[1] She attended the University of Washington on scholarship where she studied Spanish and joined Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.^[2]

After college, Hill worked in HR for Seattle First National Bank, where she met Craig Hill, a junior banker at the time. The two married in 1969.

News career

In the 1960s, women were virtually nonexistent in television news, with the exception of the occasional "weather girl." ^[3] Hill had intended on going into international relations.^[4] By happenstance, Hill and her husband saw a newspaper advertisement looking for a women's editor on a local TV station. She applied and got the job three weeks later.^[5]

Hill began her career on air in 1969, by hosting a midday interview and news show on KIRO, the CBS affiliate in Seattle. Soon she doubled on the local evening news as a "street" reporter.^[6] She earned a devoted following in the Pacific Northwest. During her tenure at KIRO she won multiple local Emmy Awards for broadcasting. Locals also still remember her for hosting the "Big Money Movie."

Because of her success in Seattle, she was approached to co-anchor at CBS owned-and-operated KNXT (now KCBS-TV) in Los Angeles in 1974.^[7] When she accepted that position, she became the first female anchor in Los Angeles.^[8] Unfortunately, due to poor results from a focus group, she and a number of her fellow anchors were dismissed from KNXT in 1976.^[9] She immediately received an offer from the ABC owned-and-operated station KABC-TV.^[10]

Shortly after joining ABC, Hill was offered a national spot to join David Hartman as co-host of Good Morning America, where she debuted on April 25, 1977 as a replacement for Nancy Dussault.^[11] The format of the show was primarily driven by studio interviews led by Hartman. However, Hill successfully sought out her own interviews to conduct in the field.^[12]

In 1980, Hill left GMA and was replaced by Joan Lunden. Hill went on to work for CBS Sports and Wide World of Sports.

In 1982, Hill was asked by CBS to return to KNXT in Los Angeles as an anchor for the 4:30 news. In 1986, she was dismissed again by the station (which had changed its call letters to KCBS-TV two years ealier),^[13] to the disappointment of her fans.^[14] However, she returned as the Co-Host of CBS Morning News later that year.^[15] In 1988 she started with “Home” on ABC. She also worked with the British Government to create a travelog for Britain that eventually aired on PBS.

Personal life

In 1992 Hill, her son, and husband returned to their home state of Washington to raise their son. She is a hobbyist author, but won the Literary Contest held by PNWA for her book, “Dance While the Moon Shines”.^[16] The book is a tribute to her family, and their moonshining roots. Her husband and son continue to harass her about writing her own story as one of the first women in television news.

References