The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia

Steve Porter

Steve Porter served for ten years as an NBC News White House Correspondent during the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations. His primary assignments were to provide NBC with coverage of the president’s activities at home and abroad. On television, he was seen regularly on the NBC News “Sunrise” program that precedes the “TODAY” program, and he also provided reports for “TODAY” and for “NBC Nightly News.” He was a major contributor of syndication coverage for NBC News affiliates and syndication customers. In addition, he was the primary White House correspondent for the NBC Radio Network.

Following his retirement from NBC, he assisted the Associated Press in the development of ANR, the wire service’s all-news radio product and helped start “Sky Radio,” the all-news product that was delivered directly to commercial airliners by USA Today. In 1995, he purchased a share of WRNN Radio and moved to Myrtle Beach where he began WRNN’s morning news and talk program which has developed into the Grand Strand’s strongest morning product.

Prior to being assigned to the White House in 1983, Steve was, for ten years, one of the main anchors on the NBC Radio Network’s “News on the Hour” nationwide broadcasts from New York City. He would also cover spot news for the television network and was called upon from time to time to anchor network break-in bulletins and evening news breaks.

Steve was the original kick-off anchorman on WCBS Newsradio in New York City in 1967. The station continues that format with virtually the same on-air product to this day. Steve recently attended the station’s 40th anniversary Newsradio celebration at CBS headquarters in New York.

Steve was also the original kick-off anchorman on KYW Newsradio in Philadelphia in 1965. That station too continues today with the original format. Steve also did spot news reports for KYW-TV and won awards for his long running series “Black plus White equals Peace,” that was designed to give minorities a voice on KYW in an effort to prevent development of another Philadelphia riot.

Prior to Philadelphia, Steve was a morning television anchor on KONO-TV (ABC) in San Antonio, Texas and was news director of WFLA Radio (NBC) in Tampa, Florida where he also co-anchored the evening TV news at the age 23.

While attending the University of Miami School of Business, he worked full time for WGBS and WINZ, the two most powerful stations in Miami.

Steve has won numerous journalism awards from the Peabody to the Ohio State to the Janus award for economic reporting, the New York Bar Association , and the Headliner Award for his coverage of the first summit meeting in Moscow between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev and received an Alfred I. Dupont nomination for his documentary on the Isreali Lobby.

Steve and his wife, Robbie have three grown children. He is an instrument rated pilot and in his spare time likes to play golf, write his column for the Myrtle Beach Herald, dabble in book writing and generally just help out in the community.

The e-mail address of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia is pioneers@broadcastpioneers.com