Broadcast Pioneers member Mort Crim was born on Wednesday, July 31, 1935. He is probably best known in our area as an anchor for “Eyewitness News” on KYW-TV, Channel 3.
He has also worked at WHAS-TV in Louisville, WBBM-TV in Chicago and WDIV-TV in Detroit. Crim was an anchor for ABC Radio doing hourly newscasts and hosting “News Around the World” for the network.
He left news anchoring in 1997. Rumor has it that Mort was one of ABC News President Roone Arledge’s top choices to host “ABC World News Tonight.” In 1984, Mort hosted a PBS-TV program called, “New Tech Times.” Mort also headed up “Mort Crim Communications, Inc.” which at one time was based here on the Main Line.
Crim was also a substitute for the legendary Paul Harvey on ABC Radio. Mort also had four well-known radio syndicated features; American Spirit, Second Thoughts, News You’ll Care About and One Moment Please, which was also a TV segment.
As a broadcast journalist and author, Mort Crim has traveled the world and examined the lives of men, women and children of every description. When people who seemingly possess "everything " are miserable while others whom we'd label "unfortunate" brim with humor and hope. There is only one conclusion: “What's going on around us is never as important as what's going on inside us,” says Mort.
As a professional speaker, Mort Crim draws from the thousands of interviews he’s conducted during a lifetime in journalism to show that happiness and success are never a matter of life’s circumstances. With stories of personal courage and triumph, Mort shares the lessons he has learned from people who have truly found the secret to leading a happy life. Mort now tours the world as a motivational speaker.
He has been outspoken on the need to elevate the news from the sensational to the truly significant. He believes human achievement and heroism should be given more airtime to balance the reports of human failures and tragedy. His evening newscasts have twice been named by United Press International as the Best Local TV Newscast in America.
Crim holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. In 1997, he was among the first distinguished Northwestern alumni inducted into Medill’s Hall of Achievement. In 1995, Mort Crim was awarded the Gold World Medal as Best Radio Personality at the New York Festivals International Radio Awards, and the following year received the Festival’s Silver Medal for Best Humor Writing.
Besides his very active professional career, Mort Crim is the author of seven books and currently is Chairman of Mort Crim Communications, Inc., a corporate communications company. He is a licensed pilot, holding an ATP (airline pilot) rating and flies his own plane to cover assignments and meet business and speaking schedules.
On Friday, November 20, 2009, Mort Crim was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia's "Hall of Fame."
From the official archives of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia
Photo originally donated by Broadcast Pioneers member Mort Crim
Written by Broadcast Pioneers historian Gerry Wilkinson
© 2009, Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia
All Rights Reserved
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