The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia

Broadcast Pioneers member Trudy Haynes
Broadcast Pioneers Banquet at the Bala Golf Club, Philadelphia
Friday, November 21, 2008

Born on Tuesday, November 23, 1926, Broadcast Pioneers member Trudy Haynes, who made local history in August of 1965 as the market's first African-American television reporter, retired in December 1988 after 33 years on the air at KYW-TV, Channel 3.

Before breaking the color line in Philadelphia TV, Trudy was already a trailblazer in the industry. In the early 50's she was the first African-American poster model for Lucky Strike cigarettes. She entered broadcasting in 1956 as women's editor at WCHB Radio in Inkster, Michigan and hosted a 90-minute daily program for women.

After seven years in radio, she began her assignment for ABC owned WXYZ-TV in Michigan as the country's first African-American TV weathercaster. Trudy served many years as KYW 3's entertainment reporter and also hosted several public affairs programs including The Trudy Haynes Show, Sunday Magazine and Sunday Side Up.

Throughout her career she has interviewed news and entertainment celebrities from President Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to Sylvester Stallone, Denzel Washington and Tupac Shakur. She also initiated a news segment called "Trudy's Grapevine," a tongue-in-cheek celebrity gossip spot.

A native of New York City and a graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C., Trudy has received numerous TV awards and has been a member of several professional organizations. In 1999, Trudy Haynes was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia's "Hall of Fame."

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