Reynelda Muse

Last updated
Reynelda Muse
Born (1946-11-16) November 16, 1946 (age 77)
Ohio U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationB.A., English, Ohio State University
Occupation Television news anchor
Years active1968–1997
Employer(s) KCNC-TV
CNN
Spouses
  • Daniel Muse
  • 11Marion Iverson
Children3
Parent(s)Arthur Allan Ware
Evelyn Cook
Awards Emmy Award (1988)
Denver Press Club Hall of Fame (1996)
Colorado Women's Hall of Fame (1997)
Silver Circle of the Heartland Chapter of NATAS (1997)
Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado Hall of Fame (1999)

Reynelda Muse (born November 16, 1946) [1] is a former American television news anchor. In 1969 she became the first woman and first African American television news anchor in Colorado, co-anchoring a newscast at KOA-TV (later renamed KCNC-TV) in Denver. In 1980 she was part of the first group of anchors on CNN. She is the winner of many awards, including an Emmy Award, and has been inducted into numerous halls of fame. The Reynelda Muse Television Journalism Scholarship, annually awarded to an African American student majoring in television journalism, was established in her honor by the Colorado Association of Black Journalists.

Contents

Early life and education

She was born Reynelda Ware in Ohio, the daughter of Arthur Allan Ware, originally of Pittsburgh, and Evelyn Cook. She has one sister. [2] She attended Ohio State University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in English in 1968. [3]

Career

Fresh out of college and newly married to a University of Denver law student, Muse joined KOA-TV (Channel 4) in 1968 as a general assignment reporter. [4] [5] Her hiring represented a commitment to diversity by the station's new owner, General Electric, but her reception in the newsroom was frosty: the first reporter assigned to work with her told her, "I have a friend who has been trying to get into broadcasting for a long time, but they told him if he was a black woman he would've gotten hired". [5] Muse said, "After we went out, he threw all his notes at me and told me to write the story". [5] She also felt the other newscasters were "protective" of her taking on "hard news" stories. [5] A few months after taking the anchor seat, she decided to assert her identity by wearing an Afro, which was criticized by staff and viewers alike. [5] At one point, she submitted her resignation rather than edit a story that reflected poorly on an employee of one of the station's advertisers. General Electric ordered her rehired immediately. [5]

In 1969 she was promoted to co-anchor a 12:00 noon news program with Clyde Davis. [5] Thus she became the first woman and first African American television news anchor in Colorado. [6] [7] In 1974 Muse and Davis were named co-anchors of the key 5:00 pm and 10:00 pm newscasts. [5]

In 1980 Muse left Channel 4 to become one of the first 12 anchors on CNN in Atlanta, Georgia. [3] [4] [6] Following rehearsals in May, CNN went on the air on June 1, 1980, with Muse co-anchoring the 8:00 pm broadcast segment with Lou Waters. [8] [9] For the next four years, she commuted between Atlanta and her home and family in Denver. [5]

In 1984 Muse returned to Channel 4 to co-anchor the station's new Colorado Evening News program at 6:30 pm [6] [10] with Bill Stuart, [5] [11] a post she filled until November 1997. [10]

In addition to her news anchoring and reporting, Muse appeared on public television as the co-host, with Harry Smith, of the weekly interview show Smith & Muse, which debuted on the KRMA-TV public television station in September 1980. [3] [12] She also hosted the American Skyline series exploring "cultural events, music and art around the United States" for Denver's Pacific Mountain network, [3] [13] and narrated the 1981 Spoonful of Loving' documentary series on childhood development for KRMA-TV. [14] For many years, hers was one of the pre-recorded voices greeting and directing passengers on the underground trains at the Denver International Airport. [5] [15] [16]

In October 1997 Muse announced her decision to retire from television news; her last newscast was on November 26, 1997. [10] She cited changes in programming at the station, which planned to replace the 6:30 pm news program with the game show Hollywood Squares , as influencing her decision. [1] [10] She added that she had become "somewhat disenchanted" with television news:

If you look at recent shows, there's a lot more promotional material, promoting the network shows, promoting this and that. If you look at the actual story content for hard news, it's going down. It's just not as satisfying. This bottom-line economy and market we find ourselves in is perhaps driving these decisions. They're probably cost effective, but I don't think they're good journalism. [1]

After her retirement, Muse took on freelance projects, including doing voice-overs, producing documentaries, and media consulting. [5] [17]

Other activities

Cherry Creek Arts Festival CherryCreekAF.jpg
Cherry Creek Arts Festival

Muse maintained a close association with the Denver arts community, being the spokesperson for Arts for Colorado and a member of the advisory boards of the Mayor's Commission on the Arts, Culture and Film; the Cherry Creek Arts Festival; the Metro State College Center for the Visual Arts; the Denver International Film Society; and the black theater company Shadow Theatre. [3] [18] She produced a weekly spot for KCNC-TV called "City Beats" spotlighting the arts. [3]

She was also a guest lecturer at the University of Colorado School of Journalism and other schools. [7]

Awards and honors

Muse won an Emmy Award in 1988 for writing and reporting the documentary Ramses II on KCNC-TV. [19] She received Emmy nominations in 1990, [20] 1993, [21] and 1996. [22]

In 1993 she was the first female recipient of the Broadcaster of the Year award from the Colorado Broadcasters Association. [7] [23] She also won the First Amendment Freedom Prize from the Anti-Defamation League. [7] The Colorado Black Journalists Association gave her their Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993. [23] In 1976 the Colorado Press Women named her their annual Woman of Achievement. [24]

She was inducted into several halls of fame: the Denver Press Club Hall of Fame (1996), [25] the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame (1997), [7] the Silver Circle of the Heartland Chapter of NATAS (1997), [3] and the Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado Hall of Fame (1999). [4]

Fifteen years after her retirement as a news anchor, she was among 75 finalists selected by readers in a Denver Post survey as one of "Colorado's most influential women". [26]

The Reynelda Muse Television Journalism Scholarship was established in her honor in 1998 by the Colorado Association of Black Journalists. [27] [28] The one-year scholarship is awarded annually to an African American student majoring in television journalism at an accredited Colorado college. [29]

Personal life

Reynelda Muse's first husband was Daniel Muse, a fellow Ohioan and University of Denver Law School graduate [30] who served as Colorado Assistant Attorney General from 1975 to 1979 and Colorado Public Utilities Commissioner from 1979 to 1984. [31] They married in 1969 and divorced in 1991. [30] They have three children. [32] From 1974 to 1987 the family lived in the Schulz-Neef House, an historic home built in 1881 in the Whittier neighborhood of Denver. [15] [33] Muse remarried to Marion Iverson in 1997. [10] Following her retirement from television news, Muse relocated to Gary, Indiana, where Iverson was a professor of labor studies at Indiana University Northwest. [10]

Related Research Articles

KCNC-TV, branded CBS Colorado, is a television station in Denver, Colorado, United States, serving as the market's CBS outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, and maintains studios on Lincoln Street in downtown Denver; its transmitter is based on Lookout Mountain, near Golden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KMGH-TV</span> ABC affiliate in Denver

KMGH-TV is a television station in Denver, Colorado, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Sterling-licensed independent station KCDO-TV, channel 3. The two stations share studios on East Speer Boulevard in Denver's Speer neighborhood; KMGH-TV's transmitter is located atop Lookout Mountain, near Golden.

KUSA is a television station in Denver, Colorado, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate KTVD. The two stations share studios on East Speer Boulevard in Denver's Speer neighborhood; KUSA's transmitter is located atop Lookout Mountain, near Golden. In addition to its main studios, the station also operates a secondary studio and news bureau on Canyon Avenue in Fort Collins.

KDVR is a television station in Denver, Colorado, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is simulcast full-time over satellite station KFCT in Fort Collins. Nexstar Media Group owns KDVR and KFCT alongside CW station KWGN-TV. Studios and offices are located on East Speer Boulevard in Denver's Speer neighborhood. KDVR's transmitter is located atop Lookout Mountain, near Golden, while KFCT's transmitter lies atop Horsetooth Mountain just outside Fort Collins, covering Northern Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Chase (playwright)</span> American dramatist (1906-1981)

Mary Chase was an American journalist, playwright and children's novelist, known primarily for writing the 1944 Broadway play Harvey, which was adapted into the 1950 film starring James Stewart.

Maureen Bunyan is an Aruban-American Washington, D.C.-based television journalist. She was the lead co-anchor at WUSA for 22 years from 1973-1995. In 1999 she returned to television when she co-anchored WJLA-TV, helping them to rise to number two in the market.

KBDI-TV, known as PBS12, is a PBS member television station licensed to Broomfield, Colorado, United States, serving the Denver area. The station is owned by Colorado Public Television, Inc. KBDI-TV's studios are located at Welton and 29th Streets in the Five Points neighborhood northeast of downtown Denver; its main transmitter is located atop Mestaa'ėhehe Mountain, and it is rebroadcast by translators throughout the Front Range and eastern Colorado. KBDI-TV serves as Colorado's secondary public television station to Rocky Mountain PBS with an emphasis on local and independent programming.

Blinky's Fun Club is a children's television program blending such elements as vaudeville, puppetry, and animation that first aired on CBS-Affiliated station KKTV in Colorado Springs, Colorado from 1958 to 1966 and then on KWGN-TV in Denver, Colorado, from 1966 to 1998. In 1998, William Ross, KWGN's general manager at the time, would cancel the series after a combined 40 year run on Colorado television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denver International Airport Automated Guideway Transit System</span> People mover system at Denver International Airport

The Denver International Airport Automated Guideway Transit System is a 24/7 people mover system operating at Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado. The system opened along with the airport itself in 1995 and efficiently connects the distant concourses with the main terminal.

Reggie Rivers is a professional broadcaster and motivational speaker and former professional football player.

Adele Arakawa is a retired American evening news anchor for NBC affiliate station KUSA-TV of Denver, Colorado. As of June 2007, she provides the female voice of the airport train system at Denver International Airport. She retired on June 30, 2017. She is also the former voice of the Denver International Airport Automated Guideway Transit System.

Jeff Hullinger is a news and sports anchor from Atlanta. He has also been inducted into the Southeast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Silver Circle. Jeff is now with WXIA-TV NBC Atlanta. He has worked as the morning drive news anchor on B98.5 WSB-FM, and the afternoon drive news anchor on News/Talk 750 WSB Radio. His career includes anchoring WAGA-TV, being a host for CNN’s TalkBack Live, calling games for ESPN and doing play-by-play for the Atlanta Falcons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Ferrugia</span> American journalist

John Ferrugia is an investigative reporter who is currently working as a journalist/trainer for the non-profit Colorado News Collaborative (COLab). He is the former News Anchor and Managing Editor for Rocky Mountain PBS in Denver, Colorado. From 1992 through February 2016, he worked as an investigative reporter at KMGH-TV. He is a former CBS News correspondent. In the 1980s, he covered the White House, foreign and domestic assignments, and was a principal correspondent for the news magazine West 57th.

David Crabtree is an American award-winning journalist, former television news anchor, and television executive. He served as the lead anchor of WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina, for much of his 28 years at the network through 2022. Following a forty-year career in television reporting, he was named the chief operating officer (CEO) of PBS North Carolina. Crabtree has won 16 Emmy awards, is a recipient of the North Carolina Order of the Long Leaf Pine, and is a member of the NC Media & Journalism Hall of Fame.

Lori Jane Gliha is an American television journalist.

Leslie Mark Shapiro was an American sports media figure, an anchor for CBS Sports, and a host of the ESPN radio talk program in Denver, Colorado. He was the play-by-play voice of the Bradley University athletic teams in Peoria, Illinois, before obtaining the post of sports anchor on the Denver CBS owned-and-operated station, KCNC-TV, and later the Fox affiliate KDVR, both of which featured him as the voice of the Denver Broncos. He was a frequent master of ceremonies for charitable events in the Denver area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Takeda</span> American journalist

Scott Takeda is an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He is known for his recurring roles on the soap operas Days of Our Lives and General Hospital, and for appearances in films such as Everything Must Go (2010), Dallas Buyers Club (2013), Gone Girl (2014), Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016), The Space Between Us (2017), and The Tale (2018).

Gloria Travis Tanner was a politician and public figure in Colorado. A Democrat, she served in the Colorado House of Representatives from 1985-1994. In 1994, she became the first African American woman to serve as a Colorado state senator. In 2000, she founded a leadership and training institute for black women in Colorado. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lena Lovato Archuleta</span> American educator, school librarian and administrator

Lena Lovato Archuleta was an American educator, school librarian, and administrator in New Mexico and Colorado for more than three decades. In 1976 she became the first Hispanic woman principal in the Denver Public Schools system. She was also the first Hispanic president of the Denver Classroom Teachers' Association and the Colorado Library Association, and the first female president of the Latin American Education Foundation. She was instrumental in the founding of several political and community advocacy groups for Latinos and served on numerous city and community boards. Following her retirement in 1979, she became a full-time volunteer for the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1985. In 2002 the Denver Public Schools system dedicated the Lena L. Archuleta Elementary School in northeast Denver in her honor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Marie Black</span> American journalist

Helen Marie Black was an American cultural and civic leader, journalist, and publicist. She was a co-founder of the Denver Symphony Orchestra and served as its business manager for more than 30 years, being the first female symphony manager in the United States. She was posthumously inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1991.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Puchalla, Debra (December 1997). "Denver's Muse No More". American Journalism Review .
  2. ↑ "Arthur Allan Ware Obituary, 1996". Rocky Mountain News. 10 October 1996. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Reynalda Muse – 1997 Inductee". Heartland Chapter of NATAS . Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "1999 Inductees". Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Gonzalez, Erika (13 July 2002). "Muse Led the Break-In at the Boys Club". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 "FROM BLACK & WHITE TO DIGITAL COLOR: CHANNELS 4 & 7 TURN 50". Advertising & Marketing Review. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Reynelda Muse". Colorado Women's Hall of Fame. 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "This Was CNN". Atlanta . 45 (2): 118. June 2005.
  9. ↑ "Newsroom for June 1, 2000 (transcript)". CNN . 1 June 2000. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mehle, Michael (21 October 1997). "Reynelda Muse Ending 24-Year Channel 4 Stint". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  11. ↑ Roberts, Michael (4 September 2003). "The Message". Westword . Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  12. ↑ Morales, Tatiana (30 October 2002). "Wild About Harry". CBS News . Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  13. ↑ "American Skyline". TV Guide. 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  14. ↑ "Starting from scratch, birth to three years". National Library of Australia . Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  15. 1 2 "Denver Landmark Preservation Application for Landmark Designation" (PDF). denvergov.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  16. ↑ "Denver airport passengers will hear new voices on trains". Summit Daily. Associated Press. 7 May 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  17. ↑ Smith, Jerd (6 November 1997). "Radio-Promo Firm Hires Media Pros Muse Among Trio to Help CVO Worldwide Push Into Hispanic Markets". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  18. ↑ Moore, John (24 April 2008). "A Man and His Shadow". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  19. ↑ "1988 Winners". Heartland Chapter of NATAS. 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  20. ↑ "1990 Nominees". Heartland Chapter of NATAS. 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  21. ↑ "1993 Nominees". Heartland Chapter of NATAS. 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  22. ↑ "1996 Nominees". Heartland Chapter of NATAS. 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  23. 1 2 "Colorado State's Fifth Annual Black Issues Forum Reflects Pertinent Issues In Town Meeting Performances". RamLine.com. 6 June 1997. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  24. ↑ "Archives: Past Communicators of Achievement". Colorado Press Women. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  25. ↑ "Hall of Fame". Denver Press Club. 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  26. ↑ Hubbard, Curtis (20 April 2012). "Colorado's most influential women". The Denver Post . Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  27. ↑ Jackson, Bob (28 June 1999). "Journalism Scholarships Available". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 17 November 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  28. ↑ "Scholarships and Awards". Colorado Association of Black Journalists. 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  29. ↑ Hurt, Huber William; Hurt, Harriet-Jeanne; Burckel, Christian E. (1999). The College Blue Book: Scholarships, fellowships, grants, and loans. Macmillan Information. p. 412. ISBN   9780026955607.
  30. 1 2 Hodges, Arthur (22 February 1995). "Down by Law". Westword. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  31. ↑ "Daniel E. Muse, JD'71". Sturm College of Law. 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  32. ↑ Young, Leslie A. (13 April 1997). "Working Out with Reynelda Muse: 'I'm in better shape at 50 than I was at 18'". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  33. ↑ Snow, Shawn M. (2009). Denver's City Park and Whittier Neighborhoods. Arcadia Publishing. p. 125. ISBN   978-0738571911.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.