Bill McCreary, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, died in Brooklyn recently. He was 87 years old. He was one of the first Black television journalist in New York. He filled a noticeable gap in local public affairs reporting. He was hired by WNYW, the flagship station of the Fox television network in 1967, and remained a familiar on-air presence until he retired in 2000. He rose to the rank of vice president of Fox 5 News in 1978. McCreary co-anchored the station's 10 o'clock News into a ratings powerhouse. He became managing editor and anchor of Black News in 1970, and The McCreary Report in 1978.
There was little reporting on ethnic issues at the time, because there were few black journalists on television. McCreary reported on inner city issues, and places like Harlem and Bed-Stuy. McCreary won several Emmys, and in 1987, was given the N.A.A.C.P's Black Heritage Award. Among the figures he interviewed were Rosa Park, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Nelson Mandella.
Unlike a lot of journalists today, Bill gave you the news, not his opinions. "You never knew where he stood on any issue. Bill McCreary told the unvarnished truth, and that's what set him apart. He told it with tremendous dignity and integrity", sos said Cheryl Wills, an award winning reporter who considered McCreary a mentor.
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