Ralph Renick
Encyclopedia
Ralph Apperson Renick was a pioneer television news journalist for Miami's WTVJ
, channel 4 (now channel 6), Florida
's first television station. He was WTVJ's first and longest running news anchor and the driving force behind television news in South Florida from the station's inception in March 1949 until his departure nearly 36 years later in 1985.
, where he studied under an H. V. Kaltenborn Scholarship. Kaltenborn was an eminent CBS Radio
commentator. Renick was the face of WTVJ, then channel 4, for the next 36 years.
Renick was unopposed as a South Florida anchor from 1949, when WTVJ aired programs from all networks via kinescope
s, until it became exclusively a CBS
affiliate in 1956. In that year, WCKT (now WSVN
), channel 7 began broadcasting in Miami as an NBC affiliate station, followed in the late 1950s by WPST-TV (now WPLG-TV), channel 10, as ABC
's outlet in Miami. Despite a strong attempt to challenge Renick and WTVJ over the years, he remained the dominant and number one rated news anchor for his entire 36 year run.
In 1957, Renick made history by broadcasting the first of nearly thirty years of nightly editorials on his 6 pm newscast, The Ralph Renick Report. Two years later, in 1959, he traveled to Cuba
for an exclusive interview with the communist nation's newly minted dictator Fidel Castro
, and later that same year to the Kremlin
, to interview Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev
. In 1960, Renick named Dr. Manolo Reyes
, a former lawyer in Cuba, and a pioneering Spanish-language broadcaster, to launch South Florida's first Spanish-language newscast on WTVJ.
He also opened the door to women in 1967 when he hired the nation's first female sportscaster, Jane Chastain
. A year later, in 1968, Renick made history again by hiring South Florida's first black reporter, C.T. Taylor.
Renick pushed WTVJ to pioneer video tape and ENG (Electronic News Gathering
) in late 1974 and by November 1975 had the state's first truly mobile live truck up and running. Shortly after 3:00 pm on November 30, 1975, Renick broke
into regular programming to report an attempted assassination on Ronald Reagan
, in town for a speech at the Miami Airport Ramada Inn. Because WTVJ's live capability was in place, Renick was able to throw to reporter Bob Mayer for the station's first live mobile field report (See link below).
Renick, then a widower with six children, served on the board of directors of the Associated Press
from October 1977 to May 1981. He also served as president of the Associated Press Broadcasters, an advisory group for the AP's news division. Additionally, Renick was also president of the Radio-Television News Directors Association.
Though he continued to dominate the news ratings through the mid 1980s, Renick's world began to unravel when the founder and longtime owner of WTVJ, Wometco Enterprises
, Inc., sold off the Wometco empire following the death of founder and President Mitchell Wolfson, in 1983. The station was acquired by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), an investment firm, in what was then the largest leveraged buyout in US history: one billion dollars.
in local American television news to report direct to a station owner rather than a station's general manager. As a result, Renick had unprecedented authority before Wolfson's death.
After the acquisition, KKR began to structure WTVJ's newsroom differently in the more traditional way of the 1980s with multiple persons in management, and slowly stripped Renick of that authority, making it uncomfortable for him to continue within his unique role as the station's top anchor, news director, presenter of editorial pieces, and Vice President for News. As a result, Renick decided to resign his position on his own terms rather than be forced out by KKR.
In March 1985, Renick appeared for the last time on WTVJ, telling his audience "It is my decision, effective tonight, to step down as vice president and news director of WTVJ, and also relinquish my duties as newscaster/editorialist on this program." At the time, he did not announce what his plans were. He simply told viewers "I thank you for being the most supportive TV news audience anyone could ever hope to have." He ended his run on the station with his traditional sign-off, "Good night and may the good news be yours," but with the addition at the end of a second line, "... and hopefully mine."
Within six weeks, Renick announced he would be a candidate in the 1986 race for Governor as a Democrat
. He spent $100,000 of his own money on his failed gubernatorial bid before quitting the race after six months.
In 1988, Renick returned to the air once again, after signing a multi-year contract with WCIX Channel 6 (now WFOR) to do a nightly commentary called "The Ralph Renick Report." As his health began to fail, Renick officially retired in September 1990.
and liver disease
. He was a month away from his 63rd birthday. His funeral mass at St. Mary's Cathedral
was presided over by then Archbishop Edward McCarthy and was packed to standing room only. It was attended by hundreds of South Florida's movers and shakers, and was broadcast live in a two hour special report on WTVJ.
News of Ralph Renick's death was the lead story on every Miami station and was the end of an era in television news.
WTVJ
WTVJ, virtual channel 6 , is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC television network, located in Broward County. WTVJ shares its TV studio and office facility with co-owned Telemundo station WSCV in Miramar, Florida, and its transmitter is located near Sun Life Stadium in north...
, channel 4 (now channel 6), Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
's first television station. He was WTVJ's first and longest running news anchor and the driving force behind television news in South Florida from the station's inception in March 1949 until his departure nearly 36 years later in 1985.
Career
Renick joined WTVJ as an intern in 1949 after graduation from the University of MiamiUniversity of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
, where he studied under an H. V. Kaltenborn Scholarship. Kaltenborn was an eminent CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
commentator. Renick was the face of WTVJ, then channel 4, for the next 36 years.
Renick was unopposed as a South Florida anchor from 1949, when WTVJ aired programs from all networks via kinescope
Kinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor...
s, until it became exclusively a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate in 1956. In that year, WCKT (now WSVN
WSVN
WSVN, channel 7, is a television station located in Miami, Florida, USA. WSVN is owned by Sunbeam Television, and is an affiliate of the Fox Broadcasting Company. The station has its studio facilities located in North Bay Village and transmitter based in north Miami-Dade County.WSVN operates a Key...
), channel 7 began broadcasting in Miami as an NBC affiliate station, followed in the late 1950s by WPST-TV (now WPLG-TV), channel 10, as ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's outlet in Miami. Despite a strong attempt to challenge Renick and WTVJ over the years, he remained the dominant and number one rated news anchor for his entire 36 year run.
In 1957, Renick made history by broadcasting the first of nearly thirty years of nightly editorials on his 6 pm newscast, The Ralph Renick Report. Two years later, in 1959, he traveled to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
for an exclusive interview with the communist nation's newly minted dictator Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
, and later that same year to the Kremlin
Kremlin
A kremlin , same root as in kremen is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...
, to interview Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
. In 1960, Renick named Dr. Manolo Reyes
Manolo Reyes
Manolo de Jesus Reyes Xiques, J.D. was a Cuban-American Spanish-language television news broadcaster in Miami, Florida. Reyes became a television news pioneer in the 1960s when he began one of South Florida's first Spanish-language newscasters...
, a former lawyer in Cuba, and a pioneering Spanish-language broadcaster, to launch South Florida's first Spanish-language newscast on WTVJ.
He also opened the door to women in 1967 when he hired the nation's first female sportscaster, Jane Chastain
Jane Chastain
Jane Chastain is a former nationally-known sports announcer and current conservative political writer and commentator.Chastain's early television work included WAGA-TV in Atlanta, where she began predicting the results of college football games with a high successs rate. She made an appearance...
. A year later, in 1968, Renick made history again by hiring South Florida's first black reporter, C.T. Taylor.
Renick pushed WTVJ to pioneer video tape and ENG (Electronic News Gathering
Electronic news gathering
ENG is a broadcasting industry acronym which stands for electronic news gathering. It can mean anything from a lone broadcast journalist reporter taking a single professional video camera out to shoot a story, to an entire television crew taking a production truck or satellite truck on location...
) in late 1974 and by November 1975 had the state's first truly mobile live truck up and running. Shortly after 3:00 pm on November 30, 1975, Renick broke
Breaking news
Breaking news, also known as a special report or news bulletin, is a current event that broadcasters feel warrants the interruption of scheduled programming and/or current news in order to report its details. Many times, breaking news is used after the news network has already reported on this story...
into regular programming to report an attempted assassination on Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, in town for a speech at the Miami Airport Ramada Inn. Because WTVJ's live capability was in place, Renick was able to throw to reporter Bob Mayer for the station's first live mobile field report (See link below).
Renick, then a widower with six children, served on the board of directors of the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
from October 1977 to May 1981. He also served as president of the Associated Press Broadcasters, an advisory group for the AP's news division. Additionally, Renick was also president of the Radio-Television News Directors Association.
Though he continued to dominate the news ratings through the mid 1980s, Renick's world began to unravel when the founder and longtime owner of WTVJ, Wometco Enterprises
Wometco Enterprises
Wometco Enterprises is a company headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida; a suburb of Miami. It was a large media company but today it is known only as the owner of the Miami Seaquarium.- History :...
, Inc., sold off the Wometco empire following the death of founder and President Mitchell Wolfson, in 1983. The station was acquired by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), an investment firm, in what was then the largest leveraged buyout in US history: one billion dollars.
Retirement
During the majority of his tenure at WTVJ, Renick reported directly to Mitchell Wolfson. He was, in fact, believed to be the only news directorNews Director
A news director is an individual at a broadcast station or network or a newspaper who is in charge of the news department. In local news, the news director is typically in charge of the entire news staff, including journalists, news presenters, photographers, copy writers, television producers,...
in local American television news to report direct to a station owner rather than a station's general manager. As a result, Renick had unprecedented authority before Wolfson's death.
After the acquisition, KKR began to structure WTVJ's newsroom differently in the more traditional way of the 1980s with multiple persons in management, and slowly stripped Renick of that authority, making it uncomfortable for him to continue within his unique role as the station's top anchor, news director, presenter of editorial pieces, and Vice President for News. As a result, Renick decided to resign his position on his own terms rather than be forced out by KKR.
In March 1985, Renick appeared for the last time on WTVJ, telling his audience "It is my decision, effective tonight, to step down as vice president and news director of WTVJ, and also relinquish my duties as newscaster/editorialist on this program." At the time, he did not announce what his plans were. He simply told viewers "I thank you for being the most supportive TV news audience anyone could ever hope to have." He ended his run on the station with his traditional sign-off, "Good night and may the good news be yours," but with the addition at the end of a second line, "... and hopefully mine."
Within six weeks, Renick announced he would be a candidate in the 1986 race for Governor as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. He spent $100,000 of his own money on his failed gubernatorial bid before quitting the race after six months.
In 1988, Renick returned to the air once again, after signing a multi-year contract with WCIX Channel 6 (now WFOR) to do a nightly commentary called "The Ralph Renick Report." As his health began to fail, Renick officially retired in September 1990.
Death and legacy
After spending the last months of his life hospitalized, Renick died on July 11, 1991, at Cedars Medical Center in Miami, of complications from hepatitisHepatitis
Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...
and liver disease
Liver disease
Liver disease is a broad term describing any single number of diseases affecting the liver.-Diseases:* Hepatitis, inflammation of the liver, caused mainly by various viruses but also by some poisons , autoimmunity or hereditary conditions...
. He was a month away from his 63rd birthday. His funeral mass at St. Mary's Cathedral
Cathedral of Saint Mary in Miami
The Cathedral of Saint Mary is the seat of the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami. The cathedral is named for Mary, mother of Jesus, and is located at 7525 N.W. 2nd Ave., Miami, Florida...
was presided over by then Archbishop Edward McCarthy and was packed to standing room only. It was attended by hundreds of South Florida's movers and shakers, and was broadcast live in a two hour special report on WTVJ.
News of Ralph Renick's death was the lead story on every Miami station and was the end of an era in television news.