A FEW WORDS ABOUT WORDS
“ MELBA TOLLIVER ACCIDENTAL ANCHORWOMAN : A Memoir of Chance , Choice , Change and Connection ”
A FEW WORDS ABOUT WORDS
BOOKSMART
“ MELBA TOLLIVER ACCIDENTAL ANCHORWOMAN : A Memoir of Chance , Choice , Change and Connection ”
By RANDALL PINKSTON
Five years after Mal Goode became the first African American hired as a network correspondent , Melba Tolliver became the first Black woman to deliver a network newscast .
Both events occurred on ABC News . But , unlike Goode , who had worked for decades in the Black press and radio in his native Pittsburgh before being hired by ABC News , Tolliver ’ s appearance in the network ’ s news anchor chair was unexpected .
When ABC News personnel went on strike in March 1967 , the network ’ s management scrambled to find people who could fill in for the journalists who wouldn ’ t cross the picket line . At the time , Tolliver was employed as a secretary for one of the senior ABC managers , who recommended her as a temporary substitute for a newscast hosted by Marlene Sanders .
What were the chances that a young Black woman , who had earned a degree as a registered nurse , would walk away from that career for a secretarial job in network television and end up anchoring a newscast ?
Yes , Tolliver made the choice to cross the picket line to get that opportunity . She was , in the parlance of union politics , a “ scab .” But when the strike was over , ABC promoted her from secretary to a news intern , which exposed Tolliver to the workings of a television newsroom .
Despite her role during the strike , a few union members , notably Goode , mentored her . Eventually Tolliver was hired as an on-air reporter for WABC , the network ’ s flagship station in New York City . During her storied career , Tolliver reported a wide range of stories , including the White House wedding of President Richard Nixon ’ s daughter , and the world tour of the Rolling Stones .
A cheeky exchange she had with lead singer Mick Jagger found its way into “ Gimme Shelter ,” a 1970 documentary about the British rock group . “ Are you any more satisfied as far as your career goes ?” Tolliver asked Jagger . It was a tongue-in-cheek question that referenced the group ’ s sexually suggestive hit song , “ Satisfaction .”
“ Do you mean sexually or , or philosophically ,” Jagger responded .
“ Both ,” Tolliver shot back .
“ Yeah , we are more satisfied now sexually ,” he said with a big grin , as the rest of his words were drowned out by the laughter .
Tolliver encountered a lot of challenges during her nearly threedecade long career as a broadcast journalist . She describes one of them in her marriage to a New York City fireman , as life-threatening .
Tolliver also talks about the time she was taken off the air after she decided to wear her hair in a natural style . That action was reversed when local newspapers prepared to do a story about the possibility that WABC ’ s lone Black female reporter was on the verge of being fired because of the way she wore her hair , Tolliver writes .
In the closing pages of her memoir , Tolliver talks about how she was humbled to learn that the late Gwen Ifill , a revered print and broadcast journalist , considered her a role model . Ifill – who won numerous awards , including the prestigious Peabody Award in 2008 - was one of the many young journalists who Tolliver inspired .
The lessons and experiences Melba Tolliver shares in her memoir , “ Accidental Anchorwoman ,” are sure to be an inspiration to many more people . n
Randall Pinkston , the deputy director of Morgan State University ’ s Center for New Media & Strategic Initiatives , is an Emmy-award winning journalist and former correspondent for CBS News .
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