N.Y. Broadcasters Names Hall of Fame Inductees

The board of directors of the New York State Broadcasters Association has announced the inductees for its Hall of Fame Class of 2016. The induction ceremony will take place at a luncheon on Friday, June 10, at the Conrad Hotel in New York City. NYSBA President David Donovan said: “We are fortunate that our business has produced such outstanding professionals. They have set the gold standard.  All of us who work in the industry stand on the shoulders of these truly great broadcasters.”

The inductees for the Class of 2016 are:

Liz Bishop — An Emmy-winning reporter at WGRB-TV with three prestigious regional Edward R. Murrow awards. She has earned numerous awards including several New York State AP Broadcast Awards and New York State Broadcasters Association award for Excellence in Broadcasting.  Over the past four decades — spent at the very station where she began her career in 1973 — Liz Bishop has been a pioneer who set the standard for newscasters in the Capital Region and New York State.  Her debut as the station’s weekend sportscaster broke the gender gap as she became one of just a handful of women sports reporters in the nation.  She was a pioneer of what’s widely held to be the first all-woman newscast in the 1970’s.  

Janice Huff — She is one of the most recognized names in broadcasting and a 21-year veteran of WNBC New York, “Janice Huff is one of News 4 New York’s pillars of excellence,” stated Eric Lerner, president and general manager of WNBC. “Janice Huff is a leader in her field. Her accomplishments as a broadcast meteorologist are remarkable, he added.” “Not only is she great at tracking severe weather and keeping our viewers safe, but she is one of the nicest people I know.”  Huff has also been extensively honored for her tireless work on children’s issues, including through her hosting of “Wednesday’s Child”, a WNBC weekly adoption feature.  

Chris Jansing — Chris Jansing is the Senior White House Correspondent for NBC News, reporting for NBC Nightly News, Today, and MSNBC programs. She has also been a guest host on Meet the Press. Jansing joined NBC News in June 1998.  Before moving to Washington, she was a New York and Los Angeles-based correspondent who filed reports from around the world, from Afghanistan to Iceland to Bolivia and Malawi, as well as across the U.S.  Before joining the NBC News team, Jansing co-anchored the nightly news for WNYT Albany, N.Y. — where she was honored with numerous awards for excellence in journalism, including two Emmys.  

Dan Palmer — The WDOE-AM Dunkirk, N.Y., sports director and morning show announcer has been broadcasting for 45 years in his hometown area of Dunkirk/Fredonia, Chautauqua County, N.Y. He started his professional career in 1970 at WBUZ-AM Fredonia, N.Y.  However, sports play-by-play was his true passion, so after five years he accepted a position as sports director/morning announcer at his hometown radio station, WDOE, on Oct. 6, 1975. Palmer just celebrated 40 years there. He has broadcast the play-by-play of more than 2,000 games of Chautauqua County high schools, youth sporting events and Fredonia State University sports.  

Yankees Broadcast Team of John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman — John Sterling has been the ironman of radio broadcasting and is nearing his 5,000th consecutive Yankees broadcast. He began his career as a talk show host with WMCA-AM New York in 1971. He was the radio voice for the WHA’s New York Raiders, the WFL’s New York Stars, the NHL’s New York Islanders and the ABA/NBA’s New York/New Jersey Nets. Sterling also served with the Yankees as pre-game host on WMCA and WINS-AM. This year marks Sterling’s 28th consecutive year calling Yankees games. He is also host of the YES Network’s Yankeeography series, which produces biographies of New York Yankees and has received 12 Emmy Awards for the series. In addition, Sterling had a nightly commentary feature on WCBS-AM called Sterling on Sports. 

Suzyn Waldman’s 30-year career pioneered the way for women in broadcasting. When Suzyn became part of the Baseball Hall of Fame’s “Women in Baseball” exhibit in 2006 as the first fulltime female color commentator in the Major Leagues, it was just another “first” for the award-winning journalist and sports commentator. Waldman has spent the past three decades overcoming the obstacles that go along with being a female sports broadcaster, and has risen to the very top of her profession. In1987, Waldman became the first voice ever heard on WFAN-AM New York, the first all-sports radio station in the country, and was a mainstay there for15 years. She created the job of the radio beat reporter, covering both the Yankees and the New York Knicks. Her news breaking reports, exclusive interviews and always original and controversial opinions, won her countless journalism awards.