Roz Abrams
Roz Abrams | |
|---|---|
| File:Roz Abrams.jpg | |
| Born | 1949 |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Years active | 1975-2006 |
| Notable credit(s) | worked at CNN at the time of its inception (1982-3); 5 p.m. anchor for WABC-TV (1986-2003); 5 and 11 p.m. anchor at WCBS-TV (204-2006;dropped from the station in 2006) |
Roz Abrams (born 1949) is an African-American television journalist. She most recently worked for WCBS-TV in New York City from April 2004 to November 2006. Abrams became popular with New Yorkers for her work as a long-running co-anchor on WABC-TV's Eyewitness News.
Career in New York
Before joining WCBS-TV in 2004, Abrams had spent 18 years at WABC-TV. At WABC, Abrams has worked alongside veteran newsman Bill Beutel, Ernie Anastos (who he worked with recently at WCBS-TV), Greg Hurst, Robb Hanrahan, Kaity Tong (who she filled in for at times between 1986 and 1991 when Tong left for WPIX), Bill Ritter, and her biggest competition at WABC-TV, Diana Williams, whom she filled in for many times between 1991 and 2003 when she finally left the station for a better and more primary news shift at WCBS-TV.
Abrams had joined WCBS-TV as the co-anchor of "CBS2 News" at 5 and 11 p.m. She was first paired with veteran New York news anchor Ernie Anastos and then with Jim Rosenfield after Anastos left to anchor with Rosanna Scotto on WNYW-TV. In April 2006, it was announced that Abrams would be reassigned and co-anchor the noon and 5 p.m. editions of "CBS 2 News" along with Mary Calvi. Abrams would be replaced with veteran Dana Tyler.
In late 2003, Roz Abrams was offered a contract by WCBS-TV to anchor CBS 2 News at 5 and 11. It is rumored that Abrams wanted to remain at WABC-TV and anchor the 11 p.m. news after Diana Williams asked for a lighter workload, however the station selected Liz Cho (former ABC World News Now anchor) to replace Diana Williams. As a result, Abrams remained anchoring Eyewitness News at 5:00 and was paired with Williams for three months before she left for WCBS-TV. The move ended Abrams' 18 year history with the station. Sade Baderinwa now anchors the 5 p.m. edition of Eyewitness News with Diana Williams.
On November 6, 2006, however, WCBS-TV sports anchor Chris Wragge and new hire Kristine Johnson (formerly of NBC News and MSNBC) replaced Abrams and Calvi on the noon and 5 p.m. newscasts. Calvi has returned to anchoring the weekend editions of "CBS2 News."
Career History and Honors
- In 2005, she appeared as herself during a news segment in the feature film War of the Worlds (2005 movie), directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise.
- She previously worked at WSB-AM radio (1975-1978), WXIA-TV (1978-1982), CNN (1982-1983) and KRON-TV (1983-1986).
- Most recently, Abrams received a New York Association of Black Journalists Award for the special "The Sounds of Harlem." She has been part of award-winning coverage for some of the biggest stories of our time, including 9/11, the Blackout of 2003, the end of Apartheid in South Africa, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and the worldwide Aids epidemic.
- In December of 2003, Roz was named to the Editorial Advisory Board of “Making Waves,” the new quarterly publication of American women in radio and television. She is the current co-chair of NY READS TOGETHER.
- Abrams currently holds a B.S. degree from Western Michigan University, a Masters Degree from the University of Michigan and an Honoree Doctorate of Humane Letters from New York Institute of Technology.
The Future of Her Career
On Saturday October 28, 2006, the Daily News, a New York City newspaper had reported that Chris Wragge, (current CBS 2 Sports Director and anchor) and Kristine Johnson (former anchor of Early Today on NBC and First Look on MSNBC) would be the replacement of Roz Abrams and Mary Calvi for WCBS-TV's Noon and 5 PM broadcasts.
According to the New York Post, Ms. Abrams is "currently sitting out her contract - and collecting what's believed to be roughly $6 million that's due to her." [1]