Larry Mendte
Larry Mendte | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 19, 1957 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | television news anchor |
Larry Mendte (born January 16, 1957) is a documentary director, the first host of the American syndicated television show Access Hollywood and a former American news anchor. Mendte has written and directed five documentaries that have aired nationally on television and have been shown and won hundreds of film festivals. Most recently, Mendte was the lead male anchor of the 6pm and 11pm newscasts for KYW-TV (Channel 3) in Philadelphia. In August 2008, he pled guilty to the federal charge of illegally accessing his co-anchor's e-mail.[1]
Biography
Born and raised in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, Mendte attended St. Philomena School, a local Catholic School. During this time, Mendte got his start in news, when he delivered the former Philadelphia Bulletin. Upon graduating from Monsignor Bonner High School in nearby Upper Darby, Mendte attended West Chester University and earned a B.A. in journalism.
Early career
From 1984 to 1988 he was a weekend anchor on WABC, as well as fill-in sports anchor. He has also anchored the news and was an investigative reporter at WBBM in Chicago from 1991 to 1995. While at WBBM, Mendte's series of reports on school bus safety resulted in a new state law. Mendte won a record 27 Emmy Awards in Chicago and was twice named Best reporter by the Illinois Associated Press. Mendte also anchored the news at WCMH in Columbus, Ohio, WLYH in Lebanon, PA (where he did the sportscast), WTAJ in Altoona, PA and KIEM in Eureka, CA. Mendte was also a weather personality at San Diego's KFMB in San Diego, and also did stand-up comedy in Southern California comedy clubs. After moving to Los Angeles, he did a humor commentary feature called "How Come?" for the syndicated program Hard Copy. A few of the "How Come?" reports can be seen on YouTube.
Mendte was the first male host of the infotainment program Access Hollywood when the show debuted in 1996. He co-hosted Monday through Friday with Giselle Fernández and also co-hosted the weekend edition with current weekday host Nancy O'Dell.
Returning home
Mendte left Access Hollywood in 1997 to return to Philadelphia and become the main anchor of WCAU (Channel 10)'s newscasts, including the 4pm, 6pm and 11pm programs, with the 4pm show being the first on at that time in the market. He also created and hosted the public affairs program Live at Issue. During his time at WCAU the 11pm newscast outrated market leader WPVI (Channel 6) for the first time since the 1970s.
Anchoring at KYW
Mendte joined KYW in 2003 after being wooed from WCAU. KYW launched a massive "Make The Switch" promotional campaign when Mendte came over. KYW's ratings immediately jumped with Mendte in the main seat and fellow station newcomer Alycia Lane co-anchoring, and within a year the station would overtake WCAU at 11pm and 6pm for second place. KYW fired Mendte in June 2008 after an investigation revealed he hacked into his co-anchor's email accounts.
Honors
Mendte received acclaim for a series of reports he did on the Eternal Flame, a tribute to American veterans, in Philadelphia's historic Washington Square. Mendte highlighted the flame's failing infrastructure, forcing the city to take action to repair the natural gas line which provided the flame's fuel and relight it. His efforts were read into the Congressional record by Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. Mendte was honored with an Edward R. Murrow Award in the writing category for his reports on the Eternal Flame and a report on the Iraq War.
In 2006, Mendte was inducted into the Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame. Mendte has 70 Regional Emmy Awards from the New York, San Diego, Chicago and Philadelphia markets, and holds the record in several categories in Philadelphia and Chicago. In Philadelphia, he has won a record 4 Emmys in the Outstanding Anchor category.
In 2007, Mendte was named as one of the 75 Greatest Living Philadelphians by the Philadelphia Daily News in honor of the Philadelphia Eagles 75th anniversary.
Mendte also has done an unprecedented amount of work with local charities including Alex's Lemonade Stand, the Alzheimer's Association, The Little Rock Foundation, Walk Now for Autism, The Jewish Employment and Vocational Services, TeachAmerica, The Juveile Diabetes Foundation, the Burn Foundation, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Make-A-Wish, Goodwill, The Salvation Army, the Irish Memorial Committee, The Ancient Order of Hibernians, The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and other groups supporting veterans.
Personal
Mendte is married to Dawn Stensland,[2] the 10pm news anchor at Fox's WTXF (Channel 29) since 2001. She came to Philadelphia in 1997 as anchor for KYW, then anchored CBS News Saturday Morning for a year and a half. In the 1990s she was an anchor and reporter at WBBM in Chicago, Illinois and WKYC in Cleveland, Ohio. Together, they have two children, Michael, born in 2004 and David born in 2006. In addition, Mendte has two adult children, Stacia and Jonathan, from a previous marriage.
Alycia Lane controversy
FBI investigation
On May 31, 2008, it was reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer that Mendte was under investigation by the FBI. The investigation centered around Mendte's alleged reading of former co-anchor Alycia Lane's private Yahoo Mail and .mac email accounts. KYW announced on June 1, 2008, that Mendte would not appear on Channel 3 pending the results of the investigation. CBS Corporation was also advised by the agency to keep all computer records for Mendte.
Release from KYW
On June 23, 2008, CBS Corporation announced that—based on a separate internal investigation—it was releasing Mendte from his KYW contract effective immeditately. The FBI matter was not resolved before termination of his employment.[3]
Charges filed
On Monday July 21, 2008, the U.S. Attorney's office of Philadelphia charged Mendte with one felony count of intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization, as he continually logged into Lane's Yahoo Mail and .Mac accounts not only from the station, but from his computers at home and at the private Union League of Philadelphia, with 537 log-ins between January and May 29, 2008. A conviction could bring a six-month prison term under federal sentencing guidelines. [4]
Guilty plea
On August 22, 2008, Mendte pled guilty to the charge of intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization.[1] Mendte admitted that he viewed hundreds of Lane's e-mails from March 2006 to May 2008, including ones from her agent, her then-husband and lawyers representing her after she was arrested in New York last year and fired from the station. From January to May of this year, Mendte read Lane's e-mail 537 times, the FBI said. Mendte read a statement and admitted to once having an "improper relationship" with Lane. He said the relationship ended badly and "quickly turned into a personal feud." [5]
Sentencing and possible second victim
Mendte appeared in a Philadelphia courtroom for sentencing on November 24 2008. Prior to the sentencing hearing, sources close to the case revealed that Mendte was also suspected of spying on CBS3 meteorologist Doug Kammerer's e-mail, as well as Lane's. Sources have said that investigators went with the "stronger" (Lane) case, rather than pushing forward the Kammerer hacking charge. Mendte contends that his spying on Lane had to do with an improper relationship. Mendte's explanation would not explain the Kammerer incident.[6]
On November 24, 2008 Mendte received a sentence of 3 years probation, 6 months home confinement, 250 hours community service, computer monitoring plus a $5000 fine.[2]
Filmography
Mendte has a small filmography, having appeared in three movies. All three were made in 1998 or later, and in each one, Mendte has appeared as a television anchor or reporter. Mendte has never acted in more than a cameo style appearance. These films included Primary Colors, Shadow of Doubt, and Snipes.
Mendte has also written and directed two short documentaries. Ben Franklin: Stealing Lightning from the Sky aired across the country on Ben Franklin's birthday in 2006. The documentary questioned whether Ben Franklin really did conduct his famous kite experiment. Later that year Mendte wrote and directed Alex Scott: A Stand for Hope, a short documentary about Alex Scott, founder of Alex's Lemonade Stand. Alex Scott: A Stand for Hope won the award for Best Documentary at the Reno, Oxford, Danville, West Chester, Lake Arrowhead and Reel Award film Festivals. Mendte was also named Best Pennsylvania Film maker for Ben Franklin: Stealing Lightning From the Sky at the West Chester Film Festival. A Stand for Hope also won the Sigma Delta Chi award for best documentary in the country in 2007. The Sigma Delta Chi Awards are given each year by the Society of Professional Journalists.
References
- ^ a b Lounsberry, Emily (August 22, 2008). "Mendte pleads guilty". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Media Holdings. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ http://www.myfoxphilly.com/myfox/pages/InsideFox/Detail?contentId=419080&version=10&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=5.3.1
- ^ Larry Mendte fired | Philadelphia Inquirer | 06/23/2008
- ^ U.S. cites Mendte’s ‘systematic pattern of intrusion’ | Philadelphia Inquirer | 07/21/2008
- ^ Statement of Larry Mendte | Philadelphia Inquirer | 07/21/2008
- ^ [1]. Philadelphia Inquirer. "Mendte tried to snoop on 2d coworker?". Michael Klein and John Shiffman. November 20 2008. Retrieved November 21 2008.