By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – Six people will be inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame next month. The honorees include C-N anchor and Kenmore native Wolf Blitzer and Channel 4 Senior Correspondent Rich Newberg.
Newberg arrived in Buffalo in 1978. He served as a weekend anchor at Channel 4 during his early years. He later became main anchor for the 5 and 11pm newscasts. But Newberg says his true love is reporting. And in 1999, he was named Channel 4's senior correspondent.
Newberg has won nine New York Emmy Awards, and a host of others, for his television specials. He says he's humbled by his upcoming induction into the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
One of Newberg's colleagues at Channel 4 will join him in the Hall of Fame. Ann Deckop has spent the past 55 years at the station as a management assistant and will be honored with the Buffalo Broadcaster's "Behind the Scenes Award."
Norm Schrutt, who managed the old WKBW radio during its Top 40 hey day, and veteran Buffalo radio broadcaster, the late Ed Tucholka, will also be inducted.
Clip Smith, who died in a car accident in 2006, joins the Hall. Smith was a sportscaster on Channel 7, hosted several radio talk shows and once did play-by-play of UB football games on WBFO in the mid 1980s.
And Wolf Blitzer who grew up in Kenmore and graduated from the University at Buffalo will join such other national figures as Buffalo Bob Smith, Tim Russert and Mark Russell in the Hall. Blitzer currently anchors CNN's "The Situation Room" each afternoon.
This year's induction ceremony will be held on Tuesday, October 3rd at the studios of WNED-TV.
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