"She is a new kind of celebrity—a television superstar reporter—bred by television and its peculiar kind of intimacy which brings her into the living rooms or bedrooms or kitchens of almost a million viewers every night.”—New York Times
For 30 years on TV, she told other people's stories. Now she's telling her own.
In 1967, by accident, Melba Tolliver was the first Black American to anchor network news. Going on to report and anchor for WABC-TV Eyewitness News, WNBC, and News 12 Long Island, Tolliver became known for her human-interest stories starring everyday people—but she also covered celebrities, musicians and politicians, from Stevie Wonder to Robert Kennedy.
Famously, Melba Tolliver's defiant insistence on wearing her hair in a natural afro when covering the White House wedding of Tricia Nixon earned retaliation from the WABC bosses. In 1973, when the New York Times dubbed Melba a "superstar reporter," a publisher asked for her memoir.
It was worth the wait. Packed with telling detail, Accidental Anchorwoman fills in the backstory of a life that has deeply influenced modern journalism. Reporting with wit and humor from her ninth decade, Melba has provocative things to say about civil rights, the women's movement, identity, and journalistic objectivity. Young people can draw inspiration from Melba when battling mainstream society over personal image, gender, and race. Podcasters and journalists can learn from Melba to defy gatekeepers, while celebrating local heroes.
And we can all take a lesson from Melba in calling out bullshit.
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