Trudy Haynes, Philadelphia’s First Black TV Reporter Dies at 95

By Kevin Eck 

Trudy Haynes, Philadelphia’s first Black television reporter, has died. She was 95.

When Haynes started her television career in Detroit in 1963, she was the nation’s first Black weather reporter.

She joined KYW in Philadelphia in 1965 as the city’s first Black television reporter and worked there for over thirty years, before retiring in 1999.

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The Philadelphia Inquirer said Haynes “became a trusted reporter, host and local personality and told the day-to-day stories of Black Philadelphians—a community then covered ‘very little’ outside of tragedy by an all-white newsroom.”

“When I went out on the story, I did what I thought the story should be about. And I made a point when they were edited to include whatever our brown story was,” said Haynes. “We needed to tell our own stories about our own people.”

KYW wrote on its website that Haynes “was the definition of class and grace and our very own legend here at Eyewitness News. She was kind, humble, witty and known for always being a firecracker.”

Former KYW reporter and current WHYY radio host Cherri Gregg said Haynes called her out of the blue to wish her luck when she was hired by KYW in 2010.

“I don’t even know how she got my number,” said Gregg. “But you know, for someone who I saw on the walls of Channel 3 to call me up, unsolicited and tell me that she knew I was going to be successful—it meant a lot.”

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