- published: 30 Apr 2016
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Jessica Beth Savitch (February 1, 1947 – October 23, 1983) was an American television broadcaster and news reporter, host of PBS' Frontline and New York weekend anchor of NBC Nightly News during the short-lived Roger Mudd/Tom Brokaw era.
Savitch was born in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, about 35 miles from Philadelphia. She was the daughter of Florence (née Goldberger), a navy nurse, and David Savitch, who ran a clothing store. Her father and maternal grandfather were Jewish, and her maternal grandmother was Italian American and Catholic. After her father died in 1959, her family moved to Margate, New Jersey (a suburb of Atlantic City). She attended Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, where she worked at the campus radio and TV stations and at WOND1400 a newstalk station in Linwood, NJ, WBBF, an AM outlet in Rochester. After graduating in the spring of 1968, Savitch worked at various radio and TV stations, including WCBS in New York and KHOU-TV in Houston. She then became a popular local television newscaster at KYW-TV, the former NBC affiliate (now CBS) in Philadelphia, and a Washington correspondent for NBC News. Thanks to her screen presence and attractive style, she was eventually promoted to the news anchor of the weekend NBC Nightly News, and she also anchored Frontline on PBS. Her autobiography, Anchorwoman, was published in 1982.
Jessica Savitch 1995 Intimate Portrait
Angry Anchor
Last Known Recorded Broadcast - NBC News Digest With Jessica Savitch (1983)
Jessica Savitch Biography
Remembering Jessica Savitch - www.NBCUniversalArchives.com
Jessica Savitch - Compilation of sign-offs from NBC News - 1982 and 1983
Jessica Savitch Original NBC News Anchor Women
Jessica Savitch - NBC News Digest (1983)
Jessica Savitch & Mort Crim promo 1979
May 10, 1983 NBC News Update With Jessica Savitch
1972 Jessica Savitch KHOU Houston, Texas
October 4 1978 NBC News Update with Jessica Savitch plus commercials
Actors: David Shire (composer), Sela Ward (actress), Sean McCann (actor), Ron Silver (actor), Damir Andrei (actor), Michael J. Reynolds (actor), Chuck Shamata (actor), Barry Flatman (actor), Jason Blicker (actor), Brett Halsey (actor), David Huband (actor), Lawrence Dane (actor), Jeffrey DeMunn (actor), Steve Coulter (miscellaneous crew), Peter Werner (director),
Plot: The fact-based true story of the rapid rise to fame and untimely death of Jessica Savitch - one of America's first female news anchors.
Keywords: 1970s, 1980s, accident, accidental-death, accidental-drowning, cocaine, death-of-unborn-child, divorce, drowning, drug-addict