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Honoring the life and legacy of Philadelphia’s first Black television reporter, Trudy Haynes, for her work breaking barriers for Black women in the field of journalism.
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WHEREAS, Trudy Haynes was born Gertrude Daniels on November 23, 1926, in New York, NY; and
WHEREAS, While growing up, Mrs. Haynes did not have the intention of starting of a career in media. She studied sociology and psychology at Howard University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in 1947; and
WHEREAS, She ended up falling into media and even before she began her historic career broadcast TV, she was already a trailblazer in the industry. In the early 50's she was the first Black poster model for Lucky Strike cigarettes. She entered broadcasting in 1956 as women's editor at WCHB Radio in Inkster, Michigan and hosted a 90-minute daily program for women; and
WHEREAS, After seven years in radio, in 1963 she began her assignment for ABC owned WXYZ-TV in Detroit, Michigan, as the country's first African-American TV weathercaster. In this position Mrs. Haynes seized the opportunity to do even more, using it as a steppingstone to becoming a reporter; and
WHEREAS, In 1965 Mrs. Haynes caught the attention of KYW-TV in Philadelphia, and joined Eyewitness News in 1965, becoming the first Black TV reporter in Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Haynes served many years as KYW 3's entertainment reporter and also hosted several public affairs programs including The Trudy Haynes Show, Sunday Magazine and Sunday Side Up. She also covered local politics, City Hall developments and school board meetings; and
WHEREAS, Throughout her career she has interviewed news and entertainment celebrities from President Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to Sylvester Stallone, Denzel Washington and Tupac Shakur. She also initiated a news segment called "Trudy's Grapevine," a tongue-in-cheek celebrity gossip spot; and
WHEREAS, Haynes would stay at Eyewitness News for decades and retired in December 1988 after 33 years on the air at KYW-TV, Channel 3; and
WHEREAS, Retirement did not mean the end of her career however. After retiring Mrs. Haynes has remained active in the Philadelphia media world. Working on a freelance basis, she has appeared on various local television shows, including WPHL-TV’s Philly Connection, PAX-TV’s The Good News, and Comcast Cable’s Let’s Talk About It and Trudy Haynes Discovers Delaware; and
WHEREAS, She also established a production company, First Run Film/Video, which generated her show segments. Despite her status as a mainstream media personality, she became an active member of the Philadelphia Community Access Coalition, a lobbying group whose mission is to create public-access cable channels in the Philadelphia area; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Haynes received numerous TV awards and has been a member of several professional organizations including the NAACP; National Alliance of Businesspersons; National Business League; Urban League Guild; United Negro College Fund; Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists. In 1999, Trudy Haynes was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia's "Hall of Fame"; and
WHEREAS, At times throughout her career Mrs. Haynes faced sexism and discrimination, but always rose above and earned the respect of not only her peers, but also her viewers. She inspired generations of women and showed them that they could dare to break barriers like she did; and
WHEREAS, On June 7, 2022, at 95 years old the legendary, former Eyewitness News reporter Trudy Haynes passed away. Her legacy will be remembered for generations to come as the woman who transformed the face of the news industry in Philadelphia; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Honors the life and legacy of Philadelphia’s first Black television reporter Trudy Haynes for her work breaking barriers for Black women in the field of journalism.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Mrs. Trudy Haynes as evidence of the admiration and respect of this body.
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