(Left to right) Maureen Bunyan, Renee Poussaint, JC Hayward and Meryl Comer. Photograph by Jeff Elkins
“What Is She Doing Anchoring?”
—The Women Anchors
Not long ago, the anchors on TV newscasts were all white men. Then in the 1960s and ’70s, more women and people of color started delivering the nightly news. Here are a handful of local female pioneers, left to right: Maureen Bunyan, who in 1978 became coanchor of Channel 9’s 6 o’clock news; Renee Poussaint, coanchor of the 6 and 11 pm news on Channel 7 beginning in 1978; JC Hayward, coanchor of Channel 9’s 5:30 newscast starting in 1972; and Meryl Comer, who in 1973 became coanchor of Channel 5’s 10 o’clock news.
Hayward: “They didn’t have women doing anything—anchoring, sports, traffic. They had female reporters, but the anchor chair was saved for the kings. It’s nothing to see a woman on a newscast now, but in 1972 it was striking to see a woman in that chair. [When I first went on the air,] some people would call the station and say, ‘She needs to be in the kitchen, pregnant. What is she doing anchoring?’”
Sherri Dalphonse joined Washingtonian in 1986 as an editorial intern, and worked her way to the top of the masthead when she was named editor-in-chief in 2022. She oversees the magazine’s editorial staff, and guides the magazine’s stories and direction. She lives in DC.
You Must Remember…the Women Anchors Who Changed Local TV
Maureen Bunyan, Renee Poussaint, JC Hayward and Meryl Comer.
“What Is She Doing Anchoring?”
—The Women Anchors
Not long ago, the anchors on TV newscasts were all white men. Then in the 1960s and ’70s, more women and people of color started delivering the nightly news. Here are a handful of local female pioneers, left to right: Maureen Bunyan, who in 1978 became coanchor of Channel 9’s 6 o’clock news; Renee Poussaint, coanchor of the 6 and 11 pm news on Channel 7 beginning in 1978; JC Hayward, coanchor of Channel 9’s 5:30 newscast starting in 1972; and Meryl Comer, who in 1973 became coanchor of Channel 5’s 10 o’clock news.
Hayward: “They didn’t have women doing anything—anchoring, sports, traffic. They had female reporters, but the anchor chair was saved for the kings. It’s nothing to see a woman on a newscast now, but in 1972 it was striking to see a woman in that chair. [When I first went on the air,] some people would call the station and say, ‘She needs to be in the kitchen, pregnant. What is she doing anchoring?’”
Sherri Dalphonse joined Washingtonian in 1986 as an editorial intern, and worked her way to the top of the masthead when she was named editor-in-chief in 2022. She oversees the magazine’s editorial staff, and guides the magazine’s stories and direction. She lives in DC.
Most Popular in News & Politics
What It Felt Like for a Virginia Marching Band to Win Metallica’s Contest
Meet the 2023 Washingtonians of the Year
What’s IN and OUT in DC Restaurant Trends for 2024
Introducing 8 of DC’s Most Stylish
Washingtonian Magazine
May 2024: Great Getaways
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
13 Major Concerts and Music Festivals in the DC Area This Spring
Mary Timony on Her Emotional New Album, “Untame the Tiger”
The Beatles in DC: A New Exhibit in Maryland Looks Back on Early Beatlemania
Northern Virginia High School Wins Metallica’s Marching Band Competition
More from News & Politics
DC Area College Students Protest Gaza War at George Washington University Encampment
Here Are the Celebrities Coming to Town for the White House Correspondents Dinner
Insomnia Cookies, Picnic Blankets: Waiting in Line for Trump’s Supreme Court Case
PHOTOS: Demonstrators Gather Outside the Supreme Court as It Hears Arguments on Emergency Abortion Case
DC’s Coolest Jobs: A Jazz Detective. Orchid Whisperer. Armageddon Stopper.
Seven Miles of Georgia Avenue Will Have a Bus-Only Lane This Summer
What We’ll Miss (or Won’t Miss) About Foxtrot
Foxtrot Is Closing Its DC-Area Stores