Al Sanders - Background

Background

In 1967 Sanders, as Al Gay, worked for radio station KXLW, in St. Louis, Missouri; in 1969 he changed stations and his name. His new station: KWK, St. Louis, his new name: Al Sanders. Sanders joined WJZ-TV in 1972 and became a news anchor five years later. Prior to his arrival on Television Hill, WJZ's news was mired in third place in a town that had three major network newscasts: WBAL-TV was #1, WMAR-TV was #2. Three years later, WJZ with Jerry Turner, Sanders, Bob Turk (weather) and Nick Charles (sports) were a runaway #1, with more viewers than their competitors combined, and stayed there through the 70s and into the 80s. He continued alone after Jerry Turner died in 1987 and made Denise Koch a permanent partner a year later (Koch had been filling in for Turner during his illness). Sanders won Emmy Awards in 1993 and 1994 for his regularly featured specialty report, "Picture This." Sanders died of lung cancer at the Johns Hopkins Hospital on May 5, 1995 and he was replaced by Vic Carter (who is formerly of WSB-TV Atlanta).

Read more about this topic:  Al Sanders

Famous quotes containing the word background:

    ... every experience in life enriches one’s background and should teach valuable lessons.
    Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)

    They were more than hostile. In the first place, I was a south Georgian and I was looked upon as a fiscal conservative, and the Atlanta newspapers quite erroneously, because they didn’t know anything about me or my background here in Plains, decided that I was also a racial conservative.
    Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)