Harry Boomer Explained

Harry Boomer
Birth Date:4 September 1953
Birth Place:Turkey, North Carolina, United States
Occupation:Radio and television news anchor/reporter
Years Active:1971–present
Children:1

Harry Boomer (born September 4, 1953, in Turkey, North Carolina) is a broadcast journalist, reporter and newscaster for radio and television. He currently is the senior reporter for CBS affiliate WOIO (channel 19) and CW affiliate WUAB (channel 43), both located in Cleveland, Ohio.

Bio

Harry Boomer was born on September 4, 1953, as the youngest of ten siblings in Turkey, North Carolina; his father George Boomer was a Baptist minister.[1] Boomer relocated to Washington, D.C. at age 17 after graduating high school and was hired as a disc jockey at the Mark IV Supper Club, an area discotheque.[2] Gaining notice as one of several "Super Disco Jocks" at Black-oriented dance clubs, Boomer was hired by WPGC AM/FM as an air personality while also attending both Northern Virginia Community College in Alexandria, Virginia, and Columbia School of Broadcasting in nearby Vienna.[3] Tiring of the music, Boomer entered into radio news reporting for various stations in the Washington market, including as news director for WOL, the city's leading Black radio station.[4]

Boomer came to Ohio in 1988 to work at WBXT in Canton, Ohio, after the station was purchased by a friend of the family. Originally working as morning drive announcer, Boomer was elevated to program director later in the year,[5] while also joining Cleveland television station WUAB as a volunteer in their public affairs department. After WBXT went off the air, Boomer became a producer/reporter at WUAB, and a reporter for WCPN, the city's NPR affiliate. At WCPN, Boomer was promoted to assistant news director and host of After Nine, the station's morning newsmagazine, while his WUAB work began to include co-managed WOIO after that station became the market's CBS affiliate. Boomer moderated a hotly contested 1992 debate between Rep. Mary Rose Oakar and challenger Martin Hoke.[6] An advocate for prospective African-American journalists to pursue internships, Boomer's position at WCPN was noted by Plain Dealer critic Roger Brown in his criticism of "downright woeful" Black representation on Cleveland radio.[7]

Boomer's WOIO-WUAB duties continued to expand, in 1997, he was named the station's education reporter in a personnel shakeup.[8] By 2006, Boomer was promoted to breaking news reporter/anchor on WOIO's weekday morning newscast[9] and later added hosting duties for 43 Focus, WUAB's weekly public affairs program. He is now recognized by WOIO-WUAB as their longest tenured on-air staffer.[10]

Boomer received the 2015 Silver Circle Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), a distinction given for at least 25 years in television.[11] In addition to multiple community groups and organizations, Boomer has been president of the Greater Cleveland Association of Black Journalists, a chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists. Twice during Boomer's leadership, the chapter has been named the NABJ Professional Chapter of the Year, most recently in 2016.[12]

In 2014, Boomer was named a HistoryMaker and an oral video of his life's story is part of a permanent archive at the Library of Congress.

Awards

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: February 10, 2014 . Harry Boomer's Biography . October 16, 2022 . The HistoryMakers . en . October 7, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221007170128/https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/harry-boomer . live .
  2. News: Henry . Fran . November 19, 1995 . Harry Boomer . 14 . The Plain Dealer Sunday Magazine . Cleveland, Ohio . subscription . October 15, 2022 . NewsBank . October 16, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221016020957/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/0F80874948DF24DB&f=basic . live .
  3. Web site: Crowder . Rhonda . Andrews . R. T. . December 24, 2021 . Harry Boomer celebrates 50 years in broadcasting . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211226205115/https://therealdealpress.com/2.0/index.php/community/979-harry-boomer-celebrates-50-years-in-broadcasting . December 26, 2021 . October 6, 2022 . The Real Deal Press . Cleveland, Ohio . en-gb.
  4. News: Feran . Tom . March 11, 1991 . Ironclads' lands with a thud . The Plain Dealer . Cleveland, Ohio . subscription . October 15, 2022 . NewsBank . October 16, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221016020957/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/173EFE82C003B920&f=basic . live .
  5. September 19, 1988 . Fates & Fortunes: Programming . Broadcasting . 115 . 12 . 93 . October 15, 2022 . World Radio History . November 8, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151415/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1988/BC-1988-09-19.pdf . live .
  6. News: Ruess . Michelle . October 28, 1992 . Oakar faults Hoke investments: Hoke says Oakar got 'sweetheart deal' on loan . 3B . The Plain Dealer . Cleveland, Ohio . subscription . October 15, 2022 . NewsBank . October 16, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221016020957/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/0F803DD7984A7B55&f=basic . live .
  7. News: Brown . Roger . March 10, 1997 . Is talent enough? Death of pioneering Black journalist stirs questions on radio's diversity . 7D . The Plain Dealer . Cleveland, Ohio . subscription . October 15, 2022 . NewsBank.
  8. News: Feran . Tom . October 6, 1997 . Former Cleveland broadcaster rising to top of TV heap . 7E . The Plain Dealer . Cleveland, Ohio . subscription . October 15, 2022 . NewsBank . October 16, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221016020957/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/0F80CC5F83F15319&f=basic . live .
  9. News: Washington . Julie . September 30, 2006 . Channel 19 forms a new team . E5 . The Plain Dealer . Cleveland, Ohio . subscription . October 15, 2022 . NewsBank.
  10. Web site: 19 News Digital Team . July 24, 2022 . 19 News veteran reporter Harry Boomer inducted into NATAS Central Great Lakes' Gold Circle . October 16, 2022 . WOIO . Cleveland, Ohio . en.
  11. Web site: NATAS Lower Great Lakes Chapter News . October 16, 2022 . myemail.constantcontact.com . May 16, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210516193538/https://myemail.constantcontact.com/NATAS-Lower-Great-Lakes-Chapter-News.html?soid=1102180019386&aid=rg-gWpXOFcw . live .
  12. Web site: Neely . Chanda . August 11, 2016 . Greater Cleveland Association of Black Journalists honored . October 16, 2022 . The Plain Dealer . Cleveland, Ohio . en.
  13. News: Brown . Roger . June 3, 1996 . Fenos signs for 3 years: her pact ensures WLTF's morning trio will remain intact . 7D . The Plain Dealer . Cleveland, Ohio . subscription . October 15, 2022 . NewsBank . October 16, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221016020957/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/0F808CDC50AD4B5D&f=basic . live .
  14. Web site: 1996 Awards . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140108063731/http://www.ideastream.org/awards/entry/33101 . January 8, 2014 . January 8, 2014 . Ideastream - Northeast Ohio Public Radio, Television and Multiple Media.
  15. Web site: Broadcasters Hall of Fame . January 8, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140102200015/http://www.broadcastershalloffame.com/alpha.htm . January 2, 2014 . dead .
  16. Web site: April 7, 2022 . Gold & Silver Circle inductees honored at event in Cleveland - NATAS Central Great Lakes Chapter . October 16, 2022 . greatlakesemmys.tv . en-US . October 16, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221016020956/https://greatlakesemmys.tv/2022/04/07/natas-cgl-announces-more-gold-circle-invitees-2/ . live .

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