It took Jessica Savitch nearly two decades to climb to the top of the national broadcast heap. And only 42 seconds to fall all the way down. Savitch made broadcast history by becoming the first female news anchor in a major market and the first woman to anchor the weekend newscast for NBC News. In 1979, she was dubbed America's "Golden Girl" by Newsweek. By the age of 33, she was earning $500,000 a year from NBC—a modern $1.8 million. But in 1983, Savitch met her tragic end, drowning after she c

The late Jessica Savitch reports for KHOU in Houston on a food stamp scandal in 1973. This is called a "standup close" in the TV news biz. The reporter is "standing" and closing their story. Savitch went on to anchor for NBC News, ABC News, and PBS, before her death in 1983 at the age of 36. #texas #houston #reporter #standup #localnews #archives #TAMITurns20 #jessicasavitch See the whole story here: https://loom.ly/5tmvHTA | Texas Archive of the Moving Image