STLMHF

Dick Deeken – 2009

Dick Deeken worked as a news photographer at Channel 5 for 30 years. Known as one of the area’s runner and gunners, Dick would do what it took to get the shots and the story. Before he was hired, Deeken bought his own film camera and drove around the area at night after leaving his day job. He’d hang out with cops and firemen and get video, then sell his material to Channel 5 the following morning. This free-lance effort led to his hiring in 1965. He even survived a helicopter accident when it crashed into the Mississippi River as he was shooting video of a barge accident. He escaped from the wreckage by using his camera to smash through the helicopter’s bubble.

Bob Costas – 2006

Bob Costas left his radio job in St. Louis to join the NBC television network in the early 1980s, but he never really left St. Louis. Known for his smooth delivery, knowledge of sports, and his quick wit, Costas was a play-by-play announcer for the old Spirits of St. Louis of the American Basketball Association. He became a major presence at KMOX Radio, and was briefly employed by the CBS network before signing with NBC He won many National Sportcaster of the Year awards and nearly 20 Emmy Awards for outstanding sports announcing. Costas was a recipient of the Curt Gowdy Award, which is awarded to members of the electronic and print media for outstanding contributions to basketball. In 1988 he broke new ground and won praise for “Later with Bob Costas,” becoming the first sportscaster to host a nationally televised late-night talk show. NBC consistently turned to Costas to host its Olympic coverage. As an active citizen of St. Louis, he lent his time and support to many charitable and civic causes.

Allan Cohen – 2008

KMOV president and general manager Allan Cohen distinguished himself as a strong leader in the field of television broadcasting and as an extraordinary individual committed to helping the community in which he lived and worked. Under his direction, KMOV achieved a well-deserved, national reputation as one of the top-rated and most watched television stations in the country. During Cohen’s tenure at the helm, KMOV received numerous awards and honors for outstanding programming, excellent reporting and its commitment to community involvement, including the National Association of Broadcasting Education Foundation’s Service to America – Service to Children award in 2001 and 2004, and a 2003 Gerald R. Loeb Award.

Harry Caray – 2006

​Harry Caray (Carabina) hit town in 1944 as an announcer at the St. Louis Star radio station, KXOK. While his strength was in sports broadcasting, which he put to good use that year doing play-by-play for the Cardinals/Browns World Series, he was a jack-of-all-trades back at the station. Caray would write his own copy, conduct news interviews, and write and present editorials on the station, and he had a regular sports talk program as well.
It was said he sought a job at KMOX in 1943 by sending a personal letter to the home of the station’s general manager, Merle Jones, who granted him an interview and then told him to get some experience and come back.
He did his first game as a Cardinals’ announcer April 17, 1945. Years later, in 1955, Caray would be teamed in the Cardinals’ broadcast booth with Jack Buck and Joe Garagiola, and the three were heard throughout the Midwest over the vast Cardinals’ radio network.
Harry Caray’s colorful announcing and antics endeared him to radio fans, whom Caray felt were the people to whom he was responsible. When players became perturbed at his description of their work, Caray swore he was telling it the way he saw it.
After 25 years in the St. Louis broadcast booth, Harry Caray was given his walking papers by his employer, Anheuser-Busch.

Fred Burrows – 2008

Fred Burrows grew up in St. Louis and didn’t always plan to be in the news business. He originally attended Washington University in St. Louis with intentions of pursuing a career in engineering. To help pay his way through school, he got a job at KWK-TV (KMOX-TV) Channel 4. He did a stint at KPLR before returning to KMOX in 1960. While there, he directed the first live regional broadcast and the station was one of the first to transition from news film to electronic news gathering. After leaving KMOX-TV in 1986, Fred went to CNN where he devised what are now industry standards: generic line shots, archival services and affiliate seminars. While at CNN, he also produced and managed such events as the first national convention coverage for CNN’s affiliates, the terrorist attacks of September 11 and Hurricane Katrina.

George Burbach – 2006

Burbach started out as ad manager for the Post-Dispatch and in 1922, moved to KSD radio as general manager. While on vacation in London in 1936 he was the first person from St. Louis to see television in its early form. He is said to have vowed that his company would be the first to broadcast television in the US, and was ready to do so in 1941 when WWII halted all development. He became KSD-TV GM when it signed on in 1947 and remained there until his death in early ‘60s.