Jim Baldridge Biography
Jim Baldridge is an American former newscaster and co-anchor for WHIO-TV’s NewsCenter 7 in Dayton, Ohio. He attended Shawnee High School and is a graduate of Wright State University and Sinclair Community College. Baldridge retired in the fall of 2009 after a career as one of the most durable local news anchors on any station in the USA.m
In Lima, Ohio, Baldridge was born. He attended Shawnee High School and graduated from the University of Wright State and Sinclair Community College. Baldridge started covering news as a junior in high college at WCIT radio in Lima, Ohio, in 1964. He worked for several stations in the Dayton-Springfield area (including WIZE under the pseudonym “Gregg Baldwin”) and served in the Army with the United Stat.
As a general assignment reporter, Baldridge joined WHIO-TV in 1972. With Dayton broadcast legend Don Wayne, whom he had grown up watching, Baldridge started to anchor in 1977. He subsequently worked with Cheryl McHenry and Letitia Perry. Jim Baldridge traveled the globe during his years at WHIO to cover stories that are essential to the Dayton region.
Special assignments brought him to China, Vietnam, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Japan, Colombia, and across Europe, including the Berlin Wall Fall. He also covered significant U.S. stories such as the San Francisco earthquake of 1989 and the bombing of Oklahoma City, as well as many political occurrences. He retired in the fall of 2009 after a career as one of the most durable local news anchors on any station in the United States.
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Jim Baldridge Dayton still home for retiring TV anchor Baldridge
He already had several years of experience, before he started working at WHIO-TV Channel 7 in 1972. His career in communications started as a senior at Lima Shawnee High School when he worked as an announcer at a radio station. He missed his high school graduation ceremony because he was needed at the station. Later, he served as an announcer and reporter for the Armed Forces Radio and Television services while in the U.S. Army.
In the summer of 1969, after a short stop at radio station WIZE-AM in Springfield, Baldridge met with Johnny Walker, a broadcasting friend from Lima. Walker helped him get a radio job at WING (980-AM) in Dayton. So, 40 years ago, he moved to Dayton, took the WING job, met his wife, Sue, and put down roots.“When Sue and I got back from our honeymoon, I had a chance to meet Ed Hamlyn, the longtime news director at WDTN-TV, Channel 2 news, and he hired me as a reporter, and part-time anchor” Baldridge said.
“Not too long after that I was hired by Channel 7 on the other side of town, and eventually worked my way up to the position of co-anchor.”In 1988, when the late Don Wayne retired, Baldridge became the prime anchor at NewsCenter 7. Baldridge considers “luck” a component of his success. “I am surprised I have been able to do what I have done,” he said. “I love to write. I know I am a good reporter and a good writer. But to me, I felt I never looked right on the air. I looked too young, and my voice had too high a pitch.”
It is rare in a television market for a single station and a news anchor to monopolize television ratings for nearly four decades. Barbara Frye, vice president of talent placement services for Frank N. Magid Associates, a television and entertainment research company headquartered in Marion, Iowa, said there are “only a handful of television news anchors around the nation who have been as successful as Jim Baldridge, and have been fortunate enough to hold a top job such as his for this amount of time.
”Frye said, “Anchors reaching retirement age, and making a strong salary are often squeezed out. To have this man’s longevity in an industry that is unstable and impatient and is highly driven by ratings is very unusual.” Baldridge said, “I think I have survived this long because the audience respects us and counts on Channel 7 for important local news.” Among Baldridge’s career highlights is covering the United States Air Show. For 26 years, he anchored the station’s live coverage of the event, which was taped and packaged into an hour program syndicated to stations around the U.S. and in foreign countries.
Major General Ed Mechenbier (USAF retired), his color commentator for many of those programs, said, “Jim was excellent in that role because he was fascinated with the show. He was like a little kid seeing these air adventures for the first time, and his enthusiasm came across.”Baldridge said his decision to leave Channel 7 is “completely voluntary.”He wants to keep a positive working relationship with Channel 7 and Cox Broadcasting. “I have also thought about doing pieces for public radio, or perhaps volunteering some work for the U.S. Air Force Museum.”
Baldridge said it’s simply time for a change.“I still love being a reporter but would like to work on special projects that reach into more serious issues. I would like to have the time and luxury of fully developing them.”Baldridge admits he will miss the fans who supported him and professional relationships. Harry Delaney, the vice president and General Manager of Channel 7 said he will miss Baldridge, “as our anchor, and as a friend. There is only one Jim Baldridge.”Baldridge was sent to natural disasters, terrorist attacks and has reported from 24 countries.“One of my favorite assignments was called ‘Return to Vietnam’ and included a package of stories that photographer Chuck Upthegrove and I accomplished 10 years after the war,” he said.
In retirement, Baldridge hopes to spend more time with his two grandchildren. The Baldridge’s have a son, Nick, and a daughter, Sue. The Baldridge’s have a winter cottage in Florida, and “when the second or third big snowfall of the winter comes, we will head to Florida,” he said.“Dayton is home base to us,” Baldridge said. “We won’t wander far from home. We have wonderful friends and incredible memories here. For us, this is the place where good things happened.”Dale Huffman wants your suggestions and story ideas. He’d like to share a story about you, your family, or a friend. This column is for you.
Jim Baldridge To Retire, After 37 Years At WHIO-TV
News Center 7 Anchor Jim Baldridge will retire from WHIO-TV at the end of August after a broadcasting career spanning five decades. “I am very grateful to the Miami Valley individuals for having welcomed me to their homes and to WHIO-TV for a lengthy and successful career in one of the country’s most renowned newsrooms,” Baldridge claims.
Baldridge traveled across the Miami Valley, across the nation, and around the globe, during his 37 years at WHIO-TV, bringing stories back to Channel 7 viewers. “The 1974 Xenia Tornado, the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the 1989 San Francisco earthquake are among my most poignant memories,” Baldridge claims.
Baldridge reported as the Wall went down from China, Vietnam, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Japan, Colombia, and across Europe, including Berlin. His military background and enthusiasm for our country’s servants made him a natural choice to host the world-famous Dayton Air Show coverage. “The nearly 30 Dayton Air Show broadcasts I made with my friend General Ed M are among my favorite memories.
“By any measure, private contributions, local expertise, professionalism or duration of service, Jim is nothing brief of a broadcast icon on Dayton TV,” tells WHIO-TV VP and General Manager Harry Delaney “He is a home-grown, home-grown favorite who has succeeded to the heights of broadcast journalism and embodies WHIO-TV’s high expectations.”
In Lima, Ohio, Baldridge grew up. In May 1964, while still a senior at Lima Shawnee High School, he began his broadcasting career. Baldridge served in the United States. Army with the Radio and Television Services of the Armed Forces from 1966 to 1969. He graduated from Sinclair Community College and Wright State University and worked for several other local radio stations before going to WHIO-TV to find his home.
“I’ve worked with and learned from a lot of exceptional WHIO individuals,” Baldridge claims. “One of the most memorable of my early years is the late Don Wayne and Gil Whitney. I will always owe an enormous debt of appreciation to Stan Mouse, the general manager of WHIO who recruited me out of channel 2.”
“Serving the audience was always the top priority for Jim. During his career, he has gained the confidence of millions of spectators, “tells Delaney. “Jim is all that’s nice about WHIO-TV.” Baldridge and-anchor Cheryl McHenry has been forming one of America’s longest-running anchor teams for almost two decades. “The core of today’s WHIO-TV news is Cheryl McHenry a great professional.
News Center 7 Anchor James Brown will assume anchor responsibilities for the newscasts at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. along with his present News Center 7 duties at 5:30 p.m. with Cheryl McHenry and Letitia Perry at 11 p.m. Brown, born in Wilmington and living in Lebanon, has spent the last seven years with WHIO-TV.
“We are very lucky to have a powerful journalist like James prepared to continue Jim’s tradition and the other excellent news anchors here at News Center 7,” tells David Bennallack, WHIO-TV News Director. “Jim is a flawless journalist!” Brown claims. “He’s one of the smartest individuals I’ve encountered. I’m so grateful to have been working with him in the same newsroom for the previous seven years.”
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