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Carlos Amezcua, Marc Brown, Christine Devine, Laura Diaz,
Rick Garcia, Pat Harvey, Sylvia Lopez, Michaela Pereira

Pat Harvey

When Pat Harvey was brought to Los Angeles from Chicago's WGN in September of 1989, Channel 9 was in the process of dropping its KHJ moniker and became what we know today as KCAL. She was paired with a Los Angeles broadcasting legend, the late Jerry Dunphy. She was the Southland's first black weeknight news anchor since, ironically, KHJ-9's Felicia Jeter in 1981. The station, which at the time was bought by Disney, endeavored to launch the nation's first three-hour primetime (8 p.m. to 11 p.m.) newscast. Since that time, there was the 1996 sale of KCAL from Disney to Young Broadcasting and then another transition with KCAL's 2002 merger with KCBS-TV (Channel 2). Through it all, Harvey has reigned as the "First Lady" of KCAL's "Prime 9 News." Despite on-air personnel changes, she has been the on-air foundation on which the news organization has been built.

Commenting on her staying power, Harvey spoke of her conscientious manner and her ability to connect with viewers. "I like to think of myself as a hard worker. I am very serious about what I do," she said. "At the same time, I know the importance of connecting with my audience, the community, and I think I have established myself in that particular area in the time I've been here--at least, that's what I have been told.

"People have told me they feel they know me, although they have never met me, because of how I come across on the air."

The airwave merger of KCAL with KCBS has not diminished Harvey's role nor has the synergy created conflicts with the former news competitors who are now allies. "[The merger] wasn't a hard adjustment for me," the news anchor said. "The goal was to create an entity that was powerful, that would be better. It's a union.

"Anyone who knows me and what I represent knows that I'm gonna be the one that's gonna rally. Because I believe negative energy works against what we are trying to do. I don't like my environment to be negative, so I am going to be as positive as I possibly can."

The Detroit native's formative years were generally positive. Harvey fondly remembers a happy childhood in the Motor City. She spent those years in her house with her parents, an older brother and younger twin siblings, a brother and a sister. The happiness was interrupted, at least temporarily, by the Detroit riots of 1967.

"I had a wonderful childhood, great childhood. Then the riots happened in '67," she recalled. "Things had been building up for a long time because the city's police department had a unit that seemed to target black men. The aftermath of the civil unrest was devastating. The city changed. It changed most people's lives forever. A lot of jobs were lost. The auto industry just collapsed. Unemployment just shot through the roof. It was no longer a vital, major urban hub anymore. It was very scary. I thought it was World War III. My family and I had to stay on the floor in the house as we heard bullets being fired."

Unlike Los Angeles after its respective civil unrests in 1964 and 1992, Detroit was not rebuilt. Years later, a Renaissance Center was built. In terms of rebuilding neighborhoods, however, that did not happen. In spite of this, Harvey remembers a togetherness and sense of community the people in the black community shared. "There was a time when people were concerned for one another," she observed. "We had block parties. Neighborhood Watch. It was a good life."

Harvey had a talent for performing arts as a child and liked performing before groups of people. She enrolled in Detroit's Cass Tech High School, the same school that produced famed singer Diana Ross. Upon graduation, Harvey bounced around collegiately (Mercy College of Detroit, University of Detroit, Saginaw Valley State University). Initially, Harvey planned on becoming a nurse but with the inspiration of the late Detroit news anchor Beverly Payne and future politician Vic Caputo she decided to focus on journalism. In 1975, she entered and won the Miss Black Michigan pageant. The idea of broadcasting was suggested to her by Caputo, who was a newscaster at the time.

"He was impressed that I wasn't afraid of the mike," she remembered. "He noticed that I was opinionated on various issues, which isn't always good but a good starting point for a newscaster," she said with an easy smile.

Shortly thereafter, she joined WNEM-TV in Saginaw, Mich., as a reporter/writer/editor. Ultimately, Harvey became anchor and producer of the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts. From 1979-81, she and WJBK-TV's Payne were the only black news anchors on the air five nights a week in those respective Michigan markets. Both left the Michigan airwaves under different circumstances in the early 1980s: Payne's racial protests and social activism prompted WJBK station officials to allow her contract to expire in 1982 and she never worked in television again. She ultimately died of cancer at the age of 54 in November of 1999. Harvey, meanwhile in 1981, impressed an emerging cable news power with her stellar anchor work.

In 1981, Harvey was hired by CNN. It was there that she first interviewed many heads of state and dignitaries such as Ferdinand Marcos and Alexander Haig. While working for the Atlanta-based network, Harvey was also active in the community. As host for a community affairs program for WTBS, she examined issues of concern to the African-American community, including Andrew Young's re-election as mayor and the growing number of black representatives from the region advancing to seats in Congress.

In 1985, Harvey moved to WGN in Chicago. The highlight of her tenure at WGN came in 1988 as she anchored the Democratic National Convention. It was there that she broke "The Ron Brown Story," synonymous with Paul Kirk's resignation as Chairman of the Democratic Party. Harvey also got an exclusive interview with the Rev. Jesse Jackson at the convention.

Upon her arrival in Los Angeles in September of 1989, Harvey continued her commitment to producing special reports. Exasperated with "glorified reports" of gang violence, the newscaster made a strong effort to highlight the positive accomplishments of inner-city youth. She has also hosted and been a guest speaker at many civic events over the years.

Harvey has anchored the historic 1990 Los Angeles visit of South African leader Nelson Mandela, traveled to South Africa in 1994 to cover the historic elections of that year in which blacks were allowed to vote for the first time, and in 1995 conducted an exclusive interview with Jeannette Harris, one of the first dismissed jurors during the O.J. Simpson criminal trial. She has been the recipient of various Emmys and other honors for her news coverage of key stories, those local, national, and worldwide during her time as the primary anchor of "Prime 9 News."

Often supplying a voice for those who have often been left unheard, Harvey is an appreciated figure in Los Angeles' Black community. She was quickly embraced as a prominent voice in 1989 and was made aware of her unusual position. "Once I got here, I discovered that I was the first black weeknight anchor in L.A. since 1981. And, yes, people in the black community did tell me that I was in a unique position," she said with a chuckle. "It was a lot of responsibility but I was proud of that fact and a little surprised."

She expects no surprises for the next few years. "I signed a multi-year contract in December 2005, so I will be here about four more years. From there, I'm not exactly sure. I still find satisfaction in what I'm doing." Throughout the years, KCAL anchormen have come and gone. Harvey, however, has remained the constant. By many critics' accounts, she is arguably the best news anchor, regardless of gender, race or ethnicity, in Los Angeles.

Click a name to read more:

Carlos Amezcua, Marc Brown, Christine Devine, Laura Diaz,
Rick Garcia, Pat Harvey, Sylvia Lopez, Michaela Pereira