New Book Details How Hamptonite Chuck Scarborough & Others Changed TV News

They were more than just television anchors telling the world’s stories – they were people with their own stories, and they had a lasting impact on the state of news media.

Veteran journalist Jerry Barmash’s new book, Here Now the News, offers a captivating behind-the-scenes look at New York City’s most iconic local news anchors from the 1970s and 1980s. Through interviews and anecdotes, Barmash explores the careers of legendary figures like Sue Simmons, Jim Jensen, and, of course, Hamptonite Chuck Scarborough, who has now been the lead news anchor at WNBC for more than 50 years. The book also delves into the era’s newsroom culture, power struggles and social challenges like sexism and racism.

Barmash is a 30-year veteran of the news industry, and has worked as both a broadcaster and a writer. He is currently a Long Island editor for Patch.com, but in the past has worked at WABC Radio, Bloomberg Radio, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Daily News and more.

“I grew up in New York, and I watched the people that I talk about in the book as a kid and as a teenager,” Barmash says. “I was watching it in the ’70s. I knew there was something special about them. They were witty. They were certainly very professional overall. And had, you know, tremendous skills, and it was probably always in the back of my mind that something would, you know, that I would want to do the book. And if you know these people, if you grew up with them, it just made it that much more interesting and exciting.”

Scarborough’s time at WNBC was, in large part, defined by his 32-year run anchoring alongside Sue Simmons, the first African-American woman to co-anchor a nightly New York news broadcast.

“They had a run that was historic, legendary, landmark, whatever you want to call it,” Barmash says.  “The chemistry they had was legendary. They were each so different and they also brought different skills. They weren’t just great together at what they did, all of it the same all encompassing. Each person brought different skills. Chuck was much more, you know, by the book, straight-laced, just give them the facts, if you will. And she brought a little bit more of that, that humor, that having fun, obviously, when it could fit into a newscast where there’s serious stuff. Chuck could deliver the news, he could ad lib handle and break news. Chuck was a little more straight-laced, and by the book.”

Covering the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 in real time was something that impacted all New York reporters and anchors deeply, Barmash says, and Scarborough was no exception to that. Getting back on the nightly broadcast was difficult for Scarborough on 9/11.

“He wasn’t on the scene covering it, but his brother, Jeff, was a cameraman for Channel 4,” Barmash says. “At one point, he was not in contact. I guess one of the towers had come down, and he didn’t get in touch with the station or his brother Chuck, and there was a window of an hour or two or so where they didn’t know what happened to him. By the early afternoon, he was back, he was at the station and they had the two of them have a reunion. But it was very difficult, because Chuck had to continue on the air.”

But Scarborough’s career continued on, even after such an event and after the retirement of Simmons in 2012. The Hamptons, in fact, may hold the secret to his longevity.

“There’s a love of what he’s doing,” Barmash says. “He enjoys being there. The passion to come in and to be part of the newsroom is what gets him up. Then, of course, he’s out in the Hamptons, which is pretty good for recharging your batteries.”

Other tidbits about Scarborough you may not have known include that he is a licensed pilot and an author – he wrote three books early on in his career.

The book also discusses the careers of anchors Bill Beutel, Roger Grimsby, Jim Jensen, Rolland Smith and more.

Here Now The News has received positive reviews since its June publication date. Former New York Gov. David Paterson said that it is “a fascinating and insightful look back at the rich history of TV anchors in New York.”

WABC anchor Bill Ritter praised the book for telling the stories of his predecessors.

“They were a different breed than the people who bring you the news today,” Ritter says. “It’s certainly more diverse now – but those who now bring you the news owe a lot to the men – and later women – who are described so interestingly in Jerry’s book.”

As for what Barmash hopes readers take away from it?

“It’s an entertaining look behind the scenes at the way these anchors were,” he says. “People know them. They’ve heard of them, they’ve seen them. They grew up with them. I’m showing warts and all, I’m showing them as the humans that they are and were, you know, all the skills that they had, but as I say, all the demons and the vices that they had as well.”

Here Now the News is available on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble.