Famous Like Me > Actor > J > Jim Jensen
Profile of Jim Jensen
on Famous Like Me |
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| Name: |
Jim Jensen |
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| Date of Birth: |
13th November 1926 |
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| Place of Birth: |
Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA |
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| Profession: |
Actor |
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From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia
Jim Jensen (1926-1999) was a longtime American anchor and reporter, most notably at CBS' flagship station, WCBS-TV in New York.
A native of Minneapolis, Jensen was a pitcher for the Minneapolis Millers before an injury ended his baseball career. He then took a job as a sportswriter at the Minneapolis Tribune (now part of the Minneapolis Star Tribune), then moved into broadcasting--first at a Minneapolis radio station, then at WHDH-AM-FM-TV in Boston.
He came to WCBS in 1964, and soon became weekend anchorman and backup weekday anchor behind Robert Trout, who was doing double duty at the station and at CBS News. He didn't take too long to make an impact, winning notereity for his coverage of Robert F. Kennedy's Senate campaign soon after he arrived in New York. When Trout left for a network assignment in Europe, Jensen succeeded him as WCBS' main anchor.
Jensen was known in New York for his booming, gravely voice and deliberate demeanor, and was often thought of as a local version of Walter Cronkite. WCBS had gone back and forth with WNBC-TV for first place, but under Jensen became the dominant station in New York, a lead it kept for most of the time until the mid-1980s. He was also known for asking perceptive questions, even of his colleagues at the news desk. WCBS' reporters had to know their stories very well if their stories aired on Jensen's broadcasts, and risked embarassing themselves on-air if Jensen asked them a question to which they didn't know the answer. Over the years, his partners at the anchor desk--some of them New York broadcast legends in their own right--included Rolland Smith, Dave Marash, Carol Martin, Michelle Marsh and finally Dana Tyler. He was reportedly the model for Jim Dial, Murphy Brown's coanchor.
Jensen battled a drug habit for many years, finally seeking rehab in 1988. He was back at WCBS within a short time, and travelled to Israel to cover the Persian Gulf War in 1991.
In 1994, WCBS demoted Jensen to host of its Sunday morning public-affairs show. At that time, he had been an anchor longer than anyone in New York television history. The station's ratings had tailed off considerably, and management wanted new blood at the anchor desk. However, the decision and the manner in which it was handled caused a firestorm of criticism, which only increased when Jensen was forced to retire in 1995 shortly after Westinghouse bought CBS. WCBS crashed into last place soon afterwards and has never recovered. As of 2005, it is still in last place, sometimes trailing syndicated reruns and Spanish language newscasts.
Jensen died in New York on October 16, 1999 of a heart attack.
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