Harry Mabry
Encyclopedia
Harry Mabry was a noted television news director and anchor in Birmingham
and Anniston
, Alabama
.
, Mabry moved with his parents to Birmingham at an early age. Following his graduation from Phillips High School in 1948, he attended the University of Alabama
, where he received a degree in Radio-TV in 1953. Even before graduating college, he was employed as an announcer by WHMA
Radio in Anniston
from 1949 to 1952, and worked for a year at Atlanta's WAGA
in 1952. From 1953 to 1956 he was a decorated Navy communications officer, serving primarily in Osaka, Japan.
, where among other duties he hosted the afternoon "Cartoon Zoo" with two puppet co-hosts. He was notorious in Memphis for moving his desk from the studio to outside the station, conducting a late-night news cast in the season's first snowfall.
-TV, channel 6, where he also worked as an on-air anchor. He remained in Birmingham with WBRC throughout the 1960s, where some of his most important reporting was on the civil rights
movement. Mabry is responsible for much of the film footage documenting the civil rights movement in Birmingham, and was often seen standing to the side of protests attempting to protect his camera from the spray of the fire houses while continuing to film the altercations between the protestors and the Birmingham Police and Fire Departments.
In the mid-1980s following an adverse Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) ruling, the station was sold to Jacksonville State University
, who re-named it WJSU before selling it again in 1989, when Mabry returned to WBRC. From 1989–1991 Mabry was general manager of that station's East Alabama bureau, based in Anniston. After 1991 he continued in the field as a contract independent communications consultant, most notably developing a new television station in Gadsden
, AL and re-building a then dark WOXR-AM.
under the auspices of The Citizens Democracy Corps and International Executive Service Corps
. Mabry and his wife lived and worked for up to six months at a time in cities including Arsenyev
, Samarkand
, Tbilisi
and Tver
, where he helped formerly government-run television stations cope with both their new-found independence and their sudden responsibility for everything from news content and presentation to advertising and general business practices. "The object is not to make their stations into American stations," Mabry said in a 2000 interview, "but to show them some techniques that are being done on American stations".
Board of Directors, a director on the Regions Bank Board, a member of the Regional Medical Center Foundation Board, member and former president of The Knox Concert Series, Rotary Club president and others. He was a former president of the Alabama Broadcasting Association who received the Alabama Broadcasters of the Year Award in 1993 and the Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1983 from the University of Alabama
School of Communications.
. He was 72.
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
and Anniston
Anniston, Alabama
Anniston is a city in Calhoun County in the state of Alabama, United States.As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 24,276. According to the 2005 U.S. Census estimates, the city had a population of 23,741...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
.
Early life
Born January 11, 1932 in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, Mabry moved with his parents to Birmingham at an early age. Following his graduation from Phillips High School in 1948, he attended the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
, where he received a degree in Radio-TV in 1953. Even before graduating college, he was employed as an announcer by WHMA
WHMA (AM)
WHMA is a radio station licensed to serve Anniston, Alabama, USA. The station is owned by Williams Communications, Inc.It broadcasts a Gospel music format and features news programming from Fox News Radio.-History:...
Radio in Anniston
Anniston
Anniston may refer to:* Places:** Anniston, Alabama** Anniston, Missouri* Anniston Munitions Center* Anniston * USS Anniston, a.k.a. USS Montgomery See also:* Aniston...
from 1949 to 1952, and worked for a year at Atlanta's WAGA
Waga
Waga is an isolated small town in Colombo District, Sri Lanka. Administrated by Seethawaka Pradeshiya Sabha , it is part of the Padukka Divisional Secretary's Division. The town can be reached on road from Colombo via A4 road, turning off at either Meepe near Padukka or at Kaluaggala near Hanwella...
in 1952. From 1953 to 1956 he was a decorated Navy communications officer, serving primarily in Osaka, Japan.
Career in Memphis
Following his discharge in 1956 and until 1958, Mabry was a staff announcer for a television station in Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, where among other duties he hosted the afternoon "Cartoon Zoo" with two puppet co-hosts. He was notorious in Memphis for moving his desk from the studio to outside the station, conducting a late-night news cast in the season's first snowfall.
Return to Birmingham
Mabry returned to Birmingham in 1958 as news editor and established editorial policy at WBRCWBRC
WBRC, virtual channel 6, is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the Birmingham, Alabama designated market area. The station is owned by Raycom Media, and its transmitter is located atop Red Mountain in Birmingham...
-TV, channel 6, where he also worked as an on-air anchor. He remained in Birmingham with WBRC throughout the 1960s, where some of his most important reporting was on the civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
movement. Mabry is responsible for much of the film footage documenting the civil rights movement in Birmingham, and was often seen standing to the side of protests attempting to protect his camera from the spray of the fire houses while continuing to film the altercations between the protestors and the Birmingham Police and Fire Departments.
Move to Anniston
In 1969, Mabry moved to Anniston to launch WHMA-TV, channel 40 (a sister entity to his former employer), as both general manager and news director/anchor, remaining for twenty years. It was during this time that the station gained infamy when, following several phone calls in which he threatened to do so, an unemployed carpenter in a nearby town was filmed by a camera crew from Mabry's station as he set himself on fire in a drunken protest of unemployment. Mabry was very much affected by this incident, not only shaken by the fact that someone would commit such an act, but also frustrated the in the public outcry that followed. It was never widely noted that local law enforcement failed to intervene and prevent the self-immolation, as they had promised.In the mid-1980s following an adverse Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) ruling, the station was sold to Jacksonville State University
Jacksonville State University
Jacksonville State University is a regional public coeducational university located in Jacksonville, Alabama, USA. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in four academic units leading to Bachelor's, Master's, and Education Specialist degrees, in addition to continuing and...
, who re-named it WJSU before selling it again in 1989, when Mabry returned to WBRC. From 1989–1991 Mabry was general manager of that station's East Alabama bureau, based in Anniston. After 1991 he continued in the field as a contract independent communications consultant, most notably developing a new television station in Gadsden
Gadsden
Gadsden may refer to:In geography:*Gadsden, Alabama**Gadsden Depot, a United States Army Depot in the city of Gadsden, Alabama*Gadsden, Arizona*Gadsden, Indiana*Gadsden, Tennessee*Gadsden County, Florida...
, AL and re-building a then dark WOXR-AM.
Semi-retirement
Following a 1996 partial retirement, Mabry continued to consult internationally in the communications field, traveling to the former Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
under the auspices of The Citizens Democracy Corps and International Executive Service Corps
International Executive Service Corps
International Executive Service Corps is an American private international economic development not-for-profit organization. Its head office is located in Washington, D.C. Geekcorps is a division of IESC. IESC was founded in 1964 by David Rockefeller, States M. Mead III, and other prominent...
. Mabry and his wife lived and worked for up to six months at a time in cities including Arsenyev
Arsenyev
Arsenyev is a town in Primorsky Krai, Russia, located about northeast of Vladivostok. Population: -History:The history of Arsenyev begins in 1895, when the settlement of Semyonovka was founded. The first settlement dwellers were the Old Believers. In 1901 the migrant peasants from what is now...
, Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
, Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
and Tver
Tver
Tver is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 ; 408,903 ;...
, where he helped formerly government-run television stations cope with both their new-found independence and their sudden responsibility for everything from news content and presentation to advertising and general business practices. "The object is not to make their stations into American stations," Mabry said in a 2000 interview, "but to show them some techniques that are being done on American stations".
Civic activities
Mabry was also noted for his civic activities, serving as president of the Anniston Museum of Natural HistoryAnniston Museum of Natural History
The Anniston Museum of Natural History is a museum in Lagarde Park, Anniston, Alabama, exhibiting more than 2,000 natural history items on permanent display, including minerals, fossils, and rare animals in open dioramas....
Board of Directors, a director on the Regions Bank Board, a member of the Regional Medical Center Foundation Board, member and former president of The Knox Concert Series, Rotary Club president and others. He was a former president of the Alabama Broadcasting Association who received the Alabama Broadcasters of the Year Award in 1993 and the Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1983 from the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
School of Communications.
Death
Mabry died at his home in Anniston, Alabama on January 10, 2004 of a sudden, massive heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. He was 72.