Jim Jensen
Encyclopedia
Harold James Jensen, usually known as Jim Jensen (November 13, 1926 – October 16, 1999) was a longtime American
anchor
and reporter, most notably at CBS
' flagship station, WCBS-TV
in New York
.
, and received a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Denver
. 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 WLIP-AM in Kenosha, then at WCCO-AM in Minneapolis, WMBD-TV
in Peoria, Illinois
; and WBZ-AM
-FM-TV
in Boston
.
. His reporting was noticed by WCBS, who hired him in 1964. He soon became weekend anchorman and backup weekday anchor behind Robert Trout
, who was doing double duty at the station and at CBS News
. Jensen didn't take too long to make an impact, winning notoriety 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. He was the face of the WCBS newsroom for the next four decades.
Jensen was known in New York for his booming, gravelly 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 when Jensen was behind the anchor desk. They risked embarrassing themselves on-air if Jensen asked them a question that they couldn't answer. Over the years, his partners at the anchor desk – some of them New York broadcast legends in their own right – included Ralph Penza
, Rolland Smith
, Carol Martin, Michele Marsh
and finally Dana Tyler
. He was reportedly the model for Jim Dial, Murphy Brown
's co-anchor.
In 1988, Jensen's on-air demeanor was brought into question over an incident involving fellow WCBS anchor Bree Walker
. After Walker wrapped a report on early detection of birth defects in children, Jensen began asking Walker personal, probing questions about her own deformities, broaching the possibility that Walker's parents might have aborted
her had they known about her condition in advance. Shortly after the incident, Jensen, who had been battling a drug
habit for many years, sought rehab
for depression, alcohol, cocaine, and valium addiction. His depression was related to the loss of his son Randall, a Brown University
graduate, who died in a glider accident in Ellenville, NY, in 1979. He was back at WCBS, within a short time, and traveled 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 WCBS' lead anchor for 29 years—longer than anyone in New York television history. The station's ratings had declined considerably, and management wanted new blood at the anchor desk. However, the decision and the manner in which the situation was handled caused a firestorm of criticism. The criticism increased when Jensen was forced to retire, in 1995, shortly after Westinghouse
announced it was buying CBS. WCBS' ratings plummeted even further, and by the end of 1995 it had sunk into last place and remained there for more than a decade before recovering in the mid-2000s.
at age 72. Jim Jensen's marriage to his first wife Gerda ended in divorce. He was survived by his second wife, Rachel Jensen, two daughters and a son.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
anchor
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
and reporter, most notably at CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
' flagship station, WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. The station's studios are located within the CBS Broadcast Center and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building, both in Midtown Manhattan....
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Background
Harold James Jensen, who was of Danish descent, was born in Kenosha, WisconsinKenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha is a city and the county seat of Kenosha County in the State of Wisconsin in United States. With a population of 99,218 as of May 2011, Kenosha is the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Kenosha is also the fourth-largest city on the western shore of Lake Michigan, following Chicago,...
, and received a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Denver
University of Denver
The University of Denver is currently ranked 82nd among all public and private "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012 rankings....
. Jensen was a pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
for the Minneapolis Millers
Minneapolis Millers
The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, until 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League.The team played first in Athletic Park and later Nicollet Park.The name Minneapolis...
before an injury ended his baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
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 WLIP-AM in Kenosha, then at WCCO-AM in Minneapolis, WMBD-TV
WMBD-TV
WMBD-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Central Illinois licensed to Peoria. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 30 from a transmitter on Pinecrest Drive in Groveland Township's East Peoria section. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 7 and in...
in Peoria, Illinois
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
; and WBZ-AM
WBZ (AM)
WBZ is the call sign for an AM radio station in Boston, Massachusetts owned by CBS Radio, itself owned by the CBS Corporation. Originally based in and broadcast from Springfield, Massachusetts, WBZ was the first commercial radio station in the United States...
-FM-TV
WBZ-TV
WBZ-TV, virtual channel 4, is a CBS owned-and-operated television station, located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WBZ-TV's studios and office facilities, shared with sister station WSBK-TV , are located in the Allston-Brighton section of Boston, and its transmitter is located in Needham,...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
.
Career
In November 1963, he was the "pool" reporter in Hyannis Port at the Kennedy compound in the aftermath of John F. Kennedy's assassinationJohn F. Kennedy assassination
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
. His reporting was noticed by WCBS, who hired him in 1964. He soon became weekend anchorman and backup weekday anchor behind Robert Trout
Robert Trout
Robert "Bob" Trout was an American broadcast news reporter, best known for his radio work before and during World War II...
, who was doing double duty at the station and at CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
. Jensen didn't take too long to make an impact, winning notoriety for his coverage of Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
's Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
campaign soon after he arrived in New York. When Trout left for a network assignment in Europe, Jensen succeeded him as WCBS' main anchor. He was the face of the WCBS newsroom for the next four decades.
Jensen was known in New York for his booming, gravelly voice and deliberate demeanor, and was often thought of as a local version of Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite
Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
. 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 when Jensen was behind the anchor desk. They risked embarrassing themselves on-air if Jensen asked them a question that they couldn't answer. Over the years, his partners at the anchor desk – some of them New York broadcast legends in their own right – included Ralph Penza
Ralph Penza
Ralph Penza was a senior correspondent and substitute anchor for WNBC in New York City. He first joined WNBC in 1980, left the station in 1995 and rejoined it in October 1997...
, Rolland Smith
Rolland Smith
Rolland G. Smith is a former American television news reporter and anchor who is best known for his time in New York, where he was based for most of his long career. He served as an anchor for WNEW-TV WCBS and WWOR-TV in New York.-Broadcasting career:...
, Carol Martin, Michele Marsh
Michele Marsh
Michele Marsh is a former New York Television anchorwoman from Connecticut.Michele started as a reporter/anchor at WABI-TV, Channel 5 in Bangor, Maine after graduating from Northwestern University. She reported in the field and anchored the 11 p.m. Monday-Friday newscasts, and the 6 p.m. Saturday...
and finally Dana Tyler
Dana Tyler
Dana Tyler is a senior news anchor and reporter at WCBS-TV in New York City. She currently anchors the 6 pm newscasts with Chris Wragge, and also hosts Eye on New York, a half-hour weekly community affairs program for WCBS, as well as annual local specials CBS 2 at Tony's, CBS 2 at the Met and...
. He was reportedly the model for Jim Dial, Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988, to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television...
's co-anchor.
In 1988, Jensen's on-air demeanor was brought into question over an incident involving fellow WCBS anchor Bree Walker
Bree Walker
Bree Walker is a radio talk show host, actress, and disability-rights activist, who gained fame as the first on-air American television network news anchor with ectrodactyly. Walker worked as a news anchor and/or reporter in San Diego, New York City, and Los Angeles.Walker was born in Oakland,...
. After Walker wrapped a report on early detection of birth defects in children, Jensen began asking Walker personal, probing questions about her own deformities, broaching the possibility that Walker's parents might have aborted
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
her had they known about her condition in advance. Shortly after the incident, Jensen, who had been battling a drug
Psychoactive drug
A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it affects brain function, resulting in changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior...
habit for many years, sought rehab
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
for depression, alcohol, cocaine, and valium addiction. His depression was related to the loss of his son Randall, a Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
graduate, who died in a glider accident in Ellenville, NY, in 1979. He was back at WCBS, within a short time, and traveled to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
to cover the Persian Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
in 1991.
In 1994, WCBS demoted Jensen to host of its Sunday morning public-affairs show. At that time, he had been WCBS' lead anchor for 29 years—longer than anyone in New York television history. The station's ratings had declined considerably, and management wanted new blood at the anchor desk. However, the decision and the manner in which the situation was handled caused a firestorm of criticism. The criticism increased when Jensen was forced to retire, in 1995, shortly after Westinghouse
Westinghouse Electric (1886)
Westinghouse Electric was an American manufacturing company. It was founded in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric Company and later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation by George Westinghouse. The company purchased CBS in 1995 and became CBS Corporation in 1997...
announced it was buying CBS. WCBS' ratings plummeted even further, and by the end of 1995 it had sunk into last place and remained there for more than a decade before recovering in the mid-2000s.
Death
Jensen died in New York on October 16, 1999 of a 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...
at age 72. Jim Jensen's marriage to his first wife Gerda ended in divorce. He was survived by his second wife, Rachel Jensen, two daughters and a son.