Findlater, Jeanne

WXYZ:  Vice President and General Station Manager. (1979-1987)
WKBD: Producer of the Lou Gordon Show and Hot Seat

NATPE Conference in March 1979 (Los Vegas). Jeanne Findlater

• Diana Lewis Temporarily Leaves WXYZ

  Click Images to Englarge

  

  

• Best of the Class 1981 with Jeanne Findlater

  Best of the Class 1981 with Jeanne Findlater

  “I created the campaign, which was eventually sponsored in up to 90 U.S. TV markets sponsored by General Motors. I was Community Affairs director for Detroit’s WXYZ-TV (ABC -TV) and can say, with great appreciation that the campaign would likely NEVER have been created had not station VP & General Manager Jeanne Findlater, a former school teacher, broken the “glass ceiling” becoming the “first woman” (1979) to manage a major-market TV station in the USA – WXYZ-TV.” – Walter (Buzz) Luttrell

• Jeanne Findlater with Bill Bonds

  Always friends but always knew that Jeanne was the boss.

  

• Jeanne – Friend to all Co-workers

  

• Retirement Seems Very Happy

  

• Broadcasting Yearbook, 1979

  

  James R. Osborn, VP & Gen. Mgr; Jeanne Findlater, Prog Dir; Dave Kenworthy, Promotion Mgr; Lee Gannon, General Sales Mgr; Phil Sweenie, National Sales Mgr; Keith McClellan, Local Sales Mgr; Jon K. Gluck, Director of Research and Development; Phil Nye, News Dir; Wally Roadammer, Chief Engineer.

• Journalism leaders at Wayne State say ‘yes’ to sophisticated audiences of the future

  Media leaders put a positive spin on the future of journalism in a discussion of “Journalism’s Future: A View From the Top” during the recent Communication Week at Wayne State University.

  The panelists saw a future replete with drastic changes through technology and audience sophistication. They saw a successful future responding to strong challenges in ethics, responsible journalism and relevance to diverse audiences.  Continued (PDF)….

  Broadcasters mentioned in article: Grace Gilchrist, Joe Martelle, Ven Marshall, Jennifer Akers, Jeanne Findlater

  References:

  • Wayne State University, Public Relations – May 15, 1998 (PDF)
• Good Afternoon Detroit Second Anniversary Show – 1984

  
  

   John Kelly, Marilyn Turner, Jim Ochs, Jeanne Findlater, Jim Johnson, Sylvia Glover, Colleen Burcar, Dayna Eubanks

References:

• WXYZ.com, March 6, 2026, Jolie Sherman – Jeanne Findlater, first woman to lead a major market TV station in the US, reflects on career – Findlater was named WXYZ-TV general manager in 1979 and was also the vice president of the ABC-owned television stations
• The Detroit Free Press, December 19, 2021 – Opinion: One responsibility of women leaders in the 1980s – don’t spoil it for other women (PDF)

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Recommended Reading

Detroit Television (Images of America) – Tim Kiska and Ed Golick

It began atop the Penobscot Building on October 23, 1946, when WWDT shot a signal to the convention center, part of a “”New Postwar Products Exposition.”” WWJ-TV offered scheduled programming in June 1947, and WXYZ-TV and WJBK-TV jumped in a year later. The medium has influenced the city’s personality and social agenda ever since. Soupy Sales turned getting a pie in the face into an art form. Mort Neff celebrated the state’s outdoor charms. George Pierrot showed Detroiters the world. Other beloved personalities include: Milky the Clown, Ed McKenzie, Sonny Eliot, John Kelly, Marilyn Turner, Robin Seymour, Bill Bonds, Dick Westerkamp, Jingles, Bill Kennedy, Lou Gordon, Captain Jolly, Johnny Ginger, Auntie Dee, and many more.

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