Philadelphia Daily News from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • A8

By Ellen Gray STAFF WRITER JOYCE EVANS, a reporter and an-chor at Fox 29 for 24 years, is retiringat the end of the month. Evans told station management of her plans in mid-May, according to an internal newsletter item from news director Jim Driscoll that was shared with The Inquir- er. know I speak for all when I say our col- lective hearts dropped at the news, but our hearts are also uplifted by the 24 years of incredible service Joyce has provided the viewers of Philadelphia, and the friendship she has given all those who have worked alongside read the note. 1996, Joyce has done it all at Fox 29. She has been a staple on the weekend anchor desk, providing our station with stability, sub- stance and credibility.

Her years as our sta- health correspondent secured her a place in our communities as a trusted voice on medical issues, shining a light on important advances that saved A native of Washington Evans came to Philadelphia in 1986 to work for KYW (Channel 3, then an NBC station), where she was a reporter and fill-in anchor as well as host of The Saturday Tribune. She joined Fox 29 in 1996. She began her news career in radio, moving into TV at an ABC affiliate in Lynchburg, before moving on to a CBS station in Miami, according to her station biography. The Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists named Evans Broadcast Jour- nalist of the Year in 2008, and won five Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards as an indi- vidual reporter as well as participating in other Emmy-winning projects. In 2015, Evans testified in the trial of a federal lawsuit in which a jury found that former co-anchor, Tom Burlington, had not been fired in 2007 for racial rea- sons.

Her testimony involved use of the N-word in a conversation in which he was repeating something he said someone else had said about her. That con- versation had followed his use of the word during a staff meeting. Burlington, who is white, had contended that Black employ- ees of the station had used the word with- out being disciplined for it. departure comes at a time when the station may be involved in more tur- moil, with Philadelphia magazine report- ing last month on the complaints, largely anonymous, of 10 former and current em- ployees, that the station has become in- creasingly conservative under Driscoll, who joined the station in 2013. "elgray By Ellen Gray STAFF WRITER ANZIO WILLIAMS, vicepresident of news atNBC10 and Telemundo62, is leaving the station after eight years to take a newly created job where responsible for de- veloping and implementing a comprehensive strategy that will make diversity and inclusion is- sues a top for NBC- owned stations, NBCUniversal announced Monday.

something that I raised my hand for and thought it was a good next step for me to do some of the things been able to do here in Philadelphia, and do it on a bigger said Williams in an interview Monday afternoon. As senior vice president of diversi- ty, equity, and inclusion, re- port to Valari Staab, the presi- dent of NBC Universal Owned Stations. (Earlier in her career, Staab was the director of creative services and director of market- ing and research at Philadel- 6ABC.) time, a need. I think a lot of companies addressing the need for equity and in their work- places and culture, he said. NBC10 had been the only NBC- owned station with both a Black general manager, Ric Harris, and a Black vice president of news, Williams said.

is the chal- lenge for the industry how do we have newsrooms representa- tive of the communities that we serve? I would say what most proud of, about the change we made in Philadelphia here, on the Telemundo side and the NBC side, making sure represen- tative in front of the cameras, and behind the cameras, and in every position and in every successor yet been chosen. In the interim, his newsroom duties will fall to NBC10 assistant news director Kathy Gerrow and Telemundo62 assistant news director Ana One thing Williams has seen as his responsibility is out and grabbing young journalists and helping them, pulling them up, whether they look like me or he said. When Williams was in college, someone did the same for him. Drew Berry, an American male who was news di- at WCAU then a CBS station, now NBC10 told him be a news director someday. daughter, Andrea Berry, is now an executive producer at NBC10.

this mushy guy. Some- times I see her leading the meet- ings and I almost want to said Williams, who said proud of having helped others, or eight people who have worked under me, who are now leaders of newsrooms across the Williams made a little news of his own not long after joining NBC10 when he ended the sta- helicopter-sharing agree- ment with CBS 3 and Fox29 and NBC10. was the competi- tiveness in he said, though since embraced some part- nerships, including projects with The Inquirer, the Philadelphia Tribune, and WHYY. always believed that competition between jour- nalists, the viewers were the win- ners. But I also believe that shar- ing at the right times viewers can still be the he said.

Before coming to Philadelphia, Williams served as news director at KCRA in Sacramento and at WDSU in New Orleans, where he oversaw coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Before that, been an assistant news director at NBC affiliates in Or- lando and in Charlotte, N.C. "elgray NBC10 news boss taking a turn for diverse in new post NEWS MEDIA Joyce Evans: Reporter and anchor at Fox 29 for 24 years. All-pro Joyce Evans calling it quits at 29 Anzio Williams Page 8 I A I A A I I I Tuesday, August 11, 2020.