28-02-2025
First Black WROC reporter returns to 'Set the record straight'
ROCHESTER, NY (WROC)- We've featured many firsts and legends who have walked the halls of WROC-TV throughout its 75-year history.
This month, I met a first who seems to have been forgotten by some and unknown by others. Ronald Houston remembers working at WROC in the late 60's and the early 70's. Reclining in his favorite chair in his living room he chuckles as he recalls his duties. 'So, we did four hours of tv and four hours of radio.'
Houston's daughter Carla Davis reached out to News 8. After we talked, she sent me her dad's resume. Ron worked seven years at WROC from 1968 to 1975 as a disc jockey, newscaster, announcer and television reporter. So, I did some digging and calling on my end. I got a range of responses from those who said 'Sure, I remember Ronnie on the news when I was growing up' to 'No, I don't think I've heard of him.'
Davis says her dad always talked about his time at Channel 8 and she and others wondered why his name didn't appear in stories and accounts of Rochester's first black broadcasters. But she explained her dad wasn't the type of man who would make a fuss about it. When I met him a couple days later, he said as much. 'Well, a lot of people have asked me, and they say we watch Black History Month every February and how come we've never seen you.' Houston explained. 'Well, you know I don't like to toot my own horn or nothing.'
However, he did agree to as he calls it, 'set the record straight'. He shared stories about interviews with track star Jesse Owens, comedian Bill Cosby and others. When we met, I showed him some of the videos we pulled from our archives including an interview he did with Howard Coles, Rochester's first Black radio broadcaster and pioneer in journalism. ' Mr. Coles was quite a gentleman. A staunch Frederick Douglass supporter.' Houston explained. He also remembers his colleagues, 'Anne Keefe, Bob Mills and Don Fischer who became the sports reporter. I was friends with them.'
Shortly after WROC was sold to a new company Houston says he was fired. 'They didn't tell me why. They gave me a letter of recommendation.' He says he holds no ill will. He went on to work in the entertainment business for a while. But he says being the first Black broadcaster on WROC was the best job he had. 'It was an accomplishment for me. It was something I wanted to do all my life.'
At 89, Ron loves a good game of Poker, Karaoke and spending time with his family and friends. Before this Black History Month ended, we invite him back to WROC-TV. Moving forward we will speak his name and share the story of Ronald Houston, a first in Rochester and a source of pride for the African American community.
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