Thirty-one years ago today, broadcast journalist Jessica Savitch died in a freak drowning accident in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. If there is justification for the whining by some commenters, I think it lies in the fact that the car model was incidental to Savitchs death; i.e., she and her companion would have had the same difficulty opening the doors of an upside-down Mercedes smooshed into a muddy canal bed. By 1979 she was demoted from the Senate assignment due to poor performance. Results were expected in several days. KYW refused to release her from her contract but agreed to raise her salary and (partly to satisfy NOW) make her a weeknight anchor. This wagon was officially known as a Cutlass Cruiser, until it morphed into a Ciera a few years later.. December 31, 2014 77 comments. The car was found about an hour, hour and a half after the accident. If the Olds part is correct, and the interior picture is the car in question, I think it is a Cutlass wagon. [1][14] Korn reportedly divorced Savitch after learning that she had a significant drug problem. Savitch died three weeks later by drowning when a car in which she was a passenger was accidentally driven into a canal during a heavy rainstorm. I remember her well, and as an aside her younger sister Lori worked at WPXI TV in Pittsburgh as a local anchor in the early 1990s. Miss Savitch and Fischbein drowned Oct. 26, 1983. She used the WCBS-TV facilities to make a television audition tape and sent copies to many television stations around the country, seeking an on-air position. In 1972, she became a reporter and anchor for KYW-TV in Philadelphia. [2][35] Lifetime also aired a documentary entitled Intimate Portrait: Jessica Savitch that was based on the perspectives of Savitch biographer Alanna Nash.[29]. Pennsylvania Center for the Book - Pennsylvania State University When I got to know her, she was very warm, and very dedicated to her job. In 1972, Savitch joined KYW-TV, then the NBC affiliate (now CBS O&O) in Philadelphia, as a general assignment reporter and weekend anchor under a five-year contract. She would die tragically two days later. She was pretty important in American news reporting at the time Barbara Walters was about the only female who pulled better ratings. 'She had overcome many difficulties in her life and now leaves behind many friends and fans all over the country,' said Tom Pettit, executive vice president of NBC. At the height of her fame she was known for Gucci belts, Halston dresses, piles of cocaine, penthouses and pills. [6], For the series entitled Lady Law, Savitch primarily interviewed female law enforcement professionals from other cities. It seemed acceptable at the time for news people to personify the stereotype of the hard hitting, hard drinking news reporter that sometimes showed their afflictions on camera. There, she did on-camera and voiceover commercial work, and while still attending college became a popular top 40 disc jockey known as "Honeybee" at WBBF (now WROC-AM). Interesting, chilling account. NBC didnt know what to do. The suit was settled for $8 million, most of which was paid by the Post. It is a car story! Remembering Jessica Savitch, 30 Years After Her Death - Adweek [Quotes have been edited for length and clarity.]. But all was not right in Jessicas world. [20][32][33] Many reviews of the movie discuss how the film departed, probably for commercial reasons, from Savitch's actual biography. this kind of story is NOT what I come to Curbside Classics for. Tom Brokaw, the anchor of ''The NBC Nightly News,'' said: ''She was a dedicated, hard-working broadcaster who felt very strongly that women should have a more active role in the profession.''