View source for Harry Boomer

{{Short description|American journalist and reporter}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Harry Boomer
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1953|9|4}}
| birth_place = [[Turkey, North Carolina]], United States
| occupation = Radio and television news anchor/reporter
| years_active = 1971–present
| employer = {{ubl|[[WOL (AM)|WOL]] (Washington, D.C.)|[[WCER (AM)|WBXT]] (Canton, Ohio)|[[WCLV|WCPN]] (Cleveland)|[[WOIO]]/[[WUAB]] (Cleveland)}}
| television = {{ubl|''After Nine'' (WCPN)|''43 Focus'' (WUAB)}}
| spouse =
| children = 1
}}
'''Harry Boomer''' (born September 4, 1953, in [[Turkey, North Carolina]]) is a [[Journalist|broadcast journalist]], reporter and newscaster for radio and television. He currently is the senior reporter for [[CBS]] affiliate [[WOIO]] (channel 19) and [[The CW|CW]] affiliate [[WUAB]] (channel 43), both located in [[Cleveland|Cleveland, Ohio]].
==Bio==
Harry Boomer was born on September 4, 1953, as the youngest of ten siblings in [[Turkey, North Carolina]]; his father George Boomer was a [[Baptist minister]].<ref name="HistoryMakers">{{Cite web |date=February 10, 2014 |title=Harry Boomer's Biography |url=https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/harry-boomer |access-date=October 16, 2022 |website=The HistoryMakers |language=en |archive-date=October 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007170128/https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/harry-boomer |url-status=live }}</ref> Boomer relocated to [[Washington, D.C.]] at age 17 after graduating high school and was hired as a [[disc jockey]] at the Mark IV Supper Club, an area [[Nightclub|discotheque]].<ref name="CPD19951119Mp14">{{cite news |last=Henry |first=Fran |date=November 19, 1995 |title=Harry Boomer |page=14 |newspaper=The Plain Dealer Sunday Magazine |location=Cleveland, Ohio |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Finfoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=NewsBank&req_dat=1082885C71926A79&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F0F80874948DF24DB |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 15, 2022 |via=NewsBank |archive-date=October 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016020957/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/0F80874948DF24DB&f=basic |url-status=live }}</ref> Gaining notice as one of several "Super Disco Jocks" at Black-oriented dance clubs, Boomer was hired by [[WJFK (AM)|WPGC AM]]/[[WPGC-FM|FM]] as an air personality while also attending both [[Northern Virginia Community College]] in [[Alexandria, Virginia]], and Columbia School of Broadcasting in nearby [[Vienna, Virginia|Vienna]].<ref name="RealDealPress">{{Cite web |last1=Crowder |first1=Rhonda |last2=Andrews |first2=R. T. |date=December 24, 2021 |title=Harry Boomer celebrates 50 years in broadcasting |url=https://therealdealpress.com/2.0/index.php/community/979-harry-boomer-celebrates-50-years-in-broadcasting |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226205115/https://therealdealpress.com/2.0/index.php/community/979-harry-boomer-celebrates-50-years-in-broadcasting |archive-date=December 26, 2021 |access-date=October 6, 2022 |website=The Real Deal Press |location=Cleveland, Ohio |language=en-gb}}</ref> Tiring of the music, Boomer entered into radio news reporting for various stations in the Washington market,{{r|CPD19951119Mp14}} including as news director for [[WOL (AM)|WOL]], the city's leading Black radio station.<ref name="CPD19910311a">{{cite news |last=Feran |first=Tom |date=March 11, 1991 |title=Ironclads' lands with a thud |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |location=Cleveland, Ohio |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Finfoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=NewsBank&req_dat=1082885C71926A79&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F173EFE82C003B920 |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 15, 2022 |via=NewsBank |archive-date=October 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016020957/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/173EFE82C003B920&f=basic |url-status=live }}</ref>
Boomer came to Ohio in 1988 to work at [[WCER (AM)|WBXT]] in [[Canton, Ohio]],{{r|HistoryMakers}} after the station was purchased by a friend of the family.{{r|RealDealPress}} Originally working as morning drive announcer, Boomer was elevated to program director later in the year,<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=September 19, 1988 |title=Fates & Fortunes: Programming |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1988/BC-1988-09-19.pdf |magazine=Broadcasting |volume=115 |issue=12 |page=93 |access-date=October 15, 2022 |via=World Radio History |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151415/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1988/BC-1988-09-19.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> while also joining Cleveland television station [[WUAB]] as a volunteer in their [[Public affairs (broadcasting)|public affairs]] department.{{r|CPD19951119Mp14}} After WBXT went off the air, Boomer became a producer/reporter at WUAB, and a reporter for [[WCLV|WCPN]], the city's [[NPR]] affiliate.{{r|CPD19910311a}} At WCPN, Boomer was promoted to assistant news director and host of ''After Nine'', the station's morning newsmagazine, while his WUAB work began to include co-managed [[WOIO]] after that station became the market's [[CBS]] affiliate.{{r|CPD19951119Mp14}} Boomer moderated a hotly contested 1992 debate between Rep. [[Mary Rose Oakar]] and challenger [[Martin Hoke]].<ref name="CPD19921028p3B">{{cite news |last=Ruess |first=Michelle |date=October 28, 1992 |title=Oakar faults Hoke investments: Hoke says Oakar got 'sweetheart deal' on loan |page=3B |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |location=Cleveland, Ohio |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Finfoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=NewsBank&req_dat=1082885C71926A79&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F0F803DD7984A7B55 |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 15, 2022 |via=NewsBank |archive-date=October 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016020957/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/0F803DD7984A7B55&f=basic |url-status=live }}</ref> An advocate for prospective African-American journalists to pursue [[Internship|internships]],{{r|CPD19951119Mp14}} Boomer's position at WCPN was noted by ''Plain Dealer'' critic Roger Brown in his criticism of "downright woeful" Black representation on Cleveland radio.<ref name="CPD19970310p7D">{{cite news |last=Brown |first=Roger |date=March 10, 1997 |title=Is talent enough? Death of pioneering Black journalist stirs questions on radio's diversity |page=7D |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |location=Cleveland, Ohio |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=NewsBank&req_dat=1082885C71926A79&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F0F80C52FA93B1F4B |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 15, 2022 |via=NewsBank}}</ref>
Boomer's WOIO-WUAB duties continued to expand, in 1997, he was named the station's education reporter in a personnel shakeup.<ref name="CPD19971006p7E">{{cite news |last=Feran |first=Tom |date=October 6, 1997 |title=Former Cleveland broadcaster rising to top of TV heap |page=7E |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |location=Cleveland, Ohio |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Finfoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=NewsBank&req_dat=1082885C71926A79&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F0F80CC5F83F15319 |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 15, 2022 |via=NewsBank |archive-date=October 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016020957/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/0F80CC5F83F15319&f=basic |url-status=live }}</ref> By 2006, Boomer was promoted to breaking news reporter/anchor on WOIO's weekday morning newscast<ref name="CPD20060930pE5">{{cite news |last=Washington |first=Julie |date=September 30, 2006 |title=Channel 19 forms a new team |page=E5 |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |location=Cleveland, Ohio |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=NewsBank&req_dat=1082885C71926A79&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F1147D07BB8BA9540 |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 15, 2022 |via=NewsBank}}</ref> and later added hosting duties for ''43 Focus'', WUAB's weekly public affairs program. He is now recognized by WOIO-WUAB as their longest tenured on-air staffer.<ref>{{Cite web |last=19 News Digital Team |date=July 24, 2022 |title=19 News veteran reporter Harry Boomer inducted into NATAS Central Great Lakes' Gold Circle |url=https://www.cleveland19.com/2022/07/24/19-news-veteran-reporter-harry-boomer-inducted-into-natas-central-great-lakes-gold-circle/ |access-date=October 16, 2022 |website=WOIO |location=Cleveland, Ohio |language=en}}</ref>
Boomer received the 2015 Silver Circle Award from the [[National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences]] (NATAS), a distinction given for at least 25 years in television.<ref name="NATASgoldcircle">{{Cite web |title=NATAS Lower Great Lakes Chapter News |url=https://myemail.constantcontact.com/NATAS-Lower-Great-Lakes-Chapter-News.html?soid=1102180019386&aid=rg-gWpXOFcw |access-date=October 16, 2022 |website=myemail.constantcontact.com |archive-date=May 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516193538/https://myemail.constantcontact.com/NATAS-Lower-Great-Lakes-Chapter-News.html?soid=1102180019386&aid=rg-gWpXOFcw |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition to multiple community groups and organizations, Boomer has been president of the Greater Cleveland Association of Black Journalists, a chapter of the [[National Association of Black Journalists]]. Twice during Boomer's leadership, the chapter has been named the NABJ Professional Chapter of the Year, most recently in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Neely |first=Chanda |date=August 11, 2016 |title=Greater Cleveland Association of Black Journalists honored |url=https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2016/08/greater_cleveland_association.html |access-date=October 16, 2022 |website=The Plain Dealer |location=Cleveland, Ohio |language=en}}</ref><!-- He was named in 2016 as president of the Cleveland Police Athletic League and to the board the Historic League Park in the Hough community of Cleveland. He has served on the boards of the Ohio Associated Press, The Ohio Center for Broadcasting, First Tee Cleveland, the Citizens Committee on AIDS/HIV, the North East Ohio Health Services Board of Directors. He served a member of the Continuing Education Committee at Cleveland State University. -->
In 2014, Boomer was named a HistoryMaker and an oral video of his life's story is part of a permanent archive at the [[Library of Congress]].{{r|HistoryMakers}}
==Awards==
*1996 Cleveland Communicators' Award: Best Hard Single News Story (''Anti-Gingrich Protest'')<ref name="CPD19960603p7D">{{cite news |last=Brown |first=Roger |date=June 3, 1996 |title=Fenos signs for 3 years: her pact ensures WLTF's morning trio will remain intact |page=7D |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |location=Cleveland, Ohio |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Finfoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=NewsBank&req_dat=1082885C71926A79&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F0F808CDC50AD4B5D |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 15, 2022 |via=NewsBank |archive-date=October 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016020957/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/0F808CDC50AD4B5D&f=basic |url-status=live }}</ref>
*1996 Cleveland Communicators' Award: Best Public Service Program (''The Subject is Sex''){{r|CPD19960603p7D}}
*1996 Ohio Educational Telecommunications Network Program of the Year (''The Subject is Sex''){{r|WCPNawards}}
*1996 Ohio Educational Telecommunications Network News and Public Affairs Program (''The Subject is Sex'')<ref name="WCPNawards">{{Cite web |title=1996 Awards |url=http://www.ideastream.org/awards/entry/33101 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108063731/http://www.ideastream.org/awards/entry/33101 |archive-date=January 8, 2014 |access-date=January 8, 2014 |website=Ideastream - Northeast Ohio Public Radio, Television and Multiple Media}}</ref>
*Ohio Broadcasters Hall of Fame 2007 inductee<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://broadcastershalloffame.com/alpha.htm |title=Broadcasters Hall of Fame |access-date=January 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102200015/http://www.broadcastershalloffame.com/alpha.htm |archive-date=January 2, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*2014 HistoryMaker/Library of Congress{{r|HistoryMakers}}
*2015 NATAS Silver Circle Award{{r|NATASgoldcircle}}
*2022 NATAS Gold Circle Award<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 7, 2022 |title=Gold & Silver Circle inductees honored at event in Cleveland - NATAS Central Great Lakes Chapter |url=https://greatlakesemmys.tv/2022/04/07/natas-cgl-announces-more-gold-circle-invitees-2/,%20https://greatlakesemmys.tv/2022/04/07/natas-cgl-announces-more-gold-circle-invitees-2/ |access-date=October 16, 2022 |website=greatlakesemmys.tv |language=en-US |archive-date=October 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016020956/https://greatlakesemmys.tv/2022/04/07/natas-cgl-announces-more-gold-circle-invitees-2/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://twitter.com/HarryBoomer19 Harry Boomer's Twitter Page]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boomer, Harry}}
[[Category:American broadcast news analysts]]
[[Category:African-American television personalities]]
[[Category:Television anchors from Cleveland]]
[[Category:People from Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Cleveland State University people]]
[[Category:1953 births]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American people]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American people]]