Groundbreaking journalist Belva Davis to retire
Belva Davis, an icon of Bay Area journalism for nearly half a century, will step down as host of public television's "This Week In Northern California" this fall, KQED-TV announced Wednesday.
Davis' final broadcast will be Nov. 9, ending her 19 years as anchor of the program featuring journalists chatting about California news comfortably around a table.
What makes Davis' departure extraordinary is that for the first time since 1964, Bay Area television viewers will be without coverage from the journalist who used grace and brains to face down the era's virulent racism and sexism and become the first black woman TV journalist in the West.
"I have enjoyed a unique and long career here in the Bay Area and have been witness to some of the most explosive stories of the last half century," said Davis, the winner of dozens of journalism awards, including eight local Emmys. "I began my career with the coverage of the 1964 elections, and I'm thrilled that I will be devoting my last months on the air to the elections of 2012."
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