Joel Daly
Encyclopedia
Joel T. Daly is an American
former news presenter
. He served as an anchor for Chicago
's WLS-TV
(an ABC
-affiliate) from 1967 to 2005.
, Daly joined WJW-TV in Cleveland, Ohio
in the early 1960s. He served as co-anchor with Doug Adair
, and the two became one of the first successful co-anchor teams in the United States. In 1967, both Daly and Adair were hired by WBKB-TV in Chicago. However, Adair stayed in Cleveland for personal and contractual reasons. In Chicago, Daly began doing a solo newscast called Newsnight. In 1968, about the time the station was renamed WLS-TV
, Joel was paired with Fahey Flynn
, and the two became the highest-rated evening news team in the city, winning a local Emmy Award
after just one year on the air. Daly and Flynn popularized a presentantion style known to critics as "happy talk
". Unlike most presenters of the time, who delivered the news in an austere, authoritative fashion, Daly and Flynn mixed in playful banter as they segued from one topic to another. Daly later recalled, "We came down from Olympus, and we just became regular people talking to regular people. It's the best form of communication." News presenters across the country soon began emulating Daly and Flynn, sometimes to the duo's chagrin, as when other presenters became too jokey or unfocused. Daly himself did not use the phrase "happy talk" to describe his style, noting, "We always took the news seriously, if we didn't always take ourselves too seriously".
After Flynn's death in 1983, Daly briefly co-anchored the 10:00 news with Mary Ann Childers
. Daly then joined Oprah Winfrey
to co-anchor WLS-TV's 4:00 PM news broadcast. Winfrey was replaced by Linda Yu
after only weeks on the air. Daly remained there until May 2005, when he announced that he would step down as anchor to pursue other interests. Since then, he has occasionally appeared on newscasts to report on legal matters, and has also hosted parades for the channel. Daly was inducted into the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame in 2001 and received the first Illinois Broadcast Pioneer Award in 2008. He won five Emmys over the course of his career.
from Chicago-Kent College of Law
after four years of taking evening classes. He became director of external relations at the John Marshall Law School
in 2005, and also taught some classes there. In 2007, Daly was named a spokesperson for the U.S. District Court
in Chicago.
One of Daly's hobbies is acting. In 1994 he played Atticus Finch
in a stage adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird
, and in 2000 he starred as Patsy McCall in a production of William J. Kennedy's Grand View. In addition, Daly appeared in the 2006 film Death of a President, in which he played a news reporter. The film portrays the fictional assassination of George W. Bush
and generated much controversy, although Daly said he did not regret his involvement. "It's a gutsy undertaking to do the fictional assassination of a living president who's still in office. It's something that's in the American psyche. So dealing with this in a fictional forum -- albeit a realistic one -- is perhaps a purgative," he told the Chicago Sun-Times
.
Daly has also dabbled in music, especially country music
and yodeling
. He has sung with a group called The Sundowners and occasionally writes his own songs.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
former news presenter
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
. He served as an anchor for Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
's WLS-TV
WLS-TV
WLS-TV, virtual channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The station operates their full power digital operations on UHF channel 44, with their digital fill-in translator on VHF channel...
(an ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
-affiliate) from 1967 to 2005.
News career
A magna cum laude graduate of Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, Daly joined WJW-TV in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
in the early 1960s. He served as co-anchor with Doug Adair
Doug Adair
Doug Adair is a former longtime Emmy Award winning American television news anchor and journalist who has worked in the Cleveland, Columbus, and Dayton, Ohio markets.- Career :...
, and the two became one of the first successful co-anchor teams in the United States. In 1967, both Daly and Adair were hired by WBKB-TV in Chicago. However, Adair stayed in Cleveland for personal and contractual reasons. In Chicago, Daly began doing a solo newscast called Newsnight. In 1968, about the time the station was renamed WLS-TV
WLS-TV
WLS-TV, virtual channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The station operates their full power digital operations on UHF channel 44, with their digital fill-in translator on VHF channel...
, Joel was paired with Fahey Flynn
Fahey Flynn
Fahey Flynn was a radio and television newscaster who spent the majority of his career in Chicago...
, and the two became the highest-rated evening news team in the city, winning a local Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
after just one year on the air. Daly and Flynn popularized a presentantion style known to critics as "happy talk
Happy talk
Happy talk, also called banter, is the additional and often meaningless commentary interspersed into news programs by news anchors and others on set. It may consist of simple jokes or simply a modified wording in asking a question of another reporter...
". Unlike most presenters of the time, who delivered the news in an austere, authoritative fashion, Daly and Flynn mixed in playful banter as they segued from one topic to another. Daly later recalled, "We came down from Olympus, and we just became regular people talking to regular people. It's the best form of communication." News presenters across the country soon began emulating Daly and Flynn, sometimes to the duo's chagrin, as when other presenters became too jokey or unfocused. Daly himself did not use the phrase "happy talk" to describe his style, noting, "We always took the news seriously, if we didn't always take ourselves too seriously".
After Flynn's death in 1983, Daly briefly co-anchored the 10:00 news with Mary Ann Childers
Mary Ann Childers
Mary Ann Childers was a reporter and anchor at WBBM-TV in Chicago from 1994 to March 31, 2008. Prior to that, she spent 14 years as an anchor at WLS-TV, where she became the first female to anchor a top-rated 10pm newscast in Chicago. It was announced on March 31, 2008 that she would be leaving...
. Daly then joined Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
to co-anchor WLS-TV's 4:00 PM news broadcast. Winfrey was replaced by Linda Yu
Linda Yu
Linda Yu is a news anchor for WLS-TV in Chicago. At ABC7, she anchors the 11am newscast with Sylvia Perez and the 4pm newscast with Alan Krashesky. Linda first joined the station in 1984 after five years with rival NBC O & O WMAQ-TV...
after only weeks on the air. Daly remained there until May 2005, when he announced that he would step down as anchor to pursue other interests. Since then, he has occasionally appeared on newscasts to report on legal matters, and has also hosted parades for the channel. Daly was inducted into the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame in 2001 and received the first Illinois Broadcast Pioneer Award in 2008. He won five Emmys over the course of his career.
Outside of the news
In 1988, Joel Daly received a Juris DoctorJuris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from Chicago-Kent College of Law
Chicago-Kent College of Law
Chicago–Kent College of Law, the law school affiliated with Illinois Institute of Technology, is nationally recognized for the scholarship and accomplishments of its faculty and student body. It is the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois. Many of the applications of technology in the...
after four years of taking evening classes. He became director of external relations at the John Marshall Law School
John Marshall Law School (Chicago)
The John Marshall Law School is a law school in Chicago, Illinois, that was founded in 1899 and accredited by the American Bar Association in 1941. The school was named for the influential nineteenth century U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall....
in 2005, and also taught some classes there. In 2007, Daly was named a spokesperson for the U.S. District Court
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois is the trial-level court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois....
in Chicago.
One of Daly's hobbies is acting. In 1994 he played Atticus Finch
Atticus Finch
Atticus Finch is a fictional character in Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus is a lawyer and resident of the fictional Maycomb County, Alabama, and the father of Jeremy Atticus "Jem" Finch and Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. Atticus is a central character in the novel...
in a stage adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was instantly successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature...
, and in 2000 he starred as Patsy McCall in a production of William J. Kennedy's Grand View. In addition, Daly appeared in the 2006 film Death of a President, in which he played a news reporter. The film portrays the fictional assassination of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and generated much controversy, although Daly said he did not regret his involvement. "It's a gutsy undertaking to do the fictional assassination of a living president who's still in office. It's something that's in the American psyche. So dealing with this in a fictional forum -- albeit a realistic one -- is perhaps a purgative," he told the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
.
Daly has also dabbled in music, especially country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and yodeling
Yodeling
Yodeling is a form of singing that involves singing an extended note which rapidly and repeatedly changes in pitch from the vocal or chest register to the falsetto/head register; making a high-low-high-low sound.The English word yodel is derived from a German word jodeln meaning "to...
. He has sung with a group called The Sundowners and occasionally writes his own songs.