Philly News Boss is Leaving

Longtime KYW Managing Editor Mike Archer is leaving the station.

Here is the internal memo that KYW News Director Sue Schiller sent to the staff and obtained by FTVLive:

From: "Schiller, Susan M - KYW" 
Date: May 8, 2015 at 11:18:31 AM EDT
To: "@KYW-TV News Department" 
Cc: "Kennedy, Brien E" , "Butler, Steve" "Patel, Dipti" <patel@kyw.com>
Subject: Announcement

It is with mixed emotions that I announce Mike Archer will be leaving CBS3 for new adventures beyond the local newsroom.  Mike plans to retire and will be leaving on June 5th.   I am so happy for him because he will be able to spend time with his beautiful wife Maureen, their sons and their families which have grown to 4 grandchildren now.

Mike has been an indomitable force in local television since he first stepped into a newsroom.  He started at WXYZ in Detroit producing the weekend news.   He very quickly moved to New York City where at the age of just 25 Mike produced the 11pm news in the nation’s # 1 market at WABC. It was there he met Larry Kane who convinced him to come to Philadelphia as Executive Producer when Larry returned home to anchor at WCAU (CBS at the time).

It was at Channel 10 where I first met Mike who launched the market’s first 5pm newscast there.  He later was instrumental in starting one of the first cable networks “Court TV” and served as Executive Editor for five years. With “Court TV” began America’s obsession with live coverage of court cases and the broadcast of every gripping detail into the homes of Americans.  At “Court TV” he oversaw live coverage of the OJ Simpson trial, the coverage of the police officers accused in the Los Angeles Rodney King beating case, the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas to name just a few.   We can thank Mike for also helping create the concept of ‘celebrity lawyers’.

After 5 years of commuting daily to NY Mike decided to take the position of Executive Producer at KYW-TV; the position Mike held when I arrived.  I promoted him to Managing Editor where he has been responsible for daily news coverage.

Mike’s experience is unsurpassed. He started when there were still three man film crews in New York City. Here are just a few of the stories he’s covered in his career:  Son of Sam, the 1977 east coast blackout, the 1979 visit of Pope John Paul, Eagles’ Super Bowls in 1991 and 2005, President Reagan’s Inauguration not to mention 4 political conventions the MOVE bombing,  9/11, the Amish shooting,  the Duck Boat accident,  the election of Philadelphia’s first African American mayor Wilson Goode and too many other elections to name and one of his favorite stories the Phillies World Series win in 2008.

I know the valuable lessons I and many other journalists, reporters, producers, photographers, writers, editors and assignment editors, have learned from him. His goal each and every day was to cover the news with accurate reporting and strong storytelling to deliver a quality newscast to the viewers.  I owe much of my journey in broadcasting to the lessons I learned working with Mike early on.  I will be eternally grateful for Mike’s journalistic instincts and integrity.  I thank him for his guidance and candor.  

Enjoy life Mike!  We will miss seeing you every day my friend.

Susan