SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — Jeanne Findlater became vice president and general manager of WXYZ-TV in 1979, making history as the first woman in the U.S. to lead a TV station in the top 10 markets — Detroit was No. 7.
Now 97 years old, Findlater is reflecting on a career that spanned decades and left a lasting mark in broadcasting and beyond.
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"WXYZ-TV recruited me to come over there to produce their public affairs show. And while there, I just went to executive producer to assistant program director to program director, and finally to general manager," Findlater said.
Before joining WXYZ, Findlater worked at the Detroit Free Press and a PBS station in Detroit. She served as general manager of WXYZ from 1979 to 1987, using her platform to advocate for causes including fair housing, women's health issues and literacy.
"The most important thing of all to me in my career was 'Learn to Read' series," Findlater said.
Her literacy program was distributed to every ABC station in the country that chose to air it and was also used in prison programs to teach adults how to read. Findlater is also credited with launching popular programs including 'Good Afternoon Detroit' and 'Kelly & Company.'
Breaking barriers came with scrutiny, she said.
"I felt like a butterfly pinned to a board. Everything I did was examined, always evaluated, not just, was this a good decision but first, this is a woman who made the decision," Findlater said.
When asked what it was like to lead in a male-dominated industry, she kept her answer simple.
"You're given a job and you work as hard as you can do it," Findlater said. "I sort of operate on nature's principle: there's a vacuum, you fill it. If someone wasn't doing the job, I did it."
Mike Murri, WXYZ's longest-serving vice president and general manager, says Findlater led the station during the first five years of his career.
"And I can remember being in so many different meetings where Jeanne was really leading the way and leading the community, the Detroit community to do the right thing for so many different groups," Murri said.
"So, to be able to learn and see her and see her lead the way was truly an honor, and I feel like it shaped my entire career."
Those who know her say she treated her colleagues like family — a sentiment Findlater echoes.
"People in the station liked me. I loved them," Findlater said.
In 2014, Findlater was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame. She received the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Lifetime Achievement Award the following year. She will be inducted into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame next month.
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