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| Anne Keefe |
"She was a powerhouse," said her daughter Kitty Keefe on Friday morning. "She was a mentor to so many young journalists, even after she'd left the business."
The Rochester Democrat-Chronicle reports she was a graduate of Sacred Heart Academy and the University of Rochester, Anne Keefe started her career in local radio. While still in college, she was hired to produce a live show called "True Stories of the New York State Police" at WHAM 1180 AM. She switched to television the following year, when WHAM became Rochester's first television station in 1948. Many of the veteran journalists she worked with thought that television would be a passing fad, but at age 22, Keefe seized the opportunity to master the new medium.
For many years, Keefe was the only female newscaster on local television. After leaving the business for several years to raise six children, she returned as news director at WROC (channel 8) in 1969.
She served as weekend anchor and hosted daytime talk shows such as "Dialing for Dollars" and "Crossfire," where she interviewed local newsmakers on the issues of the day.
Keefe move to St Louis in 1976 to work at KMOX, where she quickly became a popular and beloved radio host. She also hosted a show on the local public television station called "Donnybrook," discussing the news of the day with local journalists.
Keefe, known affectionately as the “Grand Dame of the KMOX newsroom.” She retired in 1993.
Her induction into the St. Louis Radio Hall of Fame in 2006 described her as the "dean of women radio reporters" in that region. She was also honored with the Missouri Press Women's Quest Award, the American Bar Association's Gavel Award, two National Headline awards, two Armstrong Awards, the American Psychological Society Award and a Peabody award.
She was one of the original inductees into the Rochester Radio Hall of Fame in 1995.
Keefe moved back to Rochester in 2011 to be closer to some of her children and grandchildren.
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