I ec ron i c

Channels 2, 4 and 7
have eight Jewish stars
who are known for
their work on-screen and off.

SUZANNE NEMER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

ally are about the same
off camera. But regard-
less of their individual
styles or professional spe-
cialties — hard news,
sports or features — they
want to be acknowledged
as fair and caring
reporters, not as media
celebrities.

NEWS

The three newspeople
started their careers as
writers for publications —
Cheryl Chodun in metro
Detroit, Sherry Margolis
in Buffalo and Mike
Huckman in Los Angeles.
They, along with their
colleagues in sports and
features, continue to
write most of the material
they present on the air.
Ms. Chodun's broad-
casting resulted from a
freelance newspaper
assignment. Her article
about television anchor-
women led her to a job as
a producer and writer for
WXYZ. She left the sta-
tion to try reporting on
radio and later returned
to television, this time in
front of the camera.
"The moment I got into
writing and interviewing,
I realized this is what I

love," said Ms. Chodun,
who graduated from
Wayne State University
as an English/speech
major and later earned
journalism credits. She
married and had her chil-
dren before thinking
about a broadcasting
career.
Ms. Margolis, still sin-
gle when she moved to
the area, commuted
between two households
after marrying syndicated
advice columnist Jeff
Zaslow, who was living in
Illinois. With the birth of
the first of their two
daughters, they consoli-
dated their households
here.
Mr. Huckman, now
working in his fifth TV
market, believes that his
being single has made it
easier to accept career
opportunities in different
cities.
"Every story is interest-
ing in a way, especially if
you learn from it," said
Ms. Chodun, who recalled
her toughest stories in
human terms — De-
troiters affected by the
closing of Catholic chur-
ches and the family of a
woman who has disap-

peared.
Ms. Margolis, who
holds a bachelor's degree
in English from the State
University of New York
and who used to host a
children's program,
remembers most a young
leukemia victim whose
parents were having
problems getting an
insurance company to pay
for a new treatment.
Mr. Huckman, who has
a degree in broadcast
journalism from the
University of Southern
California, thinks of vic-
tims of crimes and their
families he has had to
question while they were
coping with the immedia-
cy of their losses.
"I think newspeople are
very compassionate peo-
ple," Ms. Chodun said.
"We find a way to bond."
All three have felt com-
fortable bonding with the
community. Ms. Chodun,
who grew up here, likes
speaking before groups
and encouraging audi-
ences to pursue their
goals, using herself as an
example.
Ms. Margolis, who also
does considerable public
speaking and will help

THE DETRO IT J E WIS H NEWS

hey share an
early interest in
language, writ-
ing and commu-
nicating informa-
tion to others.
They all are the
first in their fam-
ilies to pursue
their type of
career.
They enjoy
community activ-
ities and friendly
greetings by the many
people who recognize
them. And for the most
part, they agree that the
really difficult part of
their work is confronting
the tragedies they are
assigned to report.
Eight Detroit Jewish
broadcast journalists are
probably as familiar as
close friends to those who
regularly watch them on
TV: Sherry Margolis, Eli
Zaret, Warren Pierce and
Murray Feldman of
Channel 2; Cheryl
Chodun, Mike Huckman
and Don Shane of
Channel 7; and Paul
Gross of Channel 4.
Holding jobs that
require them to appear
very much in control,
most maintain they usu-

08

Don Shane

Sherry Margolis

Eli Zaret

Murray Feldman