Pam Huff, along with James Spann, took time during a recent ABC 33/40 newscast to remember longtime Birmingham newsman Wendell Harris, who passed away Tuesday morning.

Harris hired Huff and Spann during his time as news director at Birmingham’s WVTM, giving them both the first big breaks of their careers. When Huff was 24, Harris decided to give up his spot on the WVTM anchor desk and made her the first female nightly news anchor in the state of Alabama. continued…

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Wendell Harris

Harris was hired at the Birmingham NBC-affiliate, which was then known as WAPI, in 1960. In his 21 years at the station, he worked as a reporter, assignment editor, news anchor and news director. In 1981, Harris left Birmingham for Austin, where he became general manager of KTBC. After three years, he took over as vice president and news director of KDFW in Dallas. He retired from television in 1996, according to the Birmingham News.

WBMA meteorologist James Spann remembered Harris in a post on his blog this morning. continued…

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