Longtime Pittsburgh television reporter Stu Emry dies
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A story by Myron Cope about a Brentwood bar where Steelers players and reporters hung out stirred Stu Emry’s imagination.
Emry was a corn syrup salesman living in Chicago, dreaming of working in radio or television. When he was transferred to Pittsburgh in 1965 to service his biggest client, Heinz, he immediately found that bar, Dante’s.
“That’s where he met the people who would help him build his career and realize his dreams,” said his daughter, Betsy Benson, 58, of Mt. Lebanon.
M. Stuart Emry, a Pittsburgh television reporter for more than 30 years, died Thursday, April 14, 2022. A resident of South Park, he was 88.
Emry was born in Limington, Maine, in 1934. His mother, Hazel Emry, moved her family to Indiana after his father, Marion, died in 1939.
After graduating from Indiana University in Bloomington with a degree in psychology, Emry served in the Army as a lieutenant and rifle platoon leader in Germany. Following an honorable discharge, he moved to Chicago, where Benson said he met her mother, Susan, a flight attendant. They were married from 1960 until her death in 2016.
Emry possessed a deep voice, and Benson said people often commented that her father should be in radio or on television.
“He had dreams of being in TV and radio,” she said. “When he read that Myron Cope article, it seemed like this is a cool bar in a cool town. Who knows what would happen?”
It was a few years after moving to Pittsburgh that Emry decided to pursue a career in broadcasting.
“As a young man, he started to see TV news evolve and become a really important vehicle,” Benson said. “He was there at that time where he was seeing TV news blossom. He knew that he didn’t love the job that he had. He saw this as something that fascinated him.”
After radio jobs with WEDO in McKeesport and then KDKA radio, Emry landed a job at WTAE-TV, where he worked as a reporter for about 20 years. He then worked at KDKA-TV for about 10 years before retiring in 2000.
Benson, publisher of Pittsburgh Magazine and former editor of the Pittsburgh Business Times, said her father was a “classic street reporter.”
“He genuinely loved the job and felt he was performing a really important service to the community,” Benson said. “If you look at the stories he covered, they ranged from hard breaking news to puffy features. Every day was something different. Every day there was something unexpected that might happen, and he had to be ready to cover that story. He always did so honestly and accurately for the people of Pittsburgh.”
Sally Wiggin admired Emry
Retired WTAE anchor Sally Wiggin said she studied Emry closely early in her career and modeled her storytelling after his.
“I would tape his stuff and transcribe it and look at how he structured his report,” Wiggin said. “He was spot-on when it came to being able to tell a story with both video and words, and there was an economy of language that was such a gift that he had. He was the best at being concise and at the same time imbuing his pieces with emotion.”
Emry was at WTAE when Sue McInerney arrived as an intern. She would work closely with Emry for many years, later as a production assistant and an assignment editor. She was the news director at KDKA-TV and hired him there after his departure from WTAE.
“I hired him because he was an incredible reporter,” said McInerney, who is now a broadcast talent agent. “He was professional. He had such integrity. He was a consummate journalist. It was an easy decision to bring him onboard at KDKA when I had the opportunity.”
McInerney says Emry was a friend more than a colleague.
‘A teacher in the newsroom’
“He was a gentle giant. He had that booming, fabulous voice,” McInerney said. “He had a heart of gold. He was a teacher in the newsroom. He was truly respected and loved by everybody he worked with.
“And as a friend, he had a wonderful sense of humor,” she said. “He was terrific at Trivial Pursuit. We played many games together.”
Benson said her father often missed spending holidays and birthdays with his family because of his work.
“He did make some sacrifices to do the best job that he could. I think we always understood,” she said. “He was out covering stories, and that was really important work. He was also with us when it mattered most.”
Visitation will be from 2 to 4 and 6 to 9 p.m. Monday at John F. Slater Funeral Home, 4201 Brownsville Road in Brentwood. A memorial service will be at noon Tuesday in the chapel of the funeral home.