David Ushery

David Ushery (born June 5, 1967) is an African-American television news anchor at WNBC News 4 New York, NBC’s flagship owned and operated station.

An integral member of the NBC 4 New York News team, Ushery has covered many of the largest and most visible breaking news stories across the Tri-State region and around the world - including the terror attacks in Manchester, England, Orlando, Florida and Paris, France.

Ushery was born and raised in Bloomfield, Connecticut, the only child of Solomon and Winifred Ushery.

At age 11, Ushery was selected from a statewide search to host the local edition of “Kidsworld,” a nationally syndicated television show.

One of his early interviews was with the late Walter Cronkite, the former CBS News anchor once ranked as the most trusted man in America.

In what could be considered a prescient scene from that interview, young Ushery sits at the anchor desk.

He asked Cronkite, “What kind of person should be a newscaster?”

Cronkite responded that a person should have a sense of curiosity.

Ushery has said of the interview: "Many have asked if I think that's when the seed was planted for me to become a television reporter and anchor. I say, YES." Connecticut audiences would see Ushery grow up on television.

He hosted Kidsworld until he was 18.

Ushery graduated from the University of Connecticut with a double major in political science and journalism.

While at the university he was a staff writer for the Hartford Courant newspaper, where he honed his skills for covering local politics and events.

He also reported for the Los Angeles Times.

The CBS affiliate in Hartford, WFSB-TV, hired Ushery right after his graduation for its training program.

But recognizing his talent, the station offered him a full-time general assignment reporting position within just a matter of months.

As the lead reporter for WFSB’s 11pm broadcast, Ushery covered many stories impacting the everyday lives of the citizens of Connecticut’s capital city.

But one of these stories made an indelible impression on Ushery: the night he and his photographer spent with residents of New Britain who were being terrorized by arsonists.

Within two years of starting at the station, Ushery traveled to Moscow after the fall of the Soviet Union for a story on policing.

The overseas trip would become the first of many in Ushery’s career, as news directors recognized his talent for covering international stories.

In 1993, at the age of 25, Ushery was recruited by WABC-TV in New York City to join its staff as a general assignment reporter, covering news for the number one station in the top market in the nation.

Since then, Ushery has been a familiar face to New York City viewers reporting on the city’s tragedies and triumphs.

He was part of the station’s coverage of the police investigations into the shooting death of Amadou Diallo and the torture of Abner Louima, the deaths of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and John F. Kennedy, Jr. and September 11 terrorist attacks.

He was on the team of reporters for WABC’s extended coverage of the celebrations for the Yankees World Series wins and the installation of Edward Cardinal Egan to lead New York City’s Archdiocese.

WABC also sent Ushery on the road to cover world events including multiple reports from Haiti on the island’s political unrest, Pope John Paul II’s visits to Africa and Toronto, and the United Nation’s conference on racism in South Africa.

Three years after arriving at WABC, Ushery was named anchor of a new weekend show, “Eyewitness News This Morning.” He also anchored the weekday morning newscasts and the news at noon.

Ushery was later named primary fill-in for the legendary anchor, the late Bill Beutel.

Ushery spent 10 years at WABC.

In 2003, he joined WNBC-TV to become the anchor of its highly rated morning newscast, "Weekend Today in New York."

The show's format of hard news and features, interviews and sports, allowed Ushery to display his versatility as a newsman.

One year later, Ushery was also named anchor of WNBC's weekend 6pm and 11pm newscasts.

These simultaneous appointments made Ushery in effect "the face" of WNBC during the weekend, anchoring all the station's morning and evening newscasts on Saturday and Sunday.

In 2006, Ushery was named co-anchor of WNBC's iconic "Live at 5" program, alongside legendary anchor Sue Simmons.

After a change of programming, Ushery returned to anchor the weekend broadcasts for "News 4 New York."

As an anchor at WNBC, he has steered coverage of some of the most memorable events in recent memory.

In June 2016, Ushery traveled to Orlando to cover the tragic Pulse Nightclub shooting.

One year prior, he reported from Paris following the city's deadly terrorist attacks.

In 2018, Ushery traveled to Houston, Texas to deliver live updates following the funeral of former President George H.W. Bush.

Earlier that year, Ushery traveled to Jerusalem where he took Tri-State viewers to the opening of the new United States Embassy.

He also took viewers to the front lines in Gaza and the West Bank, where massive protests led to confrontations with police.

One year earlier, Ushery traveled to Israel to cover President Trump's visit to the Holy Land before quickly shifting his live reports to England, following the tragic bombing outside the Manchester sports arena.