Maury Povich

A warm and seemingly sincere television personality, Maury Povich went from local newsman to the host of one of the first tabloid newsmagazine programs that became a ubiquitous airwave presence in the years that followed. Coming out of radio and local affiliate television news in his hometown of Washington, DC, Povich gained nationwide recognition behind the anchor's desk on the "infotainment" newsmagazine "A Current Affair" (syndicated, 1986-1996). Within four years, the ambitious Povich left the program to host a daytime talk show of his own with "The Maury Povich Show" (syndicated, 1990-98). A reasonably successful entry in the familiar format, its transformation into "Maury" (syndicated, 1998- ) heralded a noticeable turn away from compassionate human interest stories and toward more lurid, lowbrow segments which frequently devolved into shouting matches and catfights. Other efforts included a short-lived news program with his wife, TV journalist and anchor, Connie Chung, called "Weekends with Maury and Connie" (MSNBC, 2006) and acting as financial benefactor to the small Montana area newspaper, the Flathead Beacon. Infusing his daily television offerings with a certain homespun urban appeal, Povich maintained one of the lengthier careers in the world of syndicated daytime television.