a natural storyteller Perhaps the most beloved television personality in Greater Cleveland, Shaker’s Leon Bibb was the first African-American prime-time news anchor in Ohio and one of the first in America. It's a Friday morning It’s a Friday morning in the studios at Cleveland’s WEWS Channel 5 and Leon Bibb is welcoming guests for a taping of his popular Sunday show, “Kaleidoscope.” “I didn’t sleep well,” Bibb jokes to his guests in his hallmark deep and melodic voice. “It was one of those nights when I went to bed at 11 and woke up at 1:30.” The guests, who include Dr. Jacklyn Chisholm, head of the Council for Economic Opportunities in Greater Cleveland, and Jenner Tekancic, director of community relations for the Cleveland Browns, visibly relax and, for the next few minutes, the studio buzzes with laughter. “Good to see you,” Bibb says, shaking hands. “Good to have you with us.” Then Bibb, a Shaker resident for more than three decades, takes his seat, the camera rolls, and the Emmy Award-winning newsman gets down to business. But “Kaleidoscope” is just part of Bibb’s busy day. An hour later, he’s preparing for the station’s noon newscast, which he anchors five days a week. He reviews the program’s lineup, writes an introduction for a segment he did earlier that morning at a local elementary school, and shortly before noon heads back to the studio for the live broadcast. And then there’s the work Bibb still has to wrap up for the evening news. That includes putting the final touches on a segment for his popular “My Ohio” series – about people and places in the state – that today features a huge, beautiful weeping willow, which sits on the shore of Lake Erie in Edgewater Park. It’s a schedule that can make your head spin, but for Bibb it’s just a typical day in a career that’s spanned more than four decades – he was the first African- American prime-time news anchor in the state – earned him numerous awards and accolades, and made him a familiar face and voice to millions of Ohioans. By Diana Simeon | Photography by Kevin Reeves 56 SHAKERONLINE.COM | SPRING 2016
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