About John Drury
An Anchor and an Investigator
John Drury joined ABC-7 as news anchor for the 10 p.m. newscast in August of 1984. ABC-7 News at 10 p.m. has been #1 since March of 1986. In addition to his anchoring duties, Drury focused his efforts on investigative reporting, working with his long-time associated, award-winning producer, Alex Burkholder, who joined ABC-7 in April of 1984.
Together, they researched, wrote and produced stories that impacted Chicagoans until John’s retirement in the spring of 2002. John Drury passed away in 2007 at the age of 80 from complications of ALS.
Honored For His Work
John Drury had an impressive history of reporting and anchoring news in Chicago. From 1979 to 1984, Drury co-anchored the 9 O’clock News at WGN-TV, at the same time earning numerous awards for his investigative reporting. Prior to that, from 1970-1979, Drury anchored the news at ABC-7, where he won awards and garnered critical praise for his credible approach to local news reporting.
Drury's Legacy
In 1996, Drury’s peers in Chicago’s journalism community named him to the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame. Also in 1996, he was honored with the prestigious Silver Circle Award for 25 years of outstanding contributions to Chicago television. In 1989, Drury received the Better Government Association’s Distinguished Journalism award.
Throughout his broadcasting career, John Drury won numerous awards for his work including best reporter of the year, best enterprise reporter of the year, best spot news coverage, best documentary of the year and best feature of the year. February 27, 2002 was also designated John Drury Day in the city of Chicago.
Awards and Honors
- Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame Induction – 1996
- Chicago Emmy Award for Individual Excellence – 1983, 1987, 1988 and 2003
- Illinois Journalist of the Year – 2002
- Chicago Press Veteran of the Year – 2002
- Chicago Father of the Year – 1983
- Better Government Association’s Distinguished Journalism Award – 1989
- Silver Circle Award – 1996
- John Drury Day– February 27, 2002
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