Amyre Makupson
{{Short description|American television personality}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
Amyre Makupson ({{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|m|ɪər|_|ˈ|m|eɪ|k|ə|p|s|ən}} {{respell|ə|MEER|_|MAY|kəp|sən}}) ({{nee|Porter; born September 30, 1947}}) is an American former news anchor and director of public affairs at WKBD in Detroit.
Career
Makupson held positions at WSM-TV in Nashville and WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., before moving back to Detroit in 1975 to work as director of public relations for Head Start, the Michigan Health Maintenance Organization. That same year, Makupson was hired by WGPR-TV, the nation's first African-American owned television station, to anchor Big City News and the Detroit focused talk show Porterhouse.{{Cite web |url = http://www.covenanthousemi.org/board/member.php?mid=11 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928042045/http://www.covenanthousemi.org/board/member.php?mid=11 |archive-date = September 28, 2007 |title = CHM Board Member: Amyre Makupson |year = 2007 |publisher = Covenant House Michigan }}
In 1977, Makupson joined WKBD as news anchor and public affairs director. At WKBD, she hosted Morning Break, the station's daily talk show, and produced and anchored a five-minute newsbreak called TV50 News Scene. In 1985, Makupson was appointed co-anchor of WKBD's newly-launched Ten O'Clock News; beginning in 2001, she also began to anchor 62 CBS Eyewitness News at 11 on WKBD's sister station, WWJ-TV (ironically, the former WGPR).https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/amyre-ann-makupson-4{{dead link|date=April 2022}} Amyre left the duopoly following the closure of the two stations' news department in December 2002.{{Cite news |date=December 4, 2002 |title=Channel 50's exodus aids Channel 7's news |pages=50 |work=Detroit Free Press |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93304684/channel-50s-exodus-aids-channel-7s/ |access-date=December 22, 2022}}
Her parents, Dr. Rudolph Hannibal and Amyre Ann Porche Porter, sent her to Detroit's Visitation Catholic Elementary School and she graduated from St. Mary's Academy High School in Monroe, Michigan, in 1965. She earned her B.A. degree in dramatics and speech from Fisk University in 1970 and her M.A. degree in speech arts/communications theory from American University in 1972.
In November 2003, she acted in a local play in Detroit {{Cite news |first = Donald V. |last = Calamia |date = November 13, 2003 |url = http://www.pridesource.com/article.shtml?article=5336 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071008172702/http://www.pridesource.com/article.shtml?article=5336 |work = PrideSource |title = Profile: Amyre Makupson |archive-date = October 8, 2007 }} and wrote a book about death, So... What's Next?.{{Cite web |url=http://www.buy.com/prod/so-what-s-next/q/loc/106/31060500.html |title=Buy.com - So.What's Next? : Amyre Makupson : ISBN 9781418441395 |access-date=September 5, 2007 |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184452/http://www.buy.com/prod/so-what-s-next/q/loc/106/31060500.html |url-status=dead }}
She was nominated for an Exemplary Volunteer Service Award by Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm in 2007.https://www.michigan.gov/firstgentleman/0,4582,7-178--167572--,00.html{{dead link|date=April 2022}}
Though she is now retired from television news, her daughter (also named Amyre Makupson) was recently a primary news anchor at WGXA in Macon, GA. Amyre II has since been hired by, ironically, her mother's old stations WWJ and WKBD, as "executive producer of community impact" for the new CBS News Detroit, set to launch in January 2023.{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Mark |date=July 11, 2022 |title=CBS News Detroit Announces First Anchor Hirings And Community Impact EP |url=https://tvnewscheck.com/journalism/article/cbs-news-detroit-announces-first-anchor-hirings-and-community-impact-ep/ |access-date=December 22, 2022 |website=TV News Check |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Malonepublished |first=Michael |date=December 19, 2022 |title=CBS News Detroit Set To Launch |url=https://www.nexttv.com/features/cbs-news-detroit-set-to-launch |access-date=December 22, 2022 |website=Broadcasting Cable |language=en}}
References
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Category:People from River Rouge, Michigan
Category:American television personalities