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Kaity Tong Wikipedia

Image:KaityTongWPIX1995.jpg|thumb|right|Kaity Tong on WPIX-TV in 1995.

Kaity Tong (aka Kaity Callahan; born on July 23, 1949, in Tsingtao, China) is a veteran Chinese-American New York broadcaster and anchor.

She began her career as a street reporter for KPIX-TV in San Francisco, and in December 1979 became co-anchor of the 5pm and 10 pm newscasts on KCRA-TV in Sacramento.

In 1981, she moved to WABC-TV in New York. Within two years, she became co-anchor of the station's 5pm and 11 pm newscasts first with Tom Snyder from 1983 to 1984, with Ernie Anastos from 1984 to 1989,and later co-anchored the 11pm news with Bill Beutel from 1989 to 1991. She was one of the first high-profile Asian-Americans in local television, and her firing in 1991 caused considerable outrage, especially since she was replaced by Susan Roesgen, a white woman from a small station who never adjusted and whose uncomfortability appeared immediately and never dissipated; she barely cracked a smile during her entire tenure. Roesgen lasted only about a year on WABC-TV, before being replaced by Diana Williams in 1992.

In early 1992, Tong joined WPIX-TV as the station's top female anchor and has been there ever since. She co-anchored the newscast with Marvin Scott from 1992 to 1994, with Jack Cafferty from 1994 to 1998, and with Ohio native (and sometime editorial writer for am Magazine), Jim Watkins, since 1998 and who still anchors with her today.

She is one of the most respected anchors in New York--so respected that some girls were named after her, although a newspaper once confused Connie Chung with Tong, which displeased both women.

Kaity is married to Irish-American Patrick Callahan, although the number of their offspring is unclear.

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Category:Television journalists|Tong, Kaity
Category:American television personalities|Tong, Kaity
Category: New York Television Anchors
Category:Chinese Americans|Tong, Kaity
Category:1949 births

Last Modified:   2005-11-07