by Dave DeNatale, wkyc.com
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| (Photo: Cleveland International Hall of Fame) |
Paul Sciria, WKYC's first full-time news reporter, has died at the age of 88, according to his grandson Nick.
Paul was a Clevelander through and through. He grew up in the Kinsman area and attended John Adams High School.
He graduated from Ohio State University in 1950 with a BA in political science. After working in public relations for a few years, Paul began his broadcasting career at WTAM radio, followed by a stop at WJW radio before joining WKYC in 1957.
During his distinguished career at WKYC, Sciria served as street/investigative reporter and was on-call 24 hours a day.
As he told ClevelandSeniors.com, that included getting alerted while watching a movie at Shaker Square in 1960. Big letters came across the screen that read, "Paul Sciria, call your office."
Paul was rushed to Toledo to cover the plane crash that took the lives of the entire California Poly-Sci football team.
He interviewed everyone from The Beatles, to Richard Nixon, to Jimmy Hoffa, during his time at Channel 3.
Paul was with WKYC from 1957 until 1975. He then went on to start a public relations and advertising agency. In the 1980s, his PR skills led him to work with Don King Productions, helping to promote boxing champions Larry Holmes and Mike Tyson, among others.
In 1992, Paul created and became editor of La Gazzetta Italiana, a monthly newspaper targeting Ohio's Italian-American community. He also went on to serve as a Mayfield Heights councilman.
Among the accolades Sciria earned included induction into the Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame and the Cleveland International Hall of Fame.
Paul and his beloved wife Francesca had six children, 9 grandchildren, and three great grandchildren.
