Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

Malcolm Poindexter, trailblazing journalist

Among the many causes Malcolm Poindexter championed in his 50 years in journalism and civic activism was the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.

Though perhaps best known for his TV work, Poindexter was just as comfortable and accomplished working in newspapers and on radio, making him a true multimedia journalist.
Though perhaps best known for his TV work, Poindexter was just as comfortable and accomplished working in newspapers and on radio, making him a true multimedia journalist.Read more

Among the many causes Malcolm Poindexter championed in his 50 years in journalism and civic activism was the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.

The difference was that this time his involvement got him married.

The library was being run by an attractive young woman named Ilse Lauerson. It was her idea to enlist Poindexter to help spread the word that the cash-strapped library needed help.

He pitched in with his customary energy and commitment, working side by side with Lauerson. And love blossomed.

"We were in love, but we didn't know it," she said. "Others knew it, but we didn't."

When the light dawned, they were married in 1997.

"He was my heart," she said. "He was my best friend, my champion."

Malcolm P. Poindexter, retired CBS 3 reporter whose personable manner and astute grasp of local and world events made him a broadcast legend, died yesterday. He was 84 and lived in Center City.

He has been hailed as a pioneer, a trailblazer and other accolades by friends and associates because in his early radio and TV career he was a black man in a white-dominated industry.

"Malcolm was a trailblazer," said Daily News columnist Elmer Smith. "There were very few blacks in the business when he came along. Those of us who followed benefited from the fact that he had succeeded in every arena.

"He preceded me at the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. The fact that he was from my neighborhood and had gone to the same schools helped me to feel that a career in journalism was not beyond my reach."

That's what pioneers do. They pave the way for those who follow.

"Malcolm was a Renaissance journalist, ahead of his time," the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists said in a statement. "He was a multimedia journalist when there wasn't such a concept.

"He was able to master the various forms of media - print, broadcast and radio - and excelled in all that he did.

"Today's journalists should take a cue from Malcolm and his legacy. He not only blazed a trail as a black journalist, he accomplished more than most journalists might be capable of in two lifetimes."

The PABJ honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006, one of dozens of honors he received over the years, including four Emmys.

Poindexter was one of the first people whom 6ABC reporter Lisa Thomas-Laury met when she came to Philadelphia in 1978.

She recalls him as "a gentleman and truly great guy." When an intern whom Lisa was showing around commented on Poindexter's short stature, she replied, "Malcolm is one of the tallest men I know."

Acel Moore, former Inquirer columnist and editor emeritus, commented: "Malcolm was a constant stabilizing figure in radio and television. He was also an admirable man and an outstanding citizen. He was a man respected by everybody."

Poindexter was born in Eastwick to the late Malcolm P. Poindexter Sr., a well-known concert baritone and voice teacher, and Alda Florence Poindexter, a prominent accompanist and music teacher.

He graduated from Overbrook High School, then took courses at Temple University, where he later taught journalism.

He never earned a degree, but "the world was his college," his wife said.

Poindexter began his journalism career at the Philadelphia Tribune where, over 15 years, he served as a writer, photojournalist, columnist, sportswriter, city editor, business manager and comptroller.

In 1960, he joined the Evening Bulletin as a reporter and feature writer. When KYW Newsradio was launched in 1965, Poindexter, with certain reservations, switched to broadcasting. He was among the first reporters hired for the new format.

He set a standard of in-depth reporting when he did a five-part series on the plight of migrant workers in South Jersey. His research included becoming one of the workers himself. The series won the station its first honors, an Associated Press award and the Sigma Delta Chi Award for Community Service.

It wasn't the last time that Poindexter would get down with the people he was reporting on. In 1980, former Bulletin reporter Rex Polier wrote a piece about him for People Magazine entitled "A Philadelphia Anchorman Fights to Change His Mean Streets." It recounted how Poindexter moved from Society Hill to hard-pressed Norris Square to help the community.

"People here are not beyond help and hope," Poindexter said at the time.

He was a founder in 1974 of Opera Ebony/Philadelphia, which sought to provide more opportunities in opera for minority talent. He ran it as general manager for a number of years.

In 1996, Poindexter was inducted into the Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame.

Besides his wife, he is survived by two sons, David and Malcolm III; a daughter, Lynne; and a stepdaughter, Kirsten.

Services: Were being arranged.