New Mexico native Jan Black, born Elizabeth Naylor, was a key drivetime news anchor on two leading San Francisco stations, KGO and KCBS.
Black’s radio career began in Albuquerque, NM where she found work as a disc jockey while still in high school. She adopted her air name at that time because her given name sounded too much like that of actress Elizabeth Taylor.
Black arrived at KGO in 1975 as an 18-year-old. She would eventually anchor the station’s afternoon news block with Ed Baxter before the station failed to renew her contract in 1984. She quickly moved to where KCBS, where she became a mainstay before retiring in 1996 to be a full-time mother.
Black was recognized with accolades for her exceptional skills in newscasting, reporting, writing, and anchoring. Those honors include prestigious awards from the California Associated Press Television Radio Association, American Women in Radio and Television, United Press International, Radio-Television News Directors Association, San Francisco Press Club, and the Aviation and Space Writers Association.
She was a key part of the KCBS team covering the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The station;s coverage resulted in the Edward R. Murrow, DuPont Columbia, and George Foster Peabody awards.
After retiring from radio, Black created and hosted the podcast series Nobody Told Me”. Her BARHOF induction made Jan Black and husband Ronn Owens the first living husband and wife to be so honored.