Which news broadcaster are you most closely connected to?

+16 votes
2.1k views

This week's Example Profile of the Week is Larry King, legendary TV and radio news broadcaster, who passed away last week at age 87.

Featured alongside him are other notable news broadcasters:

Who are you most closely connected to? If you're one of the 21,545,000 of us who are connected to each other on our big tree you can check with the Connection Finder.

You can also check for shared ancestors with the Relationship Finder. Are you a cousin to any of them? Your Relationship Finder Quick Links page (see your profile pull-down menu under "Relationships") has quick links for several notable groups.

Let us know below!

P.S. Help us choose and improve profiles for next week's feature for the upcoming Super Bowl!

WikiTree profile: Larry King
in The Tree House by Abby Glann G2G6 Pilot (718k points)
reshown by Chris Whitten
OK, I think I have heard the name Walter Kronkite, without really knowing what he does or did.  But look here, dear chaps - there is a world outside the USA, despite recent, shall we say 'notable', efforts to disavow that fact.  This and similar recent connection lists are completely and utterly irrelevant to my ancestry,  and, I suspect to most people this side of the Azores...
Hello David,

This particular week's feature was put together slightly differently in order to act on Mr. King's recent death. These weekly features serve purposes beyond fun exercises for WikiTreers, and those other purposes help keep WikiTree free for everyone, thus it is important to act on current events when we can.

In setting up this one, the Team looked for non-Americans to feature, but all those that were in categories or on lists from internet searches were not connected. If you'd like to see more non-Americans, make sure your favorite Notables are connected and have nice profiles, as well as appropriate categories so they can be found. Participate in planning discussions, too.

There is a lot that goes into each week's choices. As an American company, we'll never get away from US-specific features, but we do try to make sure to include as many other countries and ethnicities as we can and are appropriate.

David, the Team members who set up these connection target lists normally work pretty hard to diversify the collections. Candidates must have better-than-minimal profiles, images that are copyright-free or appropriately licensed for use here, and a connection to the big tree. When the profile of a notable of any nationality meets these qualifications, it is almost always because one or more individual members  made a focused effort. (You, too, can contribute! The plan for next week is to feature U.S. football, but perhaps there is an Australian footballer or two who could be featured alongside.)

I imagine that this particular connection target list was set up in a pretty big hurry, since Larry King died just a few days ago, so there was less time than usual to find a diverse collection. There is, however, one non-North American on the list: Léon Zitrone.

Cokie Roberts - 10th c 1x

Frank McGee - 11th c 2x

23 Answers

+8 votes
I am most closely connected to Cokie Roberts at 22 degrees.
by Samantha Thomson G2G6 Pilot (252k points)
+8 votes
I am 14 degrees from Frank McGee; 16 from Edward R. Murrow and 17 from Cokie Roberts.
by Virginia Fields G2G Astronaut (1.2m points)
+8 votes
I am closest to Frank McGee at 20 degrees.
by Mark Weinheimer G2G Astronaut (1.2m points)
+7 votes
18 degrees from Walter Cronkite
18 degrees from Frank McGee  (17th cousins, 3x removed)
23 degrees from Larry King
24 degrees from Edward Bradley
20 degrees from Edward R. Murrow (8th cousins, 5x removed)
20 degrees from Cokie Roberts (13th cousins, 2x removed)
22 degrees from Chester Robert Huntley (12th cousins, 1x removed)
24 degrees from Peter Jennings
36 degrees from Léon Zitrone
by Mike Wells G2G6 Pilot (131k points)
+7 votes
Walter Cronkite is 17 Degrees
Edward R. Murrow is 16 Degrees
Cokie Roberts is 17 Degrees
Peter Jennings is 22 Degrees
Frank McGee is 16 Degrees
Chester Robert Huntley is 22 Degrees
Léon Zitrone is 33 Degrees
Edward Bradley is 21 Degrees
Larry King is 17 Degrees
by Sandra Vines G2G6 Pilot (131k points)
+7 votes
14 Degrees from Joelle Colville-Hanson (8th cousin, 2x removed)

14 Degrees from Walter Cronkite

16 Degrees from Frank McGee (14th cousin, 3x removed)

17 Degrees from Edward Murrow (17th cousin)

17 Degrees from Cokie Roberts (17th cousin, 1x removed)

20 Degrees from Chet Huntley (19th cousin, 1x removed)

20 Degrees from Larry King

21 Degrees from Ed Bradley

23 Degrees from Peter Jennings

33 Degrees from Leon Zitrone
by Karen Macagno G2G6 Mach 1 (11.2k points)
+7 votes
Frank McGee @ 14 degrees.
by J. Mancha G2G6 (7.1k points)
+6 votes

These are fun. My closest connection is Frank McGee at 18 degrees. Relationally, Chester Huntly who is a 9th cousin twice removed.

by Chase Clift G2G6 (8.6k points)
+6 votes
Apparently I am a 9th cousin of Cokie Roberts. Cool. It's through one of the Quebec lines. I should probably write all these connections down....
by Chris Ferraiolo G2G6 Pilot (753k points)
+6 votes
I am a 6th cousin once removed of Cokie Roberts. Her father, Hale Boggs, is my 6th cousin.
by David Williamson G2G1 (1.8k points)

Our common ancestor is Joseph Ligon (Ligon-38). Joseph Ligon was born 1704 in Henrico Co., Virginia

+6 votes
Cokie Roberts is 9th cousin twice removed.

All the rest are between 22 & 28  degree connections
by Arora Anonymous G2G6 Pilot (162k points)
+5 votes
Robynne is
27 degrees from Larry King
26 degrees from Edward Bradley
25 degrees from Walter Cronkite
21 degrees from Chester Robert Huntley
26 degrees from Peter Jennings
24 degrees from Frank McGee
21 degrees from Edward R. Murrow
19 degrees from Cokie Roberts
32 degrees from Léon Zitrone
12 degrees from Joelle Colville-Hanson

Edward Murrow is a connection through the Breckenridge family of Argyll in Scotland. Chester Huntley and Cokie Roberts are both connected to me via my French Canadian spouse

 But the biggest shock is that Joelle Colville-Hanson is my 5th cousin once removed. We are both descended from the same Breckenridge family from Argyll in Scotland.
by Robynne Lozier G2G Astronaut (1.2m points)
+6 votes
I am staying with degrees AND relatedness:

1) Edward R. Murrow - 19 degrees and 21st cousin 3x removed through MRCA Robert Beauchamp

2) Frank McGee - 21 degrees and 13th cousins 2x removed through MRCA John Garrard

3) Cokie Roberts - 22 degrees and 19th cousins 2x removed through MRCA Lucy (Hellesby) Thornton

All stellar broadcasters and am honored to be connected close or distant.
by Carol Baldwin G2G Astronaut (1.1m points)
+5 votes

I have closer connections than I expected: 

Now to do more research :)  I just mind find more great-great grandparents I didn't know about!
by Terri Bartos G2G1 (2.0k points)
+4 votes

My closest connections are Chet Huntley and Walter Cronkite, both at 18 degrees. Chet is my 8th cousin 2x removed (via ancestors named Huntley) and Walt is my 9th cousin 2x removed. Next are Frank McGee and Edward R. Murrow at 20 degrees; McGee is not a relative but Murrow is another 9th cousin 2x removed. Cokie Roberts is 21 degrees and she is a 13th cousin. None of the more distant connections map out as relatives: Bradley is 23 degrees; King and Jennings are 24 degrees; and Zitrone is 35 degrees.

And Joelle, who is not a broadcaster but is a Wonderful WikiTreer, heart  is at 18 degrees, but is not a cousin.

by Ellen Smith G2G Astronaut (1.5m points)

Somebody has been busy making more connections for these people. yes  Murrow is now one degree closer to me in connection finder and he is is also a degree less distant as a cousin.

+3 votes
19 degrees from Larry King.

23 degrees from Edward Bradley

18 degrees from Walter Cronkite

19 degrees from Chet Huntley

17 degrees from Frank McGee. 13th cousin twice removed. MRCA William Whetenall (1457 - 1539)

17 degrees from Edward R. Murrow. DNA disproven Pitt line would give us 16th cousin twice removed. Would be MRCA William Troutbeck Knight (1432 - 1459). Keyword; disproven.

18 degrees from Cokie Roberts. 13th cousin twice removed. MRCA John St. John (abt 1465 -bef 1525}.

33 degrees from Leon Zitrone.
by Frank Blankenship G2G6 Pilot (123k points)
+3 votes

My closest connections are

 Chet Huntley -18 degrees - 9th cousin

Walter Cronkite - 19 degrees - 9th cousin 1x removed

BTW - Where is  Chet Huntley's partner David McClure Brinkley?  Oops! wink

by Faylene Bailey G2G6 Mach 1 (11.2k points)
+4 votes

Chet Huntley at 22 degrees

I cannot help but wonder if I was to search profiles of Canadian or British News Broadcaster's if the connections would be much closer. My area of the tree really does not have many American connections. 

by Jennifer Turner G2G6 Mach 2 (23.6k points)
Jennifer,

If you can find a few more, and are able to connect them (many I found were not connected, or we'd had some in the list), that would be great! Then we'd have a few to add the next time this theme comes around.

I did a bit of digging into Canadians and found

  • Pierre Berton 22 degrees
  • Peter Jennings 25 degrees
  • Alex Trebek 26 degrees
  • Ernie Coombs 24 degrees
  • Lorne Greene 25 degrees
Interestingly almost everyone on both the American-centric list and the Canadian one links through the same gentleman who was a second husband of a close relative of mine but without a direct bio linkage to me is 40 degrees back. He is someone I knew and loved and who helps me in the first few years of my research with some of my early cemetery field trips in his area. 

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