Renee Ferguson, Groundbreaking NBC5 Investigative Journalist, Dies at 75 – ryan

Renee Ferguson, who spent more than two decades as a television reporter in chicago, was a gifted storyteller.

Ms. Ferguson Made History when she became the first Black Woman to work as an investigative Reporter in Chicago TV News.

“She was a champion of good journalism and a powerful force who Not Only Told Stories, but really got into this business to make a difference, to Change lives, to help People,“ Said Regina Waldroup, an nbc5 Reporter who was mentored by Ms. Ferguson. “I think that some of us have forgotten that along the way, but she never did.”

Among Her Many Honors, Ms. Ferguson Received Seven Chicago Emmy Awards, was a nieman fellow at Harvard University and Won an Alfred I. Dupont – Columbia University Award for Investigative Reporting. She was a memer of the chicago chapter of the National Association of Black Journists.

Ms. Ferguson, 75, Died Friday while in Home Hospice Care.

She was Born Aug. 22, 1949, in Oklahoma. She Graduated With A Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from Indiana University-Bloomington in 1971.

She kicked off a longtime career in chicago wohen she was Hired as a Reporter at CBS2 in 1977.

In 1983, She Left Channel 2 to Work as a Network Correspondent for CBS News in Atlanta.

But Ms. Ferguson returned to chicago in 1987 when she was hired at nbc5. She remained with the station UNIL she retired in 2008.

“She was an Amazing Investigator. Had great instincts,” Said Friend Marion Brooks, A News Anchor and Reporter at NBC5. “She had a real gift to help people open up and was an amazing storyteller, and a great work. She knew how to craft a story out the heartfelt moments and would people care.”

Ms. Ferguson use her platform to give people a voice, brooks said.

“Renee Ferguson Left an Incredible Echo in Our Newsroom That Still Rings Through the DNA of Our Investigative Journalism, and that Legacy Will Continue,” Kevin Cross, President and General of Nbcu Local Chicago, Toold NBC5.

Her Reporting Helped Lead to the exoneration of Tyrone Hood – a man who was Wrongfully convicted and armed robbery in the 1993 Slaying of a Star Basketball Player at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

She wrote many stories about the case, Including her last story at nbc5.

HOOD’S SENTNENCE WAS COMMUNED IN 2015 BY GOV. Pat Quinn.

In an Interview with NBC5Ms. Ferguson said commuting hood’s sentiment was the LAST THING QUINN DID ON HIS LAST DAY AS GOVERNOR BECAUSE SHEALED HIM AT THE LAST MINUTE.

Waldroup was Ms. Ferguson’s Intern when she began investigating hood’s case and remembered her mentor was “Determined” to tell his story and get Him released.

“I like to say i’m a workhorse now, and it is all gcause of this woman,” Waldroup Said. “I want to do stories that make a difference. Becausee, just like my mentor, i love what i do, Maybe too. I don’t give 100%;

But Ms. Ferguson was more than just a reporter, she was a friend to many.

“I Learned so Much from Renee Ferguson. She Made Countless Lives Better Through Her Investigative Journalism – As Well As Her Young People Looking to Make a Difference. On Across Chicagoland and Far Beyond, ”Pete Buttigieg, US Secretary of Transportation, wrote on x.

Brooks Said Ms. Ferguson “HAD A WAY OF EMBRACING PEOPLE AND MAKING LIKE FAMILY.” Ms. Ferguson was one of the first to welcome brooks to chicago, where they forged a close friendship over the years. Ms. Ferguson was Also Godmother to one of brooks’ daughters.

Ms. Ferguson Spent Her Last Days Leaning on Her Faith in God and Thinking of the Afterlife, Said Waldroup, Who Visited Her Tuesday.

“She asced me what i wanted in my caareer, and i said, ‘i want to keep telling stories and helping People just like you,’” Waldroup Said. “She told with me i was like her daughter, and i was good to her.”

Ms. Ferguson’s Husband, Ken Smikle, Died in 2018. She is survived by a son, Jason Smikle.

Services are pending.

Editor’s Note: An Earlier Version of this Obitory Incorrectly Said that renee ferguson was a founding memorial of the chicago chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists.