Local TV legend Byron Barnett, who was with 7News WHDH for decades, has died.
A member of the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame, Barnett passed away on Sunday, according to the Boston station.
Barnett joined Boston’s 7News in 1983, and he retired from the station after 38 years in 2021.
“Sad announcement from 7News today as we remember one of the legends of the Boston broadcasting world…Byron Barnett who spent nearly 40 years at 7News prior to his retirement has passed away,” 7News reporter Steve Cooper posted.
“Byron was kind, caring and above all a true professional,” Cooper added. “He will be missed.”
Barnett was battling cancer and its complications, according to 7News reporter Jonathan Hall.
“Heartbroken to share the news that my good friend and longtime @7news colleague Byron Barnett died Sunday, surrounded by family, peacefully, in his native Minneapolis,” Hall posted.
“We met for dinner when he was in town June 5th,” Hall wrote. “Byron looked great – we just don’t know how much time we have on this planet.”
Barnett covered crime stories, court cases, fires, big weather events, and human interest features, and he was the host of the long-running WHDH public affairs show Urban Update.
He was a staple on the presidential campaign trail in New Hampshire, covering every campaign since Ronald Reagan in 1984.
He was also heard grilling Bill Belichick at Patriots press conferences.
Among the blockbuster stories Barnett covered were: the 1984 riots in Lawrence, the release of American hostages from a hijacked TWA flight in Lebanon, the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster that killed New Hampshire school teacher Christa McAuliffe and six other astronauts, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the trials and deaths of Aaron Hernandez and Whitey Bulger.
When Barnett was inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2017, his 7News colleague Jonathan Hall called Barnett “a great person.”
“I see Byron as a person who can really sense other peoples’ loss,” Hall said. “Often we see people on their absolute worst day, and Byron Barnett is the kind of guy who’s a people person who can connect. And so I think that’s one of the most important things I think about when I think of Byron.”
“Byron’s one of the nicest guys in the business, and his cheerful smile and great people skills translate into trust and great reporting,” Hall added.
During his Hall of Fame speech, Barnett reflected on his long career in Boston, starting with his arrival here in 1983.
“Since then, I have been blessed with — what I feel — has been a fantastic career,” Barnett said. “Traveling to interesting places and meeting interesting people, and watching history unfold before my eyes.”
Barnett noted that one of his proudest accomplishments was working with other TV reporters to lobby the Massachusetts Legislature to outlaw non-compete clauses in contracts for broadcasters.
An Emmy Award-winner, Barnett won many other awards including a Sigma Delta Chi Award, the National Association of Black Journalists’ Region One Journalist of The Year Award, YMCA Black Achievers Award, the 2013 Silver Circle Award from the Boston/New England Chapter of the National Association of Television Arts & Sciences, and several community service awards.
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