LEE HARRIS

Lee Harris anchored Mornings on all-news 1010 WINS, New York, for almost 30 years until early 2023. For much of that time, he was the most-listened-to radio newscaster in the nation. For millions of New York area residents, Lee Harris was the voice of 9/11, and in the days afterwards.

Raised on Long Island, Lee first went on the air at 13, doing school reports on WGBB-AM / Freeport. Lee attended the University of Wisconsin, while also working at the public, country, and album rock stations in Madison. He later co-owned a station in the same city. 

Lee was recruited at age 19 to be a newsman on WFYR-FM / Chicago.   

He worked on-air and in management at KTAR-AM / Phoenix, at KMOX-AM in St. Louis, and Tribune Radio Networks / WGN-AM in Chicago. 

He was back on-air in New York City by 1993, eventually hosting AM Drive and working with a variety of individuals to create what was the highest cumulative audience sized locally-hosted radio program in America on 1010 WINS. Lee Harris spent nearly 30 years with WINS-AM, including the fateful morning of September 11, 2001. Lee Harris not only hosted Morning Drive, but also built the radio station’s first website and developed software products to help other broadcasters. One of those inventions, the QGoLive service, allows on-air reporters and anchors to broadcast live from the locations of breaking news stories and remote studios, still in use today.   

In June of 2023 he left WINS-AM, joining Nexstar as Director of Integrated Operations at NewsNation and WGN Radio. 

In 2024, Lee Harris was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.