She’s an iconic woman who has been a key member of the news team at one of the nation’s most dominant CBS affiliates since 1981. Together with James Brown, Cheryl McHenry has won acclaim and attracted generations of viewers to Cox Media Group‘s WHIO-7 in Dayton.
In three months, McHenry will be saying goodbye to viewers across Ohio’s Miami Valley.
McHenry announced during the 6pm newscast on Thursday that May 21 will be her final day at WHIO-7.
“The decision to retire was not an easy one,” McHenry said. “There’s a part of me that could stay at WHIO because I enjoy the work so much. I love my coworkers, and I feel a responsibility to our viewers. However, I realize time is our most precious commodity and I’d like to use more of my time to do other things. I look forward to spending more time with family and friends, reading a zillion books, and spending more time in nature — walking and hiking.”
McHenry’s successor alongside co-anchor Brown is Gabrielle Enright, who joined WHIO-7 in 1997 as a camera operator. Before becoming a reporter and anchor 2001, she spent 4 years behind the scenes in a number of positions including producer and radio reporter for WHIO Radio. “Ironically my very first job was delivering the Dayton Daily News,” Enright says.
According to McHenry, Enright is her natural heir apparent. “It’s very comforting to leave our viewers in the best of hands,” says McHenry. “My colleagues are so capable and caring, and they work hard every day to cover the news and issues that affect the people of our community. Gabby is not only a hard worker, she’s smart, energetic, and so kind. She does not consider any kind of work beneath her. She always gamely pitches in to help in any way she can to give our viewers the very best content. She often stops to shoot video because it’s on her way to work. She has more than earned her anchor spot.”
Enright will join Brown for “News Center 7” newscasts each weekday at 5pm and again at 11pm; Enright assumed the late newscast co-anchor role in 2023.
Darren Moore, Cox Media Group Dayton’s VP/GM, commented, “We are so fortunate to have the level of talented journalists that we have here at WHIO. Cheryl McHenry helped lay the journalistic foundation upon which News Center 7 was built. She is the consummate professional and beloved in our community. Gabrielle will carry on the tradition of excellence and high standard expected by our viewers in the Miami Valley.”
Across her career, McHenry won nine Emmy awards for breaking news coverage and various projects. A native of Waco, Texas, McHenry ended up in the Dayton area in the mid-1960s when her father was transferred to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. After graduation from high school, she stayed in the region, attending the University of Cincinnati. As a college senior, McHenry interned at WKRC-AM. “In those days, almost everyone worked in radio news before moving into television news,” McHenry notes in her bio appearing on the WHIO-7 website. “Radio was great training ground for writing fast, developing one’s delivery, and meeting hourly deadlines.”
In fact, one of McHenry’s first post-college jobs was in the news department of WING-AM in Dayton, where Radio Ink and Radio + Television Business Report President/Publisher Deborah Parenti was a colleague. McHenry would also spend time at WCKY-AM in Cincinnati before joining WHIO-7. “For much of the 1980s, I covered the Dayton Police/Montgomery County Courts beat, reporting on all kinds of stories from the local criminal justice system,” McHenry says. “I covered several big cases and high-profile trials.”
One career highlight involves one of the scariest times for Dayton residents — the night of Memorial Day 2019, when McHenry joined former WHIO-7 Chief Meteorologist McCall Vrydaghs on the air for hours, warning viewers to take shelter as 15 destructive tornadoes tore through the Miami Valley, impacting much of Dayton’s north side. “It’s been humbling and rewarding to receive thanks from people who believe our coverage saved their lives,” McHenry says. Vrydaghs is now Keep America Beautiful’s Director of Corporate Communications, in that role since June 2023.
WHIO-7 News Director Joe Cowan commented, “Cheryl is part of the fabric of WHIO-TV and the Miami Valley. Her generous spirit is reflected daily in our newsroom and in the community she serves. It is a privilege to call her a colleague. We look forward to celebrating her decades of dedication to WHIO-TV and our community as she prepares for her well-earned retirement.”
