For more than forty years, he was a familiar face to morning news views of TEGNA-owned WWL-TV in New Orleans. On September 18, he stepped away from the station after revealing that he was recently diagnosed with a “fairly aggressive” form of cancer.
On Saturday, Eric Paulsen passed away. He was 74 years old.
Born in July 1950, Paulsen is a St. Louis native who began his career in radio in the late 1960s before landing a job in television in Savannah, Ga. He then moved to Madison, Wisc., before being hired in 1977 as a weekend news anchor for WWL-4.
In a tribute to Paulsen appearing on the WWL website, the station noted, “Paulsen was best known and beloved by viewers as an anchor who made his work look effortless, bringing humor and a playful, often mischievous spirit to his morning newscasts, interviews and feature stories that shined a spotlight on the city’s music, food and culture. Glib and quick on his feet, not to mention blessed with charm and boyish good looks, Paulsen was perfectly suited for the juggling act that is live morning television.”
Shortly after joining the WWL news team, he was promoted to helm an all-new morning newscast. The newscast grew to earn top ratings, leading station General Manager J. Michael Early to expand it to two hours and pre-empt CBS’ morning newscast in favor of the local juggernaut. News anchors joining Paulsen after first going solo include Andre Trevigne and, in the 1990s, Sally-Ann Roberts.
Roberts is the sister of Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts, who took a moment during Monday’s broadcast to pay tribute to Paulsen and her respects to those in mourning.
At CBS-affiliated WWL-TV, Eyewitness Morning News became an institution in the Crescent City thanks to Paulsen, who also helmed PM Magazine for the station during the early 1980s when many cities offered such newsmagazine fare in early prime-time. Meanwhile, Paulsen would meet his wife, Bethany, at WWL-TV; she was a studio camera operator. They married in 2009 and have an eight-year-old son, Emmet. “The outpouring of love and support has truly been overwhelming,” Mrs. Paulsen said. “Even for someone who was used to being in the spotlight, Eric was truly surprised and humbled by how many people reached out to support him.”
For 18 years, from 2001 to 2019, Paulsen also anchored WWL’s top-rated noon newscast.
Paulsen is also survived by a son, Jon and a daughter, Lexei; a sister, Karen, and brother-in-law, Richard; and a brother, Kim. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.
Paulsen’s family asks that memorial donations be made to Roots of Music, 1020 N. Prieur St., New Orleans, LA 70116 (rootsofmusic.org), or The Ella Project, 400 Esplanade Ave., New Orleans, LA 70116 (ellanola.org).
