Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Name Pat Ciarrocchi Person of the Year

On Friday, Nov. 22, Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia named SAG-AFTRA member Pat Ciarrocchi Person of the Year at their Hall of Fame Gala in Philadelphia. Ciarrocchi, a 33-year veteran of KYW-TV, now branded as CBS Philadelphia, was honored among nine other broadcast professionals and industry leaders, cutting across all disciplines in the industry, who became part of the 2024 Hall of Fame Class. Ciarrocchi had been inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2000.

Ciarrocchi's work included anchoring, reporting and show-hosting. Her specialty news assignments brought her to the Vatican, covering three papacies. She wrapped up her career in 2015, leading 16 hours of live coverage of Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia. Her co-anchor for most of that coverage was CBS Philadelphia’s morning anchor, member and shop steward Jim Donovan, who introduced Ciarrocchi for her award.

In her comments, Ciarrocchi emphasized the importance of using our voices as broadcast news professionals to fight against ignorance, intolerance and indifference. She encouraged the 300 guests gathered to “engage the circuit boards and pixels of our televisions, to turn on the lights and to pierce the darkness with truth.”