News anchor Sheree Paolello admits she thought about being inducted into the WLWT-TV Hall of Fame “someday, years after I retired.”
But the Delhi Township native, with 24 years at the station, won’t have to wait long. Paolello will be honored this summer along with five others.
The Class of 2026 includes the posthumous induction of two Channel 5 veterans who were part of Cincinnati’s Golden Age of Live Television in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s — country and rockabilly singer Bonnie Lou (Okum) and engineer Ron Whitacre. Also to be inducted at a private ceremony this summer are news photographer Mark Hauss; account executive Janet Henderson; and executive assistant Sandy Powers.
“I’m humbled by all of this,” says Paolello, who was hired in 2002 and promoted to news anchor two years later. She’s now the main evening co-anchor with her husband, Mike Dardis, whom she married in 2019.
“When I learned about this, I was floored,” she says.
The East Central High school graduate questioned her career aspiration when she took her first journalism course at Northern Kentucky University in the 1990s. Teachers Maryanne Zelenik (WNKU-FM’s Morning Edition host and now WVXU-FM Morning Edition host and news vice president) and Margaret Ulveling Cellucci (WNKU-FM’s All Things Considered host at the time) “were tough. They were brutally honest. I didn’t think I was cut out for this,” Paolello says.
She told her father — who was “completely against me going into journalism” — about possibly switching to cosmetology school. He told her: “OK, as long as someday you’re doing the hair and makeup for one of the main anchors in town.”
That did it. She stuck with journalism. She started working behind-the-scenes in the WXIX-TV newsroom, and stayed there as a news writer after graduating from NKU in 1996. Then she did reporting for stations in South Bend, Ind., Dayton, Ohio, and Charlotte, N.C., before coming home to Channel 5 in 2002.
Her star quickly ascended. After returning in May 2004 from maternity leave, she was named weekend anchor; then 5 p.m. weekday anchor with Sandra Ali in 2005; and eventually co-anchor with Ali for all evening weekday newscasts in 2006. They were the city's first female co-anchors. Two years later, Paolello anchored solo at 11 p.m. until Jack Atherton arrived from Fox 19 in 2009. Atherton was re-assigned to political reporter shortly before Dardis arrived in 2012.
The WLWT Hall of Fame, established in 2023 as part of the station’s 75th anniversary, has previously inducted legendary TV hosts Ruth Lyons, Bob Braun, Paul Dixon and Jerry Springer; anchors Courtis Fuller and Peter Grant; reporter John London; sports anchor George Vogel; and newsroom managing editor Bill Hager, among others.
“To be included in a list that includes Bob Braun, Jerry Springer, Courtis Fuller and John London — it’s very emotional,” she says.
Meet her 2026 Hall of Fame classmates:
- Bonnie Lou — born Mary Joan Kath in Illinois — was given her stage name when hired by WLW radio in 1945. She performed 30 years on WLW’s iconic Midwestern Hayride, Lyons’ 50-50 Club and the Paul Dixon Show, the crazy weekday morning host who inspired young David Letterman. Colleen Sharp, also a Dixon entertainer, was inducted last year.
Bonnie Lou was one of Channel 5’s most popular stars for her yodeling and versatile vocal abilities, great sense of humor and her laugh. She scored three hit singles — “Seven Lonely Days,” “Tennessee Wig Walk” and “Daddy O” — for Cincinnati’s King Records and hosted the Mutual Radio Network’s national Six Star Ranch country music show from WLW-AM in the 1950s. She sang once at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, and was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 2002.
After leaving TV when Dixon suffered a fatal heart attack in December 1974, she continued to entertain for another 30 years at fairs, festivals, pageants and concerts. She also was a country music DJ at Fairfield’s WCNW-AM and Middletown’s WPFB-AM. Her last major public performance was at the 2006 Tall Stacks riverboat festival. She died in 2015 at age 91.
- Ron Whitacre, a Channel 5 engineer for 44 years, “helped innovate WLWT-TV’s remote broadcast capabilities in the early years of live remote technology” in the 1950s and ‘60s, according to the WLWT-TV announcement. After graduating from Blanchester High School in 1949, the Morrow native enlisted in the U.S. Marines and was awarded a purple heart for his service in the Korean War before joining WLWT-TV. He was the lead technical director for WLWT’s live programming and Cincinnati Reds baseball telecasts. He died in 2020 at age 88.
About the other inductees from WLWT-TV announcement:
- Mark Hauss: For 41 years, Mark Hauss covered the biggest stories in Cincinnati as a WLWT news photographer, working side by side with many of WLWT’s legendary anchors and reporters.
- Janet Henderson: She set the standard as a WLWT account executive during her 27-year career. Janet retired from WLWT as one of the most decorated account executives in Hearst Television history.
- Sandy Powers: From planning and organizing, to handling critical operational details, for 40 years Sandy Powers played a key role across several departments at WLWT, working alongside station leadership to develop a successful foundation and culture during her distinguished career.
“The contributions made by these six inductees have left, and continue to build, a lasting impact on our audiences and the communities we serve. We are proud to celebrate their extraordinary careers and enduring legacy,” said Branden Frantz, WLWT-TV president and general manager.
The fourth annual class will be inducted at a private ceremony later this summer.
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