Steve Barnes is reporting for the Times Union Albany TV reporter Ken Screven died May 18, at Albany Medical Center Hospital, following long struggles with multiple health problems. He was 71 years old. Screven was the first black man hired to work as a reporter for a Capital Region television station and was on the air for more than 30 years before spending the time since his retirement denouncing racism, bias, and bigotry. Most people knew Screven from his presence in their living rooms as a reporter for CBS6/WRGB, where he worked from 1977 until his retirement in 2011. He was also a prominent member of the LGBTQ community. In a statement, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan called Screven a trailblazer, citing his coverage of HIV/AIDS and a three-part series for CBS6, that traced his family's lineage back to a great-grandfather's grave in a segregated cemetery in Screven County, Ga. The series won an award for best documentary from the New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association. Read the full story in the Times Union.