Paul Sciria, the gravel-voiced legend of Cleveland television news who built a successful second career in print and public relations, died Friday. He was 88 and a resident of Mayfield Heights. The cause was apparently a heart attack, according to his family.

Short, with heavy-rimmed glasses and an unmistakable voice, Sciria became as prominent as most anchors after becoming the first full-time street reporter in Cleveland television in 1957. He said it was "a job I never applied for," for which he "just happened to be in the right place at the right time."