He was a member of the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame and the Chicago Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Silver Circle. He was once President of the Chicago Association of Black Journalists (1996–97). He produced a series of reports from South Africa in 1990 on the historic release of Nelson Mandela, culminating in the documentary titled "" Saunders came to WMAQ from WBBM where he was Director of Community Affairs, host of Common Ground, and a children's show known to many kids as "The Good Gang Express".