Ed Bliss in Late November Left Many of Us with a Great Sense of Loss
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The Newsletter of the Radio-Television Journalism Division of AEJMC Vol. 42, No. 2 January 2003 In Memoriam. TRAVIS LINN EDWARD L. BLISS JR. (1938-2003) (1912-2002) Travis Linn, a former CBS newsman who was the Edward L. Bliss, emeritus professor in American first dean of the journalism school at the University of University’s School of Communication, died in Alex- Nevada, Reno, died January 17th following a brief ill- andria, VA, on November 25th. He was 90. ness. He was 64. Born in China in 1912, Bliss was the son of mission- Linn enjoyed distinguished careers both in electronic aries. He started his journalism career in the 1930s in journalism and in the academy. As a reporter at WFAA Ohio working as a reporter and editor for newspapers in in Dallas between 1962 and 1966, Linn covered stories Bucyrus and Columbus. such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the Moving to New York, he was hired as a writer for subsequent trial of Jack Ruby for the murder of Lee CBS Radio News in 1943. During his 25 years at CBS Harvey Oswald. Between 1966 and 1973, he served as radio and television, Bliss wrote and edited the news news director of WFAA-TV, building the station’s news summary for Edward R. Murrow’s 15-minute broad- department from 15 to 75 employees, the budget from casts, worked with Fred Friendly on “CBS Reports” and $75,000 to $1.25 million, daily newscasts from 45 min- served as CBS News President Dick Salant’s executive utes a day to four hours a day and leading the station assistant. Along with Alexander Kendrick, George Polk, from third to first in the ratings. Linn was the South- David Schoenbrun and others, Bliss was part of the sec- please see Linn, page 5 please see Bliss, page 6 Wanted: Research Paper Judges Thanks to all of you who have vol- by LEE HOOD unteered as division paper judges. RTVJ Division Head There is still room for a few more judges if you are available to provide A note about this special issue: Radio-TV news and broadcast journalism edu- this service to the division. Skill and cation have lost two important figures over the past two months. The death of knowledge are paramount, but we’re Ed Bliss in late November left many of us with a great sense of loss. Then, seeking psychographic - as well as de- sadly, came the death of Travis Linn on January 17. In both cases, the flood of mographic - diversity in our pool of e-mail tributes on the RTVJ listserv spoke volumes about the impact these men judges. If you’re willing to blind re- had on our professional endeavors and, more personally, on us as people. Their view some of the papers that will be contributions will have a profound and lasting influence on our field. There- submitted in April with a quick turn- fore, we are proud to dedicate this special edition of Static to their memory. around, please let us know now. E-mail Many thanks to Static editor Larry Burkum, who enthusiastically agreed to pro- RTVJ Research Chair Phil Auter at duce this special edition, and to everyone who contributed material to make this [email protected] or call me at 337- issue possible. 482-6106. Everything’s Up-To-Date In Kansas City by KATHY BRADSHAW RTVJ Vice Head & Program Chair You will find fresh new approaches to programming at RTVJ Division returns to a previous practice in coop- the Kansas City convention along with the issues with which eration with the Newspaper Division. We have reserved a we continue to struggle. panel session slot on the program for breaking news. The The division will honor the teaching of the late Ed Bliss panel will be filled with content concerning a breaking news in a useful panel presentation. As a result of demand from story. Depending on what emerges this spring, we may need the membership, there is a much deserved space on the pro- your help programming this session. gram to honor Bliss. Bill Silcock is organizing the panel. Bob Papper is organizing an excellent panel on industry In what may be the first appearance at an AEJMC con- research, “The Latest Research In Print and Broadcast Jour- vention, you will see panels devoted to Weather and Sports. nalism.” We will learn more about teaching visual journal- Bill Davie is crafting the weather panel, “Weather News: ism from, “Teaching Visual Story Telling as News and Art.” Sensational Journalism or Scientific Reporting?” Consid- And RTVJ Division specifically addresses the gender is- ering the continuing demand from students, we will all ap- sue in, “The Gender Difference: What Happens When preciate the sports panel organized by Bill Knowles, “Teach- Women Determine News Content?” ing Media and Sports: Keeping Academic Focus on ‘The Our research will be presented in both panel presenta- Toy Department’.” tions and in scholar-to-scholar sessions. The possibility of war was felt by many divisions at the Here is the complete line-up of panel programming, day convention. If travel funding is approved, we will hear from by day in Kansas City: a man directly associated with the new media voice in the middle-east. Phil Auter is organizing a panel with several WEDNESDAY, July 30, 2003 people who have expertise in the Arab world. It is titled, 1. Teaching Visual Story Telling as News and Art 8:15- “Al-Jazeera TV: The Arab World’s CNN or Fox News?” 9:45 a.m. RTVJ Division is the co-sponsor of “Boot Camp War Cor- 2. Weather News: Sensational Journalism or Scientific respondents: When Journalists Train Like Soldiers, Is War Reporting? 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. Coverage Taken Hostage?” 3. Managing Television Stations in the New Media Mar- RTVJ Division joins with three other Divisions to present ketplace 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. a mini-plenary session, “State of the Freedoms, 2003: Civil, 4. State of the Freedoms, 2003: Civil, Individual, and Individual, and Social Liberties.” This session was the re- Social Liberties 3:15 – 4:45 p.m. sult of a shared concern about the treatment of American citizens since 9-11, and the likely limits that will be im- please see Panels, page 8 posed on the press if there is a war. Static/January, 2003 -- page 2 Travis Linn: An Appreciation by JOHN TRENT Even with Travis Linn’s passing, I grudgingly took Spanish via cor- But beyond that was the man him- you can still walk the halls of the respondence course that summer, curs- self. Reynolds School of Journalism and ing Travis Linn under my breath a It was a tradition, at the end of ev- hear that unmistakable voice of his. It number of times as I struggled through ery semester, for Travis to take his stu- was a gift from God, really, that voice the subject. A year later, though, dur- dents to breakfast at Archie’s, only a of his, resonant, intelligent, command- ing my first newspaper job at the Las stone’s throw from campus. A man who ing. Vegas Review-Journal as a baseball is Harvard educated and who has stared It was the voice of a man who ex- writer, I discovered that Travis was down Walter Cronkite obviously has celled in everything he did: from right – the world was much smaller high standards, and Travis was indeed graduating from Harvard to rising than I had thought. a demanding professor. But he was also through the ranks of radio and televi- Thanks to the Spanish I had learned, extremely fair. The breakfast, some- sion in Texas to becoming Southwest I struck up a friendship with a young how a variation of his beloved eggs, Bureau Chief for CBS News to earn- Latin baseball player named Sandy bacon, toast and coffeee – was his way ing the appointment as the first dean Alomar Jr. Sandy would go on to be- of thanking his students for their own of the Reynolds School of Journalism. come an All-Star catcher for the Indi- hard work. Travis passed away in the early morn- ans, but at the time he was a scared 23- What a treat it was, to sit over break- ing hours of Friday, Jan. 17, at age 64 year-old not sure what the future held. fast with a man who could recall following a brief illness, and already Thanks to Travis, I was the only Murrow, Cronkite, Sevareid and those of us who knew him miss him. reporter in the Las Vegas Stars’ club- Rather, not as vague apparitions of TV Why? house who spoke Spanish, leading to broadcasting past, but as real human In the spring of 1987, I remember a Sandy giving me a number of impor- beings. meeting with Travis. He was dean of tant exclusives. Yet as much as he was a great sto- the School of Journalism then, and I And in perhaps the best Travis Linn ryteller, rooted to some extent in the didn’t know him very well. All that I tradition – a tradition grounded in the past, Travis kept pushing forward, into knew was that I had a iron-clad plan to basic decency of all human beings – I the future. get out of the foreign language require- was the only working journalist invited One of my favorite bits of research ment demanded of all journalism ma- to Sandy’s wedding that summer, in a about Travis revolves around a project jors. small chapel just off the Strip.