Bill Dwyre (born April 7, 1944, in
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Sheboygan () is a city in and the county seat of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 49,929 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a populati ...
) is a
sportswriter
Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...
and former newspaper sports editor. Notable for his long tenure as sports editor of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' beginning in June 1981, he moved to the writing ranks full-time in June 2006, but for virtually his whole career he has worked as both an editor and writer, and today writes several weekly columns for the ''LA Times''.
After a high-profile, multi-sport athletic career at
Sheboygan North High School
Sheboygan North High School, is a public high school in Sheboygan, Wisconsin operated by the Sheboygan Area School District. The school opened in 1938 in what is now Urban Middle School on the city's north side, with the current building openin ...
, Dwyre went to the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
, where he was a member of the tennis team and sports editor of ''ND Voice'', the forerunner of the university’s current daily paper, ''The Observer''. He graduated in 1966 with a degree in
Communication Arts
''Communication Arts'' is the largest international trade journal of visual communications.[A ...](_blank)
and began his journalism career shortly thereafter, as a sports copy editor for the ''
Des Moines Register
''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa.
History Early period
The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cabin by the junctio ...
'' until 1968. From 1968 to 1981 he worked at the ''
Milwaukee Journal
The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...
'', where he was made sports editor in 1975. He moved to the ''Los Angeles Times'' as assistant sports editor, and three months later was promoted to sports editor.
Professional awards and recognition
Dwyre rose to national prominence with the
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...
, for which he mobilized a staff of more than 100, including 59 credentialed reporters, at that time the largest of its kind for Olympic coverage. The staff published 24 special daily editions, most of them 44 pages, of Olympic coverage in addition to the paper’s regular sports section. It was an unprecedented display of newspaper Olympic coverage for which Dwyre had seemingly boundless budgetary and personnel resources. The success of the ’84 Summer Games as reflected in the excellence of the L.A. ''Times''’ coverage garnered Dwyre several awards, including National Editor of the Year from the
National Press Club
Organizations
A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
; the National Headliner Award from the Press Club of
Atlantic City; and the Los Angeles Times Award for Sustained Excellence, all conferred in 1985.
Recognition for Dwyre’s work on the 1984 Summer Olympic Games has been bookended by a host of local, regional and national honors. The most prestigious was the
Red Smith Award
The Red Smith Award is awarded by the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) organization for outstanding contributions to sports journalism
Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and ...
from the
Associated Press Sports Editors in 1996 for service to sports journalism. Other accolades include: the Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year (1980); the
Loyola Marymount Pride of Lions Award for Service to the Community (1993); the Powerade Sports Story of the Year from the
National Assn. of Sportscasters and Sportswriters for his ''Los Angeles Times Magazine'' cover story on college basketball coach and social icon
John Wooden (1999); the U.S. Tennis Writers Assn. Column of the Year award (2000) for
Australian Open coverage; the California Sportscasters Good Guy Award (2000); the California Golf Writers Good Guy Award (2003); the Arkansas Subiaco Academy Literary Award of Merit (2004); the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission Ambassador Award of Excellence for contributions to the city of Los Angeles (2005); the Associated Press Executive News Council’s top award for sports writing (2007); the John Wooden Pyramid of Excellence Award, in conjunction with the annual Wooden Classic Basketball Tournament (2008); California Sportswriter of the Year for 2009 from the National Assn. of Sportscasters and Sportswriters (2010); the BNP Paribas Open Media Award, given annually in Indian Wells, Calif., one of two tennis tournaments, Miami Open the other, deemed only a notch below the four majors (2011); the David F. Woods Award honoring the best Preakness Stakes story for the previous year (2011).
Professional and civic activities
Dwyre is a past president of the Associated Press Sports Editors; a member of the Advisory Board of the University of Notre Dame's
John W. Gallivan Program in Journalism, Ethics and Democracy; and a member of the board of directors of Casa Colina Hospitals for Rehabilitation in
Pomona, California
Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Pol ...
. He has spoken at journalism classes at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles, as well as more than a dozen times at the American Press Institute in Reston, Virginia.
In addition to writing as a staff member, Dwyre wrote a monthly column for ''Referee'' magazine from 1972–2002, and has contributed articles to the
Huffington Post,
TWA
Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with ...
''Ambassador'' magazine and ''
The Korea Times
''The Korea Times'' is the oldest of three English-language newspapers published daily in South Korea. It is a sister paper of the '' Hankook Ilbo'', a major Korean language daily; both are owned by Dongwha Enterprise, a wood-based manufacture ...
''. Having been the editor for the ''Los Angeles Times''’ late
Pulitzer Prizewinning sportswriter
Jim Murray, Dwyre edited a book of Murray’s columns shortly after Murray’s death in 1998, titled ''The Last of the Best''.
Dwyre is married to the former Jill Jarvis and has two children, Amy and Patrick. He lives in
San Dimas, California
San Dimas ( Spanish for "Saint Dismas")
is a city in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, its population was 34,924. It historically took its name from San Dimas Canyon in the San Gabriel ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dwyre, Bill
American columnists
Sportswriters from California
Notre Dame College of Arts and Letters alumni
Living people
1944 births
People from San Dimas, California
Red Smith Award recipients
Sportspeople from Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Sportswriters from Wisconsin
Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's tennis players