William Augustus Leonard (April 9, 1916 – October 23, 1994) was an American
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
and television executive who served as President of
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...
from 1979 to 1982.
Early life and education
Leonard was born in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, the son of Jewish parents Ruth (Leonard) and James Garfield Moses, a lawyer. Leonard grew up in
Orange, New Jersey
The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000.
Orange was original ...
and
Westport, Connecticut
Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, along the Long Island Sound within Connecticut's Gold Coast. It is northeast of New York City. The town had a population of 27,141 according to the 2020 U.S. Census.
History
...
, attending
Avon Old Farms
, motto_translation = Aspiring and Persevering
, address = 500 Old Farms Road
, city = Avon
, state = Connecticut
, zipcode = 06001
, country = United St ...
private preparatory school.
He graduated from
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...
in 1937, where he worked for the student newspaper, ''
The Dartmouth
''The Dartmouth'' is the daily student newspaper at Dartmouth College and America's oldest college newspaper. Originally named the ''Dartmouth Gazette'', the first issue was published on August 27, 1799, under the motto "Here range the world—e ...
''.
Career
After graduating from university, Leonard worked as a reporter for the
Bridgeport Post
The ''Connecticut Post'' is a daily newspaper located in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It serves Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County and the Lower Naugatuck Valley. Municipalities in the Post's circulation area include Ansonia, Connectic ...
and produced radio programs in his spare time.
Leonard joined the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
in 1941, as an officer "in charge of guided missile countermeasures," in the Mediterranean theatre.
Leonard reached the rank of Lieutenant Commander by the time he was discharged from the Navy.
He served in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
until 1945, when he took a position at CBS as the
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
anchorman
A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...
for ''This Is New York'' and its subsequent
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
show ''Eye on New York''.
He was chosen as a floor reporter for the 1952, 1956 and 1960 political conventions. After Leonard was promoted to correspondent,
Fred W. Friendly
Fred W. Friendly (born Ferdinand Friendly Wachenheimer, October 30, 1915 – March 3, 1998) was a president of CBS News and the creator, along with Edward R. Murrow, of the documentary television program '' See It Now''. He originated the concep ...
chose him for the ''
CBS Reports
''CBS Reports'' is the umbrella title used for documentaries by CBS News which aired starting in 1959 through the 1990s. The series sometimes aired as a wheel series rotating with '' 60 Minutes'' (or other similar CBS News series), as a series of i ...
'' team. He led CBS's new news election unit from 1961 to 1965 and helped develop
exit polling
An election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. A similar poll conducted before actual voters have voted is called an entrance poll. Pollsters – usually private companies working for n ...
. He then held a series of management positions at CBS News, rising to President in 1979 until his 1982 retirement. As president, he chose ''
60 Minutes
''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
'' correspondent
Dan Rather
Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. (; born October 31, 1931) is an American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. Rather began his career in Texas, becoming a national name after his reporting saved thousands of lives during Hurr ...
to succeed
Walter Cronkite
Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...
as anchor of the ''
CBS Evening News
The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featuring news reports, feature s ...
'' in 1981. He also created ''
Sunday Morning''. Leonard and Chairman
William S. Paley
William Samuel Paley (September 28, 1901 – October 26, 1990) was an American businessman, primarily involved in the media, and best known as the chief executive who built the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) from a small radio network into o ...
were the only two employees allowed to stay on past CBS's mandatory retirement age.
[Leonard, Bill (1987). ''In the Storm of the Eye: A Lifetime at CBS Penguin Group.'' ]
This is New York (1945-1960)
New York City station
WCBS Radio (WABC at the time) first broadcast ''This is New York'' on December 31, 1945.
The program was broadcast six days a week broadcast at 6 a.m. until it moved to the 9-9:45 a.m. time slot in May 1946.
Staff writer-reporters for ''This is New York'' included Al Morgan, Fred Freed, and Martin Weldon.
Personal life
He was the stepfather of journalist
Chris Wallace
Christopher Wallace (born October 12, 1947) is an American broadcast journalist. He is known for his tough and wide-ranging interviews, for which he is often compared to his father, ''60 Minutes'' journalist Mike Wallace. Over his 50-year care ...
. Leonard died from a stroke in
Laurel, Maryland
Laurel is a city in Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River. While the city limits are entirely in northern Prince George's County, outlying developments extend into Anne Arunde ...
.
[Kennedy, Randy (October 24, 1994)]
William Leonard, 78, Former Head of CBS News.
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''
References
External links
Bill Leonard remembers Don Hollenbeck (June 23, 1954)
1916 births
1994 deaths
People from Laurel, Maryland
Jewish American journalists
20th-century American writers
Presidents of CBS News
20th-century American journalists
American male journalists
United States Navy personnel of World War II
20th-century American Jews
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