Dallas Selwyn Townsend Jr. (January 17, 1919 - June 1, 1995) was an American

broadcast journalist Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

who worked for CBS Radio and television for over 40 years. An award jury at Columbia University said of Townsend, "No other newsman of our day has had a broader acquaintance with news nor communicated it with more economy and precision."

Early career

Born in New York City and raised in New Jersey, Townsend was the son of Dallas Townsend Sr., an attorney who once was assistant attorney general of the United States. He attended

Montclair Kimberley Academy Montclair Kimberley Academy (MKA) is a co-educational private school for students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade located in Montclair in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. One of New Jersey's largest independent day schools, ...

, graduating in the class of 1936. He graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

in 1940 and the

Columbia School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism sc ...

. He worked as a news editor at WQXR in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

before he went to work at CBS.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Page 265. After working briefly for CBS as an editor in New York City he served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

as a communications officer. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he was served in New Guinea, the Philippines and Japan in signal and communication and rose to the rank of captain.

CBS

Townsend was associated with

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

for over 40 years. During his tenure he worked on the

CBS Radio Network CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. ...

's morning ''

World News Roundup The ''CBS World News Roundup'' is the longest-running network radio newscast in the United States. It airs weekday mornings and evenings on the CBS Radio Network. It first went on-air on March 13, 1938, at 8 p.m. ET as a one-time special in res ...

'' and the ''Roundups evening companion, then known as ''The World Tonight.'' In addition to regular newscasts, he covered each presidential convention and campaign from 1948 through 1980 and every American space launch from 1962 to 1980. Townsend covered a variety of other news events including: atomic tests, international peace conferences, and presidential inaugurations. He anchored the ''CBS World News Roundup'' for the better part of 30 years, after CBS sent

Winston Burdett Winston Burdett (December 12, 1913 – May 19, 1993) was an American broadcast journalist and correspondent for the CBS Radio Network during World War II and later for CBS television news. During the war he became a member of Edward R. Mur ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1954. Most of that time he anchored 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. broadcasts but abandoned that schedule in last years with CBS because it required him to rise before the sun. Townsend was Alan Jackson's broadcast partner on CBS Radio on November 22, 1963, covering the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. While Jackson anchored news reports from the wire services and from Texas, Townsend provided news and background information at various points in the initial broadcast.

Personal life

Townsend and his wife, Lois Bradley Townsend, lived in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair () is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. ...

and raised four children, three daughters and a son: Katharine, Nancy, Patricia and Douglas. He retired in 1985 from CBS and moved to Sarasota, Florida. They spent much of their time in Bala, Ontario, Canada.

Death

Townsend died June 1, 1995, of injuries from a fall that he suffered a week earlier. He was 76 years old. He was survived by his wife and four children and ten grandchildren.

Recognition

In 1983, Townsend received an

Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award The Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award honors excellence in broadcast and digital journalism in the public service and is considered one of the most prestigious awards in journalism. The awards were established in 1942 and administered ...

for "intelligent and incisive reporting" over his career.

References

Sources

Princeton University MemorialsAmerican Journalism Review:The Last Good Meal in a World of Snacks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, Dallas 1919 births 1995 deaths American male journalists United States Army personnel of World War II American reporters and correspondents Montclair Kimberley Academy alumni Princeton University alumni People from the District Municipality of Muskoka People from Montclair, New Jersey Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni United States Army officers 20th-century American writers 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers