Richard Threlkeld (November 30, 1937 – January 13, 2012) was an American

television news News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or televis ...

correspondent who spent 25 years with

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 ...

Early life

Threlkeld was born in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

, and grew up in

Barrington, Illinois Barrington is a village in Cook County and Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,722 at the 2020 census. A northwest suburb of Chicago, the area features wetlands, forest preserves, parks, and horse trails in a country-s ...

. He earned a degree in history and political science from Ripon College. He then earned a master's degree from Medill School of Journalism at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Career

Threlkeld held positions at WHAS-TV in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, and WMT-TV in

. He joined CBS News in 1966 and served as a war correspondent in Vietnam in 1970. Threlkeld stayed with CBS until December 1981, serving as co-anchor of the '' CBS Morning News'' (with

Lesley Stahl Lesley Rene Stahl (born December 16, 1941) is an American television journalist. She has spent most of her career with CBS News, where she began as a producer in 1971. Since 1991, she has reported for CBS's ''60 Minutes''. She is known for her ne ...

) from 1977 to 1979. He covered

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

's visit to Mexico in 1979. Threlkeld went to

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

in 1982 and was given the special assignment of filing a weekly ''Status Report'' segment for World News Tonight, which sought to give a deeper perspective to the week's most important story. In that role, he reported on the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

, the invasion of Lebanon and many other domestic and international issues. ''Status Reports'' won a DuPont-Columbia Award in 1983. After seven years at ABC, Threlkeld returned to CBS in 1989 and remained there until his retirement in 1999. During his news career, Threlkeld also covered the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, the Persian Gulf War, and the

Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...

. In the United States he covered such stories as the

Robert F. Kennedy assassination On June 5, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan shortly after midnight at the Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles), Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles. He was pronounced dead at 1:44 a.m. Pacific Time Zone, PDT the following day. Kenne ...

and the

Patty Hearst Patricia Campbell Hearst (born February 20, 1954) is the granddaughter of American publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. She first became known for the events following her 1974 kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army. She was found a ...

kidnapping, as well as numerous political campaigns. Threlkeld's last assignment before retirement was as CBS News

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

correspondent. Threlkeld authored the book ''Dispatches from the Former Evil Empire'' in 2001.

Personal life

His wife,

Betsy Aaron Betsy is an English feminine given name, often a nickname for Elizabeth (given name), Elizabeth. People *Betsy (singer), Betsy, stage name of Welsh singer Elizabeth Humfrey *Betsy Ancker-Johnson (born 1927), American plasma physicist *Betsy Atk ...

, was

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

Moscow correspondent at the same time. He and his wife retired to

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

Death

Threlkeld was killed in an automobile accident on January 13, 2012, in

Amagansett, New York Amagansett is a census-designated place that roughly corresponds to the hamlet by the same name in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the South Shore of Long Island. As of the 2010 United States Census, t ...

. His 2008

Mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

convertible collided with a propane truck. He was 74.

References

External links

Medill at Northwestern Hall of Achievement (Richard Threlkeld)Threlkeld reporting from Vietnam in 1970
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Threlkeld, Richard 1937 births 2012 deaths American television news anchors American television reporters and correspondents American war correspondents American war correspondents of the Vietnam War American male journalists Journalists from Iowa ABC News CBS News people Writers about the Soviet Union People from Barrington, Illinois Writers from Cedar Rapids, Iowa Ripon College (Wisconsin) alumni Medill School of Journalism alumni Road incident deaths in New York (state) 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American writers