Tom Cassidy (August 12, 1949 – May 26, 1991) was the television business anchor for Cable News Network (CNN), an American cable news television station, and the founder of the weekend show ''

Pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...

'' in 1982. Significantly, he was the CNN business news anchor during

Black Monday Black Monday refers to specific Mondays when undesirable or turbulent events have occurred. It has been used to designate massacres, military battles, and stock market crashes. Historic events *1209, Dublin – when a group of 500 recently arriv ...

, 19 October 1987. This was a famous day on

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

when the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 508 points to 1739, a frightening drop during which time Cassidy's ongoing reporting during the afternoon and evening provided both credible information and a significant calmness to the American public.

Early life and education

Cassidy was born in Boston on 12 August 1949. He majored in history at

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

in Maine. He went to Columbia University in New York City, where he received masters degrees in economics and journalism.

Career

In 1978 he began his career in broadcasting for KEZI-TV in Eugene, Oregon, as a reporter and anchor. Cassidy then moved over to KGO-TV in San Francisco. After that Cassidy was the business editor for Mutual Radio in Chicago. He began at CNN in 1981, one of CNN's first anchors and reporters. In 1982 he founded CNN's weekend show about business leaders, ''Pinnacle''. In 1984 he became the host of ''Pinnacle,'' a position he held until 1988.

HIV-AIDS

In 1987 he was diagnosed as HIV positive the same day as Black Monday, 19 October. Cassidy went public on New York area television on an ongoing basis with his dilemma, treatment and progress (including revealing his diagnosis to his family on camera) in order to better educate the public about HIV/AIDS disease.

Bowdoin College endowment

As Cassidy was a 1972 graduate of

, his will endowed Bowdoin with a lectureship in which prominent working journalists give lectures on a wide variety of topics each year. Thomas J. Cassidy lecturers at Bowdoin have included: Lou Dobbs of CNN; Linda Wertheimer of National Public Radio;

Andrew Serwer Andrew Serwer (born September 16, 1959) is an American journalist and editor in chief of Yahoo Finance. He oversaw ''Fortune'' from 2006 to 2014 as managing editor. He is based in Manhattan. Biography Serwer grew up in the Washington, D.C. area ...

of ''

Fortune Magazine ''Fortune'' is an American multinational business magazine headquartered in New York City. It is published by Fortune Media Group Holdings, owned by Thai businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon. The publication was founded by Henry Luce in 1929. The ...

''; and Amanda Griscom Little, environmental writer for '' The New York Times'' and '' The Washington Post''. Cassidy completed two master's degrees in finance and journalism from Columbia University.

Podcast

Season 2, episode 11 of the podcast “ Making Gay History” is about him.

Death

Cassidy died on 26 May 1991 in Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City from complications of HIV/AIDS.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassidy, Tom Bowdoin College alumni 1991 deaths AIDS-related deaths in New York (state) 1950 births American television journalists American male journalists 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni American LGBT journalists American gay writers LGBT people from Massachusetts American HIV/AIDS activists American LGBT rights activists 20th-century American LGBT people Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni