William Blanc Monroe Jr. (July 17, 1920 – February 17, 2011) was an American television journalist for

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...

. He was the executive producer and fourth moderator of the NBC public affairs program ''

Meet the Press ''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television news/interview program broadcast on NBC. It is the longest-running program on American television, though the current format bears little resemblance to the debut episode on November 6, 1947. ' ...

'' (1975–84), succeeding Lawrence E. Spivak, the program's co-founder and third moderator.

Life and career

Monroe was born in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

and graduated from

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

there in 1942. 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 ...

, Monroe served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

in Europe. Early in his career, Monroe served as the first news director for

WDSU-TV WDSU (channel 6) is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on Howard Avenue in the city's Central Business District, and its transmitt ...

, an NBC affiliate, in his hometown of New Orleans. In 1959, Monroe's team at WDSU-TV won a

George Foster Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

. His news reporting on NBC's

Today show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It w ...

, won a Peabody in 1973. He was also a prominent figure in arguing for greater press access to courtrooms and legislative chambers. For some years prior to his assuming the moderator's chair, Monroe served as one of four regular weekly panelists on ''Meet the Press''. He also served as Washington bureau chief for NBC and frequently reported for ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It ...

,'' for which he won a Peabody in 1973. Monroe retired from NBC in 1986, but subsequently held several other jobs including ombudsman for the "Stars and Stripes", the media platform serving the U.S. military overseas. Monroe was injured in a fall in December 2010, and died from complications of hypertension on February 17, 2011, at a nursing home in

Potomac, Maryland Potomac () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, named after the nearby Potomac River. Potomac is the seventh most educated small town in America, based on percentage of residents with postsecondary deg ...

, aged 90

Accolades

* 1978: Paul White Award, Radio Television Digital News Association

References

1920 births 2011 deaths 20th-century American journalists American male journalists United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II American television reporters and correspondents Deaths from hypertension NBC News people Television anchors from New Orleans Tulane University alumni {{US-tv-journalist-stub