12 Facts About Ed Bliss

Ed Bliss planned to become a doctor like his father, but after receiving his bachelor of arts degree from Yale University in 1935 he set out on a career in journalism.

Ed Bliss was hired as a reporter at the Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum in Bucyrus, Ohio, and developed his skills working for Rowland R Peters, a former reporter for the Chicago Tribune.

In 1936 Ed Bliss joined the staff of The Columbus Citizen, the Scripps-Howard paper in Columbus, Ohio, where he worked as a reporter and state editor until 1943.

Ed Bliss applied and was handed thousands of words of copy from United Press, International News Service and Associated Press and told to write a five-minute newscast.

Ed Bliss was considered one of the best of all news scriptwriters.

In 1963, Ed Bliss became Walter Cronkite's news editor when the CBS Evening News became TV's first half-hour news broadcast.

Ed Bliss left CBS in 1968 to found the broadcast journalism program at American University in Washington, DC His former students include Bob Edwards of NPR, Jackie Judd of ABC and Deborah Potter of CBS and CNN.

Ed Bliss's bestselling textbook, Writing News for Broadcast, was first published in 1971; Bliss wrote the first comprehensive history of broadcast journalism, Now the News.

Ed Bliss retired from teaching in 1977, and worked until 1997 as a consultant to broadcasting companies including the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and CBS News.

Ed Bliss wrote Beyond the Stone Arches, a book about his father's 40 years in China, and For Love of Lois, a book about his late wife's struggle with Alzheimer's disease that was published posthumously.

Ed Bliss died November 25,2002, in Alexandria, Virginia, of respiratory failure.

The Ed Bliss Award recognizes an educator who has made significant and lasting contributions to the field of electronic journalism.