Born April 17, 1923, in Dakota City, IA; died of cardiopulmonary arrest, August 6 (one source says 7), 1991, in Norwalk, CT. Broadcast journalist and author. Reasoner is remembered for his warm, personal style and credibility in the field of broadcast news as well as for his quality writing. During thirty-five years in network television, he spent twenty-seven with the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). Reasoner's early career consisted of stints as a newspaper writer, publicity director, and radio and television reporter. After hejoined CBS in 1956, his duties included field reporting, White House correspondence, news writing, and anchoring. In 1958 Reasoner covered school desegregation efforts in Little Rock, Arkansas, a piece of reporting that he recalledin his memoir, Before the Colors Fade, as his best. Ten years later he and Mike Wallace became the original correspondents for CBS's long- runningnews magazine 60 Minutes. In 1970 Reasoner left the network to becomean evening news anchor for ABC; he returned to CBS and 60 Minutes in1979, where he continued to work full time until May of 1991. He won severalawards for television news, including four Emmy Awards and a George Foster Peabody Award. He was the author of a novel, Tell Me About Women, and acompilation of essays titled The Reasoner Report.
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