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A Retrospective: 28 Media Leaders Who Died This Decade

The Aughts
» 7 comments

2002

wendys-dave-thomas


Who: Dave Thomas
Major Accomplishment: The Guinness Book of World Records has recognized Thomas’s spots as the ”Longest-Running Television Advertising Campaign Starring a Company Founder.”
Legacy: Thomas became a leading champion for the adoption of foster children, arguing that they needed love in their lives. President George Bush named him as a national spokesman on adoption issues, and when President Clinton signed a bill in 1996 to give parents who adopt children a tax credit, he thanked Thomas for his leadership.

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Who: Milton Berle
Major Accomplishment: Life magazine reported that in 1947 there were 17 television stations in the United States broadcasting to 136,000 sets. As a consequence of Milton Berle’s success by the end of 1948 there were more than 50 stations and 700,000 sets.
Legacy: Throughout his career he was known for his appearances on behalf of charities. He appeared at thousands and thousands of benefits. In 1984, he was one of the first seven pioneers to be inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

Ann_Landers


Who: Ann Landers
Major Accomplishment: At the time of her death, her column was carried in more than 1,200 newspapers around the world, with a readership of 90 million, according to Creators Syndicate, her distributor. A 1978 World Almanac survey named her the most influential woman in the United States.
Legacy: In 1971, she wrote about a bill awaiting the president’s signature that would allocate $100 million for cancer research. She asked readers to clip the column and send it to Washington. Buried under a million columns, President Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act.

>>>NEXT: Looking back on 2003, including the much-missed Bob Hope…

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  • ImNotBlue

    No Farrah Fawcett? She was a media icon! That poster alone was a huge deal!

    But perhaps more confusing, no Michael Jackson?

    Sure we’re all sick of hearing about the coverage… but come on, if ever there was a media star, he was it. From the birth of the music video, to the television commercials, to the movies, to the wacky stuff in the later years… not to mention the music… MJ was all things media! I think he deserves to be on the list, for sure.

  • Jim R

    Well done, Danny, a significant list indeed.

  • Rel E Vant

    What, no Ed Bradley?

    Guess it only matters if we lose white “media leaders,” huh?

    And for the record, including Kate Hepburn, Bob Hope, William Hanna and Johnny Carson is totally stretching the “media” designation beyond all recognition.

  • ClarkKent_DC

    These are “the figures who helped define, shape and set the standards in their industries” — but there’s no mention of John H. Johnson, founder of Ebony magazine? Carl T. Rowan, public servant, author and columnist? Ed Bradley, “60 Minutes” correspondent? August Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright? Not even Richard Pryor or Michael Jackson?

  • wdawkins

    Thank you for updating the list.

    Do understand that the criticism of the lack of diversity this morning was not a matter special pleading, but was based on merit. The gaping omissions spoke to credibility and authenticity of the list.

    Regarding the additions, Chisholm did not win a primary, but she changed the California winner-take-all primary system in 1972.

    Johnson’s Ebony/Jet had iconic journalistic moments and products: The Emmett Till casket photo in 1955, the photo of widow Coretta Scott King in 1968 and the seminal book “Before the Mayflower” by editor and popular historian Lerone Bennett Jr.

  • asamuels

    Why is the original list still available to be found on this site without having the mea culpa added to it? Also, your description of John Johnson is unacceptable.To state that the only reason why Ebony and Jet magazines were remarkable is because of race-specific advertising is missing the point in its entirety. The Johnson magazine empire is legendary because Johnson dared do – and succeeded – where others could not. Black folks were being lynched for being able to read and write and Johnson still decided to start a magazine that uplifted black folk.

    Johnson was friends with presidents. He created America’s first black magazine amidst a most dangerous time. He gave opportunity to black journalists when whites were too racist to be bothered with us. I don’t know who wrote up this description, but a simple Google search would have turned up quite a bit more. You could also have read his bio or gone to the Web site. He was not legendary because of advertising alone. He’s legendary because he put black people on magazine covers. He told the stories of black people. He helped to cement our perceptions of black beauty. Most importantly though, for the first three decades, he told our stories when no one else would.

    He’s legendary because he started something big and it stuck.

  • Gdub

    So by adding five African-Americans of note to the end of this list, we should be pleased? Are you serious? And what about other people “of color?” This was handled very, very poorly, all-around.

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