Clifton Garrick Utley(November 19, 1939 – February 20, 2014) was an Americantelevision journalist.He established his career reporting about theVietnam Warand has the distinction of being the first full-time television correspondent covering the war on-site.
Garrick Utley | |
|---|---|
 Utley on May 14, 2012 | |
| Born | Clifton Garrick Utley November 19, 1939 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | February 20, 2014(aged 74) New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Carleton College |
| Occupation | Television journalist |
| Known for | Work atNBC News,PBS,ABC News,andCNN |
| Spouse |
Gertje Rommeswinkel (m.1973) |
Early life
editUtley was born inChicago, Illinois.He graduated fromWesttown School,aQuakerboarding school in Westtown,Pennsylvania,in 1957 and fromCarleton Collegein 1961. His parents, Frayn and Clifton Utley, were correspondents for theNBC Radio Networkin the mid-20th century, based in Chicago.[1]
Career
editNBC News
editUtley joinedNBC Newsin 1963 as researcher in Europe for TheHuntley-Brinkley Report,where he became Foreign and Principal correspondent. Besides covering the Vietnam War, Utley reported from many other areas, including stints as bureau chief inLondonandParis.He reported on events within the U.S. as well.
Utley was also an anchor. He served as weekend anchor from 1971–1973, and frequently substituted forJohn Chancellorduring that decade and forTom Brokawin the 1980s onNBC Nightly News.He also filled in for Bryant Gumbel as host ofToday.Utley was news anchor forSunday Todayfrom 1987 to 1988 and frequently substituted forBoyd Matson,and then co-anchored the program from 1988 to 1992. Utley also served again as main weekend anchor (Sunday initially, and both Saturday and Sunday later) from 1987 to 1993 ofNBC Nightly News.One noteworthyNightly Newsbroadcast Utley appeared on January 22, 1973, the day theU.S. Supreme Courthanded down itsRoe v. Wadedecision. In the midst of that broadcast (fed to affiliates at 6:30 p.m.Eastern), and just before reporting on the decision, news broke that former U.S. PresidentLyndon B. Johnsonhad died.
In the 1970s, Utley frequently hosted newsmagazine-style programs forNBC News.In the UK, he covered theFebruary 1974 British General Electionand appeared on the BBC election-night program. In the US, from January 1989 to December 1991, he moderated NBC's long-running public affairs discussion programMeet the Press,while simultaneously hosting the newly debuted Sunday version of theToday Show.In 1992, Utley issued a controversial commentary essay at the close of a weekend newscast, expressing a view that then-PresidentGeorge H. W. Bushshould forgo reelection in the interest of the country.[citation needed]
PBS
editFor a time, Utley hosted thePBSoperaseriesLive from the Met,during which he introduced the televised performances and interviewed the participants during intermissions.
ABC News and CNN
editUtley worked forNBC Newsfor 30 years before moving toABCas chief foreign correspondent in 1993. He later moved toCNNin 1997, where he worked until 2002. He co-anchored CNN's coverage of theterrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,during the early morning hours of September 12, 2001.[citation needed]
Later career
editAfter leaving network television, Utley was a professor of broadcasting and journalism at theState University of New York at Oswegoand was senior fellow at the SUNY Levin Institute of theState University of New Yorkin Manhattan, from which he retired as head in December 2011.[2]He also co-hostedAmerica Abroadonpublic radio,a program that examines the United States' role and relationships in the world, and hostedMetropolitan Operabroadcasts onpublic television.
He authoredYou Should Have Been Here Yesterday(2000), a narrative of the growth of television news in the United States. Board service included TheCouncil on Foreign Relations(1993–2003),Carleton College(1983–2007), Public Radio International (1996–2008), the Board of Advisors ofDoctors without Borders,and Chairman of the American Council on Germany.[citation needed]
Death
editUtley died on February 20, 2014, at the age of 74, fromprostate cancer.He was survived by his wife, Gertje Utley (néeRommeswinkel); his brothers, David andJonathan;and his sister-in-law,Carol Marin,a longtime reporter at NBC stationWMAQ.[3]
References
edit- ^McFadden, Robert D.(February 21, 2014)."Garrick Utley, a Mainstay at NBC News, Dies at 74".The New York Times.
- ^SUNY Levin FellowsArchived2014-02-21 atarchive.today
- ^Versatile TV newsman Garrick Utley dies at 74,The Washington Post;accessed February 21, 2014.