Obit

Simon, 73

AMERICAN JOURNALIST Bob Simon passed away last February 11. He was 73.

A veteran correspondent for the CBS news magazine program 60 Minutes, Simon was a multi-awarded journalist whose honors included 27 Emmy awards and four Peabody awards. He joined the CBS News team in 1967 as a New York-based reporter and assignment editor, covering unrest in college campuses, inner-city riots, and the Democratic and Republican national conventions. (The New York Times)

In his five-decade career, Simon covered major overseas conflicts including the Vietnam War. He also reported on the violence in Northern Ireland during the late 1960s, and from war zones in Portugal. While covering the early days of the Persian Gulf War in 1991, he was captured by Iraqi forces along with three CBS News colleagues. (CBS News)

After his release, he wrote his book 40 Days, where he chronicled his experience. He went to Baghdad two years later to cover the US bombing of Iraq. (Reuters)

Simon’s last piece for 60 Minutes was aired the weekend before his death, featuring his interview with Ava Duvernay, the director of the Oscar-nominated civil rights film Selma. He was also working on a story with his daughter, 60 Minutes producer Tanya, about the Ebola virus and the search for its cure. (CBS News)

Minton, 75

WELSH JOURNALIST Stuart Minton passed away at the age of 75.

Described as one of the most respected journalists of Wales, Minton started his career working for the Swansea Evening Post. He later went to the Bristol Evening Post and emigrated to the Zambia capital of Lusaka in 1969, training journalists for the government. Three years later, he returned to join the South Wales Echo as news editor, a position he held for around 15 years. (Wales Online)

Minton spent the last decade of his career as deputy editor-in-chief of the Celtic series of newspapers, boosting circulation among its titles. He retired at age 62. (Hold the Front Page UK)

Charren, 86

AMERICAN BROADCASTER and activist Peggy Charren died last January 22. She was 86.

A stalwart advocate of quality television for Children, Charren founded the Action for Children’s Television in 1968. ACT was a grassroots organization which lobbied for responsible programming for children’s television and abolition of rampant advertising in these programs. An art and literature lover, Charren believed that the TV experience of children should give them a variety of offerings including early childhood learning, much like books and libraries do. The organization’s advocacy was furthered by a clause in the 1934 Federal Communications Act that required broadcasters using the public airwaves to “serve the public interest” if they wanted to keep their licenses. (Boston Globe)

Charren and ACT remained active in the campaign during the 1980s, and emerged victorious in 1990 when Congress passed the Children’s Television Act which established standards for children’s television, including limits to advertisements permitted and documentation of service to the educational and information needs of children before license renewal. (The New York Times)

Charren closed down ACT two years later, saying that the organization had already fulfilled its job and that it was time for other organizations to be the new watchdogs.

She was the recipient of a Peabody award for her public service and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from US President Bill Clinton. (The New York Times)