Obit: Blankenbaker, 76

American journalist Ron Blankenbaker died of pneumonia on Jan. 30 at Salem Hospital in Washington D.C. He was 76.

After serving the United States Army, Blankenbaker worked for the Associated Press, The Dalles Chronicle, and Coeur d’Alene Press in Idaho. In 1961, he transferred to The Oregon Statesman (now known as the Statesman Journal) and worked there as a reporter for more than 30 years.

Blankenbaker, together with a team of Statesman reporters, received first prize for an investigative report on the public utility process in Oregon from the University of Missouri.

After retirement, in 1977 he wrote political columns for the same newspaper. He then hosted a talk show on local television for several years, The Capitol Report, which mainly addressed political issues. His columns, as well as his program, were known to both Republicans and Democrats as highly critical of the government.

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