Steve Bell (anchorman)
Encyclopedia
Steve Bell is the former news anchor of ABC News
programs "Good Morning America
" and "World News This Morning", and professor emeritus of telecommunications at Muncie
's Ball State University
.
A native of Oskaloosa
, Iowa
, Bell studied as an undergraduate at Iowa's Central College and went on to earn a master's degree
in journalism from Northwestern University
. He worked for ABC News
from 1967 to 1986; his experiences in Southeast Asia
covering the Vietnam War
included two hours in detention in Cambodia
while investigating a story about an alleged massacre of Vietnam
ese residents. He first met Ted Koppel
during his years in Southeast Asia
; the two would go on to become good friends. After his return to America, he began working on Good Morning America
, where he would stay for 11 years, eventually rising to the position of news anchor; he left the position in 1986 and moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
to co-anchor evening newscasts for KYW-TV
. He took up a post as a telecommunications professor Ball State in August 1992, which he enjoyed greatly right from the start. He was inducted into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame in 2004. After thirteen years there, he still stated that he didn't really miss his work as a newscaster. He retired from his position at Ball State in 2007.
Bell appeared on Nightline in 2005 to present a report on how China
has changed since Mao's rule; he and Koppel had earlier filmed a documentary
there during the Mao Zedong
era. The Steve Bell News Packaging Scholarship is given each semester at Ball State University
to students for students for excellence in television news story packaging.
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
programs "Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
" and "World News This Morning", and professor emeritus of telecommunications at Muncie
Muncie, Indiana
Muncie is a city in Center Township, Delaware County in east central Indiana, best known as the home of Ball State University and the birthplace of the Ball Corporation. It is the principal city of the Muncie, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 118,769...
's Ball State University
Ball State University
Ball State University is a state-run research university located in Muncie, Indiana. It is also known as Ball State or simply BSU.Located on the northwest side of the city, Ball State's campus spans and includes 106 buildings...
.
A native of Oskaloosa
Oskaloosa, Iowa
Oskaloosa is the county seat of Mahaska County, Iowa, United States. The population was 11,463 in the 2010 census, an increase from 10,938 in the 2000 census. -History:...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, Bell studied as an undergraduate at Iowa's Central College and went on to earn a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in journalism from Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
. He worked for ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
from 1967 to 1986; his experiences in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
covering the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
included two hours in detention in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
while investigating a story about an alleged massacre of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese residents. He first met Ted Koppel
Ted Koppel
Edward James "Ted" Koppel is an English-born American broadcast journalist, best known as the anchor for Nightline from the program's inception in 1980 until his retirement in late 2005. After leaving Nightline, Koppel worked as managing editor for the Discovery Channel before resigning in 2008...
during his years in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
; the two would go on to become good friends. After his return to America, he began working on Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
, where he would stay for 11 years, eventually rising to the position of news anchor; he left the position in 1986 and moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
to co-anchor evening newscasts for KYW-TV
KYW-TV
KYW-TV, virtual channel 3, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. KYW-TV shares a studio facility with its sister station, CW flagship WPSG just north of Center City Philadelphia...
. He took up a post as a telecommunications professor Ball State in August 1992, which he enjoyed greatly right from the start. He was inducted into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame in 2004. After thirteen years there, he still stated that he didn't really miss his work as a newscaster. He retired from his position at Ball State in 2007.
Bell appeared on Nightline in 2005 to present a report on how China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
has changed since Mao's rule; he and Koppel had earlier filmed a documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
there during the Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
era. The Steve Bell News Packaging Scholarship is given each semester at Ball State University
Ball State University
Ball State University is a state-run research university located in Muncie, Indiana. It is also known as Ball State or simply BSU.Located on the northwest side of the city, Ball State's campus spans and includes 106 buildings...
to students for students for excellence in television news story packaging.