William Headline
Encyclopedia
William Headline served as Washington bureau chief for 12 years during the formative years of CNN
and headed the Voter News Service
during the United States 2000 presidential election
. Given his name and his profession, Wolf Blitzer
described Headline as having "the best name in news".
in 1931 and grew up in East Aurora, New York
. The family name had been Americanized by a Swedish ancestor. Headline attended Ohio Wesleyan University
where he majored in geology. He was an intelligence officer in the United States Navy
prior to his career in journalism.
in New York gathering polling information. CBS News
in New York hired him work on coverage of the 1964 presidential election
. Headline was promoted to senior vice president and later moved to Washington in 1974 as the network's assistant bureau chief. In his years at CBS News, Headline supervised the network's coverage of political conventions, overseas presidential trips and papal visits, and was the network pool producer during President Richard Nixon's resignation.
Headline was hired by CNN
in 1983, and was appointed as the network's bureau chief in Washington, D.C.
, filling a position that had been occupied by six different individuals in the three years before he was hired. As bureau chief, Headline oversaw the growth of CNN Washington bureau from 80 to 350 staff members. He remained as bureau chief until 1996, when CNN named him to serve as the vice president managing special projects and pool assignments.
He served as the chairman of the Washington-based Radio and Television Correspondents' Association
.
Headline left CNN in 1998 and became the executive director of the Voter News Service
, a consortium of television networks and newspapers that used exit polling and vote tallies to project election winners. The organization faced criticism after the United States 2000 presidential election
, when it incorrectly projected that Vice President Al Gore
had won the election. Headline was quoted in 2001 stating that "We were aware some of the computer hardware we have was antiquated," but that "it was actually a good night" when the number of races it projected correctly are considered. The Voter News Service was shut down in January 2003 after it was unable to fix its problems; Headline stated that two years "was much too ambitious" a timeframe for the organization to solve its issues.
.
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
and headed the Voter News Service
Voter News Service
The Voter News Service was a consortium whose mission was to provide results for United States presidential elections, so that individual organizations and networks would not have to do exit polling and vote tallying in parallel.-Members:...
during the United States 2000 presidential election
United States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
. Given his name and his profession, Wolf Blitzer
Wolf Blitzer
Wolf Isaac Blitzer is an American journalist who has been a CNN reporter since 1990. Blitzer is currently the host of the newscast The Situation Room and was the host of the Sunday talk show Late Edition until it was discontinued on January 11, 2009...
described Headline as having "the best name in news".
Early life
William Headline was born in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
in 1931 and grew up in East Aurora, New York
East Aurora, New York
East Aurora is a village in Erie County, New York, United States, southeast of Buffalo. The Village of East Aurora lies in the eastern half of the Town of Aurora.The population was 6,673 at the 2000 census...
. The family name had been Americanized by a Swedish ancestor. Headline attended Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five — a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges...
where he majored in geology. He was an intelligence officer in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
prior to his career in journalism.
Career in journalism
He worked for Louis Harris and AssociatesHarris Interactive
Harris Interactive , headquartered in New York, New York, is a custom market research firm, known for the Harris Poll. Harris works in a wide range of industries...
in New York gathering polling information. CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
in New York hired him work on coverage of the 1964 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1964
The United States presidential election of 1964 was held on November 3, 1964. Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had come to office less than a year earlier following the assassination of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy. Johnson, who had successfully associated himself with Kennedy's...
. Headline was promoted to senior vice president and later moved to Washington in 1974 as the network's assistant bureau chief. In his years at CBS News, Headline supervised the network's coverage of political conventions, overseas presidential trips and papal visits, and was the network pool producer during President Richard Nixon's resignation.
Headline was hired by CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
in 1983, and was appointed as the network's bureau chief in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, filling a position that had been occupied by six different individuals in the three years before he was hired. As bureau chief, Headline oversaw the growth of CNN Washington bureau from 80 to 350 staff members. He remained as bureau chief until 1996, when CNN named him to serve as the vice president managing special projects and pool assignments.
He served as the chairman of the Washington-based Radio and Television Correspondents' Association
Radio and Television Correspondents' Association
The Radio and Television Correspondents Association is an American journalism group best known for holding an annual dinner in Washington, D.C., not to be confused with the higher profile White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.-Officers:...
.
Headline left CNN in 1998 and became the executive director of the Voter News Service
Voter News Service
The Voter News Service was a consortium whose mission was to provide results for United States presidential elections, so that individual organizations and networks would not have to do exit polling and vote tallying in parallel.-Members:...
, a consortium of television networks and newspapers that used exit polling and vote tallies to project election winners. The organization faced criticism after the United States 2000 presidential election
United States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
, when it incorrectly projected that Vice President Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
had won the election. Headline was quoted in 2001 stating that "We were aware some of the computer hardware we have was antiquated," but that "it was actually a good night" when the number of races it projected correctly are considered. The Voter News Service was shut down in January 2003 after it was unable to fix its problems; Headline stated that two years "was much too ambitious" a timeframe for the organization to solve its issues.
Death
Headline died on October 20, 2008 at age 76 after falling in his home in Bethesda, MarylandBethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
.