Mears, Walter R(obert) 1935-

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MEARS, Walter R(obert) 1935-

PERSONAL: Born January 11, 1935, in Lynn, MA; son of Edward Lewis and Edythe Emily (Campbell) Mears; married Sally Danton, December 28, 1956 (died, December, 1962); married Joyce Marie Lund, August 4, 1963 (divorced, 1983); children: (first marriage) Pamela (deceased), Walter Robert (deceased); (second marriage) Stephanie Joy, Susan Marie. Education: Middlebury College, B.A., 1956.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Andrews McMeel Universal, 4520 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64111-7701.

CAREER: Associated Press, New York, NY, journalist in Boston, MA, 1956, correspondent in Montpelier, VT, 1956-60, state house correspondent in Boston, 1960-61, journalist in Washington, DC, 1961-69, chief political writer, 1969-72, assistant chief of Washington bureau, 1973-74, special correspondent, 1975, chief of Washington bureau, 1977-83, vice president, beginning 1978, executive editor, beginning 1983; retired.

MEMBER: National Press Club, Phi Beta Kappa, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Burning Tree Club, Gridiron Club.

AWARDS, HONORS: Pulitzer Prize for national reporting, 1977, for coverage of 1976 presidential campaigns; Litt.D., Middlebury College, 1977.

WRITINGS:

(With John Chancellor) The News Business, Harper (New York, NY), 1983.

(With John Chancellor) The New News Business: A Guide to Writing and Reporting, HarperPerennial (New York, NY), 1995.

Deadlines Past: My Forty Years of Presidential Campaigning; A Reporter's Story, Andrews McMeel Universal (Kansas City, MO), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: Walter R. Mears is one of the communication field's most respected journalists. He has many years of experience covering political events in Washington, DC, and received a Pulitzer Prize in 1977 for coverage of the 1976 presidential campaigns. His book, The News Business, written with fellow journalist John Chancellor, is a step-by-step account of how news is processed from an actual occurrence to its presentation in the media. Harrison E. Salisbury, reviewing the book in the Los Angeles Times Book Review, declared: "Nothing could be more commonsensical, more enlightening than this simple, short book. Nor could anything be more effective than this straight-arrow, anecdote-laden account in laying to rest the dark, portentous images of those who believe the media to be the devil's kitchen." He praised Mears and Chancellor for their "coolly understated" points.