Eleanor Schano
Eleanor Schano | |
|---|---|
 Eleanor Schano, from a 1972 newspaper. | |
| Born | Eleanor Martha Schano July 31, 1932 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | November 9, 2020 (aged 88) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, television presenter |
| Spouses | Warren Bentley Dana
(m. 1955; died 1969)Edward B. Conway
(m. 1972; died 1974)John M. Feeney
(m. 1982; died 2011) |
Eleanor Martha Schano (July 31, 1932 – November 9, 2020) was an American journalist and television presenter based in Pittsburgh.
Early life
[edit]Eleanor Schano was born and raised in Green Tree, near Pittsburgh, the daughter of Joseph J. Schano and Eleanor Daley Schano.[1] She graduated from Dormont High School in 1950, and from Duquesne University in 1954.[2] She mentioned the Brenda Starr, Reporter comic strip as one inspiration for her seeking a career in journalism.[3][4]
Career
[edit]Schano was a model and Pittsburgh's first female weather presenter,[5] before becoming a reporter and eventually news anchor in Pittsburgh television.[2] She was the first solo primetime news anchorwoman in Pittsburgh, when she held that position from 1969 to 1974 at WIIC (WPXI).[6] She hosted several programs, including Face to Face (a weekly public affairs discussion), Good Day Pittsburgh (a daily magazine show), AgeWise Weekly and Live Well/Live Long (long-running wellness information programs for older viewers). She also had a longtime on-air presence on KQV radio.[7][8][9][10]
Schano served on the Greater Pittsburgh Commission for Women. She was a board member of the Civic Light Opera and the Carnegie Science Center. In 2009, the Mid-Atlantic chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences presented Schano with a lifetime achievement Emmy. Other honors include five Golden Quills and a President's Award from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania,[8] and a Love Award from the City of Pittsburgh.[2]
Schano was skeptical of the work of the women's rights movement in the 1970s, saying that she had not personally faced gender discrimination.[11] However, she included some stories of gender discrimination in her memoir, Riding the Airwaves: The Life and Televised Times of Eleanor Schano (2006).[4][12][13]
Personal life
[edit]Schano was married three times. She married her first husband, Warren Bentley Dana, in 1955;[14] he died in 1969. Her second husband was sportscaster Edward B. Conway; he died in 1974.[15][16] She married her third husband, judge John M. Feeney, in 1982; he died in 2011. Eleanor Schano was survived by two daughters when she died from complications of COVID-19 in November 2020, at age 88.[1][2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Rifkin, Glenn (November 17, 2020). "Eleanor Schano, Trailblazing Journalist in Pittsburgh, Dies at 88". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Batz, Bob Jr. (November 10, 2020). "Obituary: Eleanor Schano, Pittsburgh TV pioneer". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- ^ "A Look at the Career of Pioneering Broadcaster Eleanor Schano". WESA-FM. May 29, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- ^ a b Crompton, Janice (December 14, 2006). "Schano Tells of Difficult Path to Success". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 121. Retrieved November 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Matoney, Nick (November 10, 2020). "Remembering a trailblazer: Pittsburgh looks back on life of Eleanor Schano". WTAE. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- ^ Holsopple, Barbara (February 27, 1975). "Eleanor Schano First to Leave in Sweep". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 44. Retrieved November 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Eleanor Schano, pioneering Pittsburgh news anchor, dies". The Times. November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- ^ a b Vancheri, Barbara (May 10, 2000). "Channeling her Energies". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 45. Retrieved November 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Vancheri, Barbara (May 10, 2000). "Eleanor Schano Sees No End in Sight to Her Long On-Air Career (Channeling Her Energies, continued)". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 46. Retrieved November 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Owen, Rob (August 15, 2008). "Eleanor Schano Returning to WTAE 50 Years after Debut". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 24. Retrieved November 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Vernon, Marjorie R. (March 29, 1973). "Eleanor Schano Speaks: Up the Standards of Women!". New Castle News. p. 10. Retrieved November 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Owen, Rob (September 8, 2006). "Schano's Book Reveals Look at Broadcast Pioneer". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 52. Retrieved November 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Schano, Eleanor. (2006). Riding the air waves : five decades in the public eye ... and counting (1st ed.). Pittsburgh, Pa.: Eleanor Schano. ISBN 0-9785837-0-1. OCLC 71790359.
- ^ "Miss Schano Names Apr. 30 for Wedding". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. April 7, 1955. p. 17. Retrieved November 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Holsopple, Barbara (July 7, 1972). "Without a Sheet Over Her Head, Eleanor Schano Did Okay". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 34. Retrieved November 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Edward B. Conway, Sports Broadcaster". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. May 29, 1974. p. 19. Retrieved November 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
[edit]- Charles "Teenie" Harris, "Julian Bond at Press Conference with Reporter Eleanor Schano in Background, University of Pittsburgh" (February 1967), photograph in the collection of the Carnegie Museum of Art.
- Eleanor Schano hosting a 1988 discussion about Allegheny County tax reassessment on WQED, from YouTube.
- Eleanor Schano at IMDb
