Hal Bruno | |
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| Born | Harold Robinson Bruno Jr. October 25, 1928 Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | November 8, 2011 |
| Education | University of Illinois (Bachelor's degree) |
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| Years active | 1950-2008 |
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Harold Robinson "Hal" Bruno, Jr. (October 25, 1928 – November 8, 2011) was an Americanjournalist andpolitical analyst, who worked as the political director ofABC News from 1980 to 1999. He served as the moderator of the1992 vice presidential debate betweenDan Quayle,Al Gore, andJames Stockdale.[1][2][3][4]
Hal Bruno was born inChicago, Illinois, on October 25, 1928.[2] His father soldhousewares for a living.[2] He became avolunteer firefighter during the 1940s.[2] Bruno earned hisbachelor's degree in 1950 from theUniversity of Illinois, where he worked as a sportswriter for the university's newspaper,The Daily Illini, alongsideShel Silverstein,Bud Karmin,Gene Shalit,Hugh Hough andRobert Novak.[1][2][3] He also worked for theChampaign News Gazette during weekends while in college.[4]
He served in theKorean War as an Army intelligence officer.[1] Bruno then earned aFulbright scholarship to study inIndia after the war.[2] He married his wife, Margaret "Meg" Christian Bruno, on November 12, 1959.[2][3]
Bruno launched his professional career as areporter for Chicago areanewspapers andnews agencies. His first job after his graduation was forAdvertising Age before becoming the sports editor of theDaily Chronicle.[4] He temporarily left his profession in order to serve in the Korean War.[4] Bruno returned to Chicago after the war and joined the staff of theChicago City News Bureau as a police reporter.[4] He joinedThe Chicago American in 1954[4] In 1956, Bruno earned aFulbright Scholarship inIndia to studyIndian media.[4] He worked as a South Asian correspondent for the International News Service while in India.[4] Bruno covered some of the biggest news stories of the 1950s, including the 1956Suez Crisis, theOur Lady of the Angels School fire in 1958, and theCuban revolution in 1959.[2]
He joined the staff ofNewsweek magazine in 1960.[2] Bruno worked as a reporter,foreign correspondent,news editor and chief political correspondent forNewsweek for 18 years.[1][3] One of his first assignments at the magazine was the1960 presidential election betweenJohn F. Kennedy andRichard Nixon.[1] His foreign reports included the 1962Sino-Indian War.[4] He rose to becomeNewsweek's Chicagobureau chief and later the magazine's political editor inWashington D.C.[2]
Bruno joined ABC News in 1978 after leavingNewsweek.[1][2] He oversaw ABC News' election and political coverage during the 1980s and 1990s.[1] Ken Rudin, the current political editor ofNPR who worked as Bruno's deputy at ABC News, described Bruno as "...the eyes and ears forPeter (Jennings) and 'World News Tonight' and(Ted) Koppel."[1] As political director, Bruno packaged much of the political headlines presented by ABC's best known reporters, including Ted Koppel,Cokie Roberts,Sam Donaldson, and Peter Jennings.[2] Colleagues, such as Donaldson, have described Bruno as personally knowing nearly every major party county chairman in the United States.[2]
While much of his work at ABC took place off-screen, Bruno was invited onto news and talk shows owing to his political expertise.[2] Bruno also hosted the weeklyradio show,Hal Bruno's Washington, onABC Radio until 1999.[1][5]
Bruno received public attention as the moderator of the 1992 vice presidential debate inAtlanta on October 13, 1992.[1][2][3] The debate took place between incumbentRepublican Vice President Dan Quayle,Democrat Al Gore, andIndependent retiredVice Admiral James B. Stockdale, who was therunning mate ofRoss Perot.[3] The debate would become known for unusual responses and negative rhetoric from the candidates and the audience.[2] It would later be called "the most combative debate in the 32-year history of the televised forums" by theWashington Post.[2] One of the most memorable moments from the debate came early in the night. Bruno, in his capacity as debate moderator, asked James Stockdale, "Admiral Stockdale, your opening statement, please, sir?"[3] Stockdale famously replied to Bruno's request: "Who am I? Why am I here?"[2][3]
Bruno also scolded the debate's audience when they jeered candidates Quayle and Gore, saying, "There’s no call for that ... so knock that off."[2]
He retired from ABC in 1999 to become the chairman of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.[4][5]
Bruno said that his interest infirefighting began "after riding as a kid on fire trucks in Chicago."[4] Bruno originally became a volunteer firefighter during the 1940s and remained in firefighting for more than 60 years.[4] He served as thechairman of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation from 1999 to 2008[5] and remained Chairman Emeritus after retiring from the post.[4] He combined his background injournalism and firefighting as a monthlycolumnist forFirehouse Magazine.[3] In 2008, he authored a column for Firehouse about thehttps://www.firehouse.com/prevention-investigation/fire-protection-systems/news/10493645/eyewitness-to-tragedy-our-lady-of-angels-school-fire that he responded to with the Chicago Fire Department and later put on his reporter's hat to cover.
Bruno called in coverage of theattack on the Pentagon onSeptember 11, 2001.[3] He was one of the first rescue workers to respond to the Pentagon attack and remained on site for hours.[2]
Bruno was inducted into theSociety of Professional Journalists Hall of Fame in 2008.[3]
Bruno died at Suburban Hospital inBethesda, Maryland, November 8, 2011, ofheart arrhythmia caused by a fall at the age of 83.[1][2] He was survived by his wife of nearly 56 years, Margaret; two sons, Harold R. Bruno III and Daniel Bruno; his sister, Barbara; and four grandchildren. Bruno and his wife were residents ofChevy Chase, Maryland.[3]
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