Dean Elmer Lower

• Dean, 1982-1983

By Paul Hagey

Emmy award-winning broadcaster Elmer Lower stepped in to become the sixth dean of the Missouri School of Journalism for the 1982-1983 school year while the 14-member faculty search committee sought a replacement for Dean Roy M. Fisher.

Lower, who received a Bachelor of Journalism degree in 1933 from the School, had been president of ABC News and a worldwide lecturer before returning to his alma mater to teach broadcasting in 1978. Lower had lectured on television news issues in cities around the world, including Berlin, Paris, Brussels, Vienna, Tokyo, Guadalajara, New York and London.

Elmer Lower (holding magazine), BJ '33, with seven other Missouri Journalism alumni at CBS News in 1958.

In the summer of 1982, Lower agreed to University of Missouri Chancellor Barbara Uehling's request to serve as interim dean of the School while the search committee continued its search for a new dean to replace Fisher.

Lower had a long and diverse journalism career and had already become an icon of broadcast journalism. After graduating in 1933, he worked various print journalism jobs during a 20-year period, which included a position as a foreign correspondent for Life magazine and brief stints as a photo editor. His experiences with photojournalism, Lower said, prepared him for the emerging genre of television and a job with CBS in 1953. Of photojournalism and his preparation for television, Lower said, "You're using visuals, you're telling stories in words and in pictures. And when you go to television you're just adding one more element, and that's motion and voice."

Lower entered the television business just as it started to develop as a news medium. During his career, he helped lead CBS, NBC and ultimately ABC as president of its news division, in the development of their news programming. Lower's seminal work in television led to a 1975 lifetime achievement Emmy award for "personal standards of ethical and professional excellence."

Even though he was in broadcast, Lower stressed the value of writing as a teacher and journalist. A quote from a 1983 Columbia Missourian article captured some of Lower's pedagogy and spirit: "In the first class I taught here at Columbia, the first thing I did was to bring this sign into class," pointing to a sign reading "GOOD WRITING."

"I told them that if they didn't remember anything else about the class, I hoped they'd remember that an old man walked in, waved this sign and said something about writing. Good writing is the beginning of all communication."

While dean, Lower oversaw the School's 75th anniversary celebration, which lasted a year and included a distinguished lecture series that included 40 alumni. No doubt due to some of his ABC connections, one of the highlights of the celebration occurred at Journalism Week in 1983 when ABC's Ted Koppel hosted his show "Viewpoint" from Jesse Hall.

Though Chancellor Uehling asked Lower to stay on for another year, he declined, saying that a younger, more long-term dean would best serve the School. A new search committee succeeded in 1984 by hiring James D. Atwater, an editor at Time magazine, as the seventh dean of the Journalism School.

Timeline

• 1913 Born in Kansas City
• 1933 Earned a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the Missouri School of Journalism
• 1933 Summer vacation relief editor, Republican-Times, Trenton, Mo.
• 1933-1934 Courthouse and police reporter, Herald-Post, Louisville, Ky.
• 1934 Courthouse and board of education reporter, Flint (Mich.) Journal
• 1934-1935 Statehouse reporter, United Press International, Jefferson City, Mo.
• 1935-1937 Bureau chief and vice president, United Press International, Cleveland, Ohio; covered the Republican National Convention
• 1937-1939 Feature and photo editor and writer, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Cleveland, Ohio
• 1939-1942 Picture editor and writer, Associated Press, Chicago bureau and New York headquarters
• 1942-1944 Field representative and photojournalism specialist, U.S. Office of War Information, served in Cairo, Egypt; Naples, Italy; and London, England
• 1944-1951 Numerous positions, Life magazine, including bureau chief in Paris, France, and Los Angeles; roving correspondent in Far East
• 1951-1953 Director of information, U.S. High Commissioner for Germany Information, Frankfurt, Germany, and Bonn, West Germany
• 1953-1959 Numerous positions, CBS-TV, Washington, D.C. and New York, including director of special projects, news, and director of operations, news
• 1959-1963 Numerous positions, NBC-TV, Washington, D.C. and New York, including chief and executive producer of convention, election and inauguration coverage. Also served as vice president and general manager, New York, and executive producer of all political and space coverage.
• 1959 Received the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service to Journalism, Missouri School of Journalism
• 1963-1978 President, ABC News, New York, for first 11 years, four years as corporate vice president and company officer. Retired on May 1 at the mandatory age of 65.
• 1970 Earned a Master of Arts degree in public law and government, Columbia University
• 1975 Received an Emmy Award for lifetime achievement
• 1975 Received the Paul White Award, the Radio-Television News Director Association's highest honor that given to recognize an individual's lifetime contributions to electronic journalism
• 1975 Received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, University of Missouri
• 1978 Broadcast professor, Missouri School of Journalism
• 1978-1995 Teacher of journalism at Missouri School of Journalism, James Madison University, Brigham Young University, Syracuse University and Columbia University
• 1982-1983 Interim dean, Missouri School of Journalism