Eleanor Schano

Eleanor Martha Schano (July 31, 1932 – November 9, 2020) was an American journalist and television presenter based in Pittsburgh.

Eleanor Schano
A blonde white woman with hair in a bouffant set.
Eleanor Schano, from a 1972 newspaper.
Born
Eleanor Martha Schano

(1932-07-31)July 31, 1932
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedNovember 9, 2020(2020-11-09) (aged 88)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation(s)Journalist, television presenter

Early life

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

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

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
  1. Rifkin, Glenn (2020-11-17). "Eleanor Schano, Trailblazing Journalist in Pittsburgh, Dies at 88". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  2. Batz, Bob Jr. (November 10, 2020). "Obituary: Eleanor Schano, Pittsburgh TV pioneer". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  3. "A Look at the Career of Pioneering Broadcaster Eleanor Schano". WESA-FM. May 29, 2014. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  4. Crompton, Janice (2006-12-14). "Schano Tells of Difficult Path to Success". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 121. Retrieved 2020-11-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Matoney, Nick (2020-11-10). "Remembering a trailblazer: Pittsburgh looks back on life of Eleanor Schano". WTAE. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  6. Holsopple, Barbara (1975-02-27). "Eleanor Schano First to Leave in Sweep". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 44. Retrieved 2020-11-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Eleanor Schano, pioneering Pittsburgh news anchor, dies". The Times. November 10, 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  8. Vancheri, Barbara (2000-05-10). "Channeling her Energies". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 45. Retrieved 2020-11-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Vancheri, Barbara (2000-05-10). "Eleanor Schano Sees No End in Sight to Her Long On-Air Career (Channeling Her Energies, continued)". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 46. Retrieved 2020-11-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Owen, Rob (2008-08-15). "Eleanor Schano Returning to WTAE 50 Years after Debut". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 24. Retrieved 2020-11-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Vernon, Marjorie R. (1973-03-29). "Eleanor Schano Speaks: Up the Standards of Women!". New Castle News. p. 10. Retrieved 2020-11-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Owen, Rob (2006-09-08). "Schano's Book Reveals Look at Broadcast Pioneer". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 52. Retrieved 2020-11-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. 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.
  14. "Miss Schano Names Apr. 30 for Wedding". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. 1955-04-07. p. 17. Retrieved 2020-11-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. Holsopple, Barbara (1972-07-07). "Without a Sheet Over Her Head, Eleanor Schano Did Okay". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 34. Retrieved 2020-11-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Edward B. Conway, Sports Broadcaster". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 1974-05-29. p. 19. Retrieved 2020-11-30 – via Newspapers.com.
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