Veteran Bay Area Broadcast Journalist Ed Arnow Dies at 95

DISCOVERY BAY (KPIX) -- Longtime KPIX news reporter Ed Arnow died Sunday, April 14 at his home in Discovery Bay, according to his wife Jo. He was 95.

Arnow enjoyed an illustrious journalism career which spanned over 60 years.

He worked in print, radio and television. Arnow also taught journalism classes at UC Berkeley as well as at the University of Ankara in Turkey.

Arnow worked for many Bay Area stations but joined KPIX in 1970 as a full-time reporter where he remained for 13 years. At KPIX Arnow won two San Francisco/Northern California Emmy Awards, one for a documentary on illegal immigrants in California and another for reporting on the 1972 Managua earthquake.

VIDEO EXCERPTS OF REPORTS BY ARNOW AT KPIX

1) On April 10, 1969, Arnow interviewed James Baldwin at City College of San Francisco. Baldwin reflected on the current state of American society.

2) Arnow interviewed S.F. supervisor Harvey Milk on June 16, 1978 about Proposition 13, which attempted to legalize gambling in San Francisco.

3) December 6, 1970 in Salinas, Monterey County. Ethel Kennedy visited civil rights activist Cesar Chavez in jail but the Teamsters were angry, yelling "Ethel go home" outside.

4) Arnow interviewed actor Woody Allen on July 4, 1968. Allen was filming "Take the Money and Run" in San Francisco and Arnow caught up with him at the Bank of America at 9th and Clement.

5) January 4, 1972, in San Francisco, Arnow interviewed a lady barker at the world famous Garden of Eden adult club on Broadway in North Beach.

OBITUARY (Provided to KPIX by Jo Arnow)

Ed Arnow was born and raised in the Bronx, N.Y., where he worked odd jobs as a child to help the family make ends meet during the depression. He developed a love of music, learning to play the trumpet in school, and then had his own jazz band while studying for his B.A. in Journalism at Syracuse University. He went on to receive a dual master's degree in Journalism and Psychology from Stanford University where he met his first wife, Joanna.

Ed's professional journalism career began in San Francisco with KNBC radio news. He moved to NBC's Network news in 1955, becoming NBC's first network correspondent in Northern California. In 1963 he and his family moved to Buenos Aires where he was based as a foreign correspondent covering the political news in Argentina and Brazil. He left NBC in 1965 to join the faculty of UC Berkeley as an Associate Professor, teaching classes in radio and television reporting, while working weekends as a reporter for KGO-TV. He moved again to Ankara, Turkey in 1969 after winning a Fulbright Scholarship to teach radio and television reporting at Ankara University. While in Turkey, he reported on breaking news and politics and consulted on the construction of a new television station in Nicosia, Cypress.

Ed returned to San Francisco in 1970 and joined KPIX as a full-time reporter where he remained for 13 years. While at KPIX, he received an Emmy Award for his documentary reporting on illegal immigrants in California, another Emmy for his report on the Managua earthquake in 1972 and was honored by the San Francisco Press Club. After leaving KPIX, Ed received an MBA from San Francisco State University in 1983. He then returned to television news, working for KRON-TV as a business and financial specialist. In 1985 he became the West Coast correspondent for the Wall Street Journal Reports television show and eventually joined KGO-TV in 1988.

After retiring, Ed moved to Discovery Bay with his wife Jo, where he continued to write freelance travel and human-interest stories for the Brentwood News until 2013.

Ed Arnow is remembered for his professional integrity, determination, wit, charm, intelligence, and generosity. He is survived by his wife Jo Arnow, his daughters Joanna Arnow Barnes, Stephanie Arnow and Doe Arnow Hayes.