Remembering a Beloved Montana Broadcaster, Bill Knowles
After graduating college at The University of Montana (UM) in the mid-2000s, I had a few months before I was due to report to Fort Benning, Georgia for Infantry officer training with the US Army. I ended up getting into a program called the Washington Center for Politics and Journalism and got to work for Bloomberg TV & Radio in Washington, D.C for a few months.
I remember chatting with one of their more seasoned journalists in their Washington bureau when I first showed up. I told him that I came from Montana. He asked me if I knew Bill Knowles. Of course I knew Bill Knowles- everybody loves BK!
I got such a kick out of that. Anyone who took a journalism or a communications class from Bill Knowles knew that he had a lot of friends in the industry, and here was a guy in the business name-dropping Bill. I think they worked together at ABC back in the day.
For those who hadn't heard, beloved Montana broadcaster and former University of Montana professor Bill Knowles passed away in August, and a memorial was held at UM on September 7th.
I had the honor of getting to know Bill Knowles. He was a true professional and you could care he truly cared for the students that were coming up through the program. When news of his passing travelled through the alumni network, you could see all of the tributes immediately pour in from students and colleagues alike.
According to a memoriam shared by The University of Montana, Bill was born in 1935 and got his start at the copy desk of San Jose State’s Spartan Daily and then in the Army for Stars and Stripes.
It wasn’t long before ABC News took notice of a rising star, and in 1965, Bill embarked on a two-decade broadcasting career with the television network as a producer and bureau chief in Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Washington. He only wanted to bring viewers the news, in a still-novel medium whose full potential had yet to be realized. He ended up bearing witness to American history as it unfolded live, from Vietnam War protests and Watergate to the death of Elvis and the rise of Reagan. He flew on Air Force One with three different presidents. His travels around the country, with or without politicians in tow, earned him a perspective on the life of the nation that few could match.
Thanks to Denise Dowling with the UM School of Journalism for sharing the full memoriam with us below.
In memoriam: Bill Knowles, 1935-2022
Journalist, Teacher, Father
Bill Knowles had something to report. There was always news happening somewhere. All you had to do was observe, listen, ask questions. And report.
It was fun, yes–Bill’s stories from the news gathering trenches were legendary–but also not an activity to be undertaken lightly. The audience’s trust must be earned, after all. Getting the report right, and passing along all he knew so that others could get it right too, was Bill’s life’s work. But where did that passion come from?
William LeRoy Knowles was born on June 23, 1935 in Los Angeles, the youngest of LeRoy and Thelma Knowles’ two children. Growing up with his big sister Lee, Los Angeles in those days was not the sprawling metropolis we know today. To a young baseball fanatic, it might have even felt provincial. It would still be decades before the Dodgers and Giants pulled up stakes and moved west.
But that changed as the sun went down and the radio burst to life with the crack of Stan Musial’s bat–or more precisely, the play-by-play descriptions of Stan Musial’s bat. Night after night, young Bill would listen to announcers from far away St. Louis use nothing but words and a microphone to transport him to the Major Leagues. He never stopped being a Cardinals fan, and he never stopped loving what the radio could do.
Honing his craft as a young man at the copy desk of San Jose State’s Spartan Daily and then in the Army for Stars and Stripes, as a civilian Bill continued graduate studies in journalism at the University of Southern California. He started a family with his first wife Susan, with whom he would have five children.
It wasn’t long before ABC News took notice of a rising star, and in 1965, Bill embarked on a two-decade broadcasting career with the television network as a producer and bureau chief in Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Washington. He only wanted to bring viewers the news, in a still-novel medium whose full potential had yet to be realized. He ended up bearing witness to American history as it unfolded live, from Vietnam War protests and Watergate to the death of Elvis and the rise of Reagan. He flew on Air Force One with three different presidents. His travels around the country, with or without politicians in tow, earned him a perspective on the life of the nation that few could match.
And yet, while the news never stopped, Bill felt he had more to give. He was ready to switch gears. In 1986 he leapt into teaching with gusto, joining the faculty of the University of Montana’s School of Journalism, where he shared everything he had learned to new generations of news gatherers. He also learned a few new tricks himself, keeping up with the times as the media business went online. In 2006, as he was retiring from the university, his contributions to broadcast education were recognized with the prestigious Edward L. Bliss Award, given by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
In retirement, Bill loved to keep in touch with former students, cheering them on as their careers progressed. He stayed active and involved in his profession, even teaching journalism overseas for a year in Amman, Jordan as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Jordan and the University of Petra. The first installment of his two-volume history of Montana broadcasting is due to be published by the University of Montana Press later this year.
Just two weeks before his death, Bill managed to attend one final Cardinals game with his sons Frank and Dan. Only this time, he wasn’t in the dark, alone with the radio. He was right there in the crowd, an eye witness live on the scene. Where he always wanted to be.
Bill is survived by his wife Sharon Weaver-Knowles, his five children Frank, Irene, Dan, Joe and Ted from his previous marriage, and 12 grandchildren. The network of Bill’s former students working in journalism today spans the country and globe.
A public memorial service will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022, from 2-4 p.m. at the University Center theater at the University of Montana.
In lieu of flowers, donations are kindly requested to the School of Journalism’s Bill Knowles Scholarship Fund: UM Foundation, PO Box 7159, Missoula, MT 59807. Donations can also be made electronically by visiting www.supportUM.org and clicking GIVE. Either way, donors should designate Journalism and Bill Knowles on the check or electronic form.
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