Steve Bell, former ABC News anchor, BSU prof, dies

MUNCIE, Ind. — Steve Bell, 83, a former ABC News anchor who died Friday, is also being remembered for his contributions to Ball State University as a faculty member.

Bell spent more than 30 years on network and local news, reporting on such historic events as the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, the Newark riots and the assassinations of John Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Sen. Robert Kennedy. He was on the scene when RFK was shot.

In 1970, Bell was captured by the Viet Cong and held at gunpoint as a war correspondent. In 1975, he became the first anchor of "Good Morning America." 

After returning to local TV news in the late 1980s, Bell decided it was time to do what he had planned to do when he first went to college. He ended up teaching at Ball State from 1992 to 2007.

"Steve put Ball State's telecommunications program on the map," Phil Bremen, a former NBC news correspondent and associate professor at Ball State, told The Star Press on Saturday night. "He brought his towering reputation and wealth of experience."

More than that to all who knew him, "Steve was a profoundly decent and generous man," Bremen said, "admired by his colleagues and beloved by his students. He set a high bar for us all."

"There was a great deal of prestige brought to this program when Steve came here," Dom Caristi, Ball State telecommunications professor, told The Star Press for an article about Bell's retirement from teaching.

Bell's wealth of experience included walking up the stairs and standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis after MLK was murdered. Blood remained on the concrete.

Bell then walked to a nearby boarding house and looked down at the motel from the vantage point of the bathroom window where James Earl Ray fired the fatal shot.

“To stand there, and to know I’d done the same thing when John F. Kennedy was killed, it was a powerful moment," Bell later recalled. "I just stood and thought about the historical context.”

Bell himself made news four years ago, as he often did as a Ball State professor looking back at his career.

"The offer to be the first Ball Endowed Chair in Telecommunications, and to teach broadcast news, was perfect. ... From the very moment I arrived, I was so impressed with Ball State," he told the university's director of media strategy, Lisa Renze-Rhodes, for a 2015 magazine report on the 40th anniversary of "Good Morning America."

“Ed Ball himself invited me to bring (Bell's wife) Joyce for a visit. It was the perfect position, and Ed’s kindness and interest in us made all the difference. From the very moment I arrived, I was so impressed with Ball State.”

Ball State President Geoffrey S. Mearns said the presence of the legendary journalist helped raise the stature of the university’s telecommunications programs.

“Steve Bell brought real-world knowledge about journalism to the classroom and our production facilities, sharing his keen storytelling skills with our students,”Mearns said in a statement. “We are very proud that he was able to serve Ball State as an outstanding and committed member of our campus community.

“Every student who spent time in Steve’s classes left as a better journalist and the University is in a better place because of his contributions. As Jennifer and I mourn his passing, we ask that you keep Steve’s family and friends in your thoughts and prayers.”

In 1996, Bell returned to Vietnam with a Ball State group and produced, directed, and narrated the documentary, “Vietnam: Revolution to Evolution.” It was aired on WIPB-TV and was syndicated to other PBS stations.

“There’s never been more need for good journalists,” Bell said in 2015. “The bad news is there are fewer and fewer large companies willing to pay for it. But that’s where reporters can and should take advantage of all the new technologies available — to create forums where important news can be shared. Those technologies are changing the role of journalists.”

After graduating from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, Bell worked at WOW-TV in Omaha, Nebraska, and WNEW radio in New York City before joining  ABC Radio News in 1967. Over the next two decades, he reported from the war zone in Southeast Asia, and later was Hong Kong bureau chief. When he returned to the United States, he was news anchor for "Good Morning America."

Bell retired from ABC in 1986, moving to Philadelphia to co-anchor evening newscasts for KYW-TV. 

He also was known for his philanthropic support and generosity to the university.

Bell is survived by his wife Joyce and daughters Allison and Hillary. His family noted that a couple of important highlights of his life included working at Ball State and interacting with disabled veterans during his broadcasting career.

Arrangements are pending.

Contact Seth Slabaugh at (765) 213-5834 or seths@muncie.gannett.com