George Putnam, the pioneer television news anchorman and conservative commentator whose distinctive stentorian voice was a mainstay of Southern California broadcasting for decades, died in Los Angeles. He was 94.
Beginning at KTTV Channel 11 in the early 1950s, Putnam quickly became a dominant and influential force in Los Angeles TV news. The winner of three Emmy Awards, he reportedly at one time was the highest-rated and highest-paid TV news anchor in Los Angeles.
"George Putnam established the template, the prototype of the local news anchorman that everyone came to accept -- the deep voice, the carefully groomed hair, the friendly I'm-talking-directly-to-you-and-no-one-else presentation," said Joe Saltzman, a University of Southern California journalism professor.
Perhaps best remembered for his "One Reporter's Opinion" TV newscast segments, Putnam began his broadcast career on a Minneapolis radio station in 1934.
More than 70 years later, he was still at the microphone with his weekday, noon to 2 p.m. "Talk Back with George Putnam" syndicated radio program.
Born in Breckenridge, Minn., in 1914, Putnam landed his first broadcasting job at 20, on WDGY, a 1,000-watt radio station in Minneapolis.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
