Robert David Wiegand (May 19, 1947 – April 30, 2018) was an American journalist and short-story writer, head of arts and entertainment for the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

''.

Life and career

Wiegand was born in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, where he graduated from

Irondequoit High School Irondequoit High School (IHS) is a co-educational public school in Rochester, New York in the suburb of Irondequoit, New York. It was founded in 1924 as a part of the current West Irondequoit Central School District. History Irondequoit Distric ...

in 1965. He earned a BA in English and an MA in journalism from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

in Washington, D.C., in 1969 and 1973. In the 1970s, he worked at a number of local newspapers in Massachusetts, all now part of the Wicked Local media group. In 1979, he resigned as editor of the ''Amesbury News'' to run the office of

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

Nick Costello, while continuing to write television criticism and other arts articles for North Shore Weeklies. He left the State House after about a year and became editor of the '' Cambridge Chronicle'', then after almost ten years, managing editor of the chain, Dole Newspapers. After moving to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in 1992, Wiegand became a temporary copyeditor on the "Datebook" section of the ''San Francisco Chronicle''; in 1995 he became entertainment editor, overseeing the section (among other tasks, editing

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. List of awards and nominations received by Sean Penn, His accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Gl ...

's two series of articles on Iraq and Iran) and in 2006 executive features editor, with the title of assistant managing editor. He was also the newspaper's television critic from 2010 on. From 2008 to 2017, he co-hosted ''The Do List'', a run-down of weekend entertainment options in the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...

Public Radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

station KQED, with Cy Musiker. He was found dead of natural causes at his home on May 1, 2018, after last being seen at a performance of

Tony Kushner Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Among his stage work, he is most known for ''Angels in America'', which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award, as well as its subsequent acclaime ...

's ''

Angels in America ''Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes'' is a 1991 American two-part Play (theatre), play by American playwright Tony Kushner. The two parts of the play, ''Millennium Approaches'' and ''Perestroika'', may be presented separate ...

'' on April 28. His faithful dog, Angus, was with him.

Awards

* First-place award for illustration, New England Press Association * 1996 O. Henry Award for "Buffalo Safety" * 2012: Northern California Society of Professional Journalists award for "Television Drags Its Feet on Diversity”, ''San Francisco Chronicle''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiegand, David 1947 births 2018 deaths Writers from Rochester, New York American male journalists