Eleanor Martha Schano (July 31, 1932 – November 9, 2020) was an American journalist and television presenter based in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Early life

Eleanor Schano was born and raised in

Green Tree Green Tree is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,941 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Green Tree is connected to Pittsburgh via the Fort Pitt Tunnel. Histor ...

, near Pittsburgh, the daughter of Joseph J. Schano and Eleanor Daley Schano. She graduated from Dormont High School in 1950, and from

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( ; also known as Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a Private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of ...

in 1954. She mentioned the

Brenda Starr, Reporter ''Brenda Starr, Reporter'' (often referred to simply as ''Brenda Starr'') is a comic strip about a glamorous, adventurous reporter. It was created in 1940 by Dale Messick for the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, and continued by others until 2011. ...

comic strip as one inspiration for her seeking a career in journalism.

Career

Schano was a model and Pittsburgh's first female weather presenter, before becoming a reporter and eventually news anchor in Pittsburgh television. She was the first solo primetime news anchorwoman in Pittsburgh, when she held that position from 1969 to 1974 at WIIC (

WPXI WPXI (channel 11) is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Cox Media Group. The station's offices and studios are located on Evergreen Road in the Summer Hill (Pittsburgh), Summer Hill ...

). She hosted several programs, including ''Face to Face'' (a weekly public affairs discussion), ''Good Day Pittsburgh'' (a daily magazine show), ''AgeWise Weekly'' and ''Live Well/Live Long'' (long-running wellness information programs for older viewers). She also had a longtime on-air presence on KQV radio. Schano served on the Greater Pittsburgh Commission for Women. She was a board member of the Civic Light Opera and the

Carnegie Science Center The Carnegie Science Center, soon to be The Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin Science Center, is one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is located in the Chateau neighborhood. It is located across the street from Acrisure ...

. In 2009, the Mid-Atlantic chapter of the

National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), also known as the National Television Academy until 2007, is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of televisio ...

presented Schano with a lifetime achievement Emmy. Other honors include five Golden Quills and a President's Award from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania, and a Love Award from the City of Pittsburgh. Schano was skeptical of the work of the

women's rights movement Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

in the 1970s, saying that she had not personally faced

gender discrimination Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is in ...

. However, she included some stories of gender discrimination in her memoir, ''Riding the Airwaves: The Life and Televised Times of Eleanor Schano'' (2006).

Personal life

Schano was married three times. She married her first husband, Warren Bentley Dana, in 1955; he died in 1969. Her second husband was sportscaster Edward B. Conway; he died in 1974. She married her third husband, judge John M. Feeney, in 1982; he died in 2011. Eleanor Schano was survived by two daughters when she died from complications of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

in November 2020, at age 88.

References

External links

* Charles "Teenie" Harris
"Julian Bond at Press Conference with Reporter Eleanor Schano in Background, University of Pittsburgh"
(February 1967), photograph in the collection of the

Carnegie Museum of Art The Carnegie Museum of Art is an art museum in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The museum was originally known as the Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute and was formerly located ...

.
Eleanor Schano hosting a 1988 discussion
about Allegheny County tax reassessment on WQED, from YouTube. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schano, Eleanor 1932 births 2020 deaths Journalists from Pittsburgh American women journalists American television news anchors Duquesne University alumni Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Pennsylvania