BAYLEY, Edwin (Richard) 1918-2002

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born August 24, 1918, in Chicago, IL; died October 27, 2002, in Green Bay, WI. Journalist, educator, administrator, and author. Bayley will be best remembered as the founding dean of the University of California at Berkeley's School of Journalism, as well as for his ardent criticism of the activities of U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy during the mid-twentieth century. He was a graduate of Lawrence College (now Lawrence University), where he earned his B.A. in English with honors, and he attended graduate courses at Yale University from 1940 to 1941. Bayley left school for his first reporting job with the Green Bay Press-Gazette, but with U.S. entry into World War II he joined the Navy as an ensign and fought in the Mediterranean and North Atlantic. After the war he returned to journalism as a reporter for the Milwaukee Journal, where he remained through the 1950s. His interest in politics as a reporter led to his being hired as chief of staff and executive secretary to Wisconsin Governor Gaylord Nelson and then as special assistant to President John F. Kennedy during the early 1960s. Bayley took on several administrative positions during the mid-to late 1960s, including director of information for the U.S. Agency for International Development and vice president of administration for National Educational Television, which was the precursor of the Public Broadcasting Service. In 1969 he was hired by the University of California at Berkeley to set up the university's School of Journalism, and it was there that he remained until his retirement in 1985, although he continued to give lectures and write. During his tenure as dean at Berkeley, Bayley was credited for making the journalism school one of the best in the country. Besides writing numerous articles for newspapers and journals, he was also notable for his book Joe McCarthy and the Press (1981) in which he criticized the media for the way they failed to fully investigate McCarthy's claims about alleged communists infiltrating the U.S. government. The book was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award, and it won the George Polk Award. Bayley was honored in 1985 with the Berkeley Citation and the 1986 Alumni Distinguished Service award from Lawrence University. His alma mater also gave him an honorary doctorate degree.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Los Angeles Times, October 30, 2002, p. B10.

New York Times, October 29, 2002, p. C20.

Washington Post, November 2, 2002, p. B7.