Bruce Morton, former political correspondent for CBS and CNN, died of cancer Friday at his home in Washington. He was 83.
Morton was a long-time correspondent and anchor for CBS News who covered the Vietnam War for the network and was one of CBS's prominent faces and voices in space program coverage.
Morton also worked for CNN from 1993 to 2006 as a political correspondent, after 29 years with CBS.
"All of us who worked with Bruce knew him to be a reporter’s reporter; a man who cared deeply about journalism, politics and people," said CNN D.C. Bureau Chief Sam Feist. "When Bruce retired from CNN in 2006, Wolf Blitzer ended his Situation Room broadcast by saying, 'Bruce brings something very special to television journalism, a truly unique voice, smart and wry, with a perspective you could only get by covering politics for five decades.'
At CBS, Morton was a member of the Washington bureau in the 1970's, where he provided Emmy-winning coverage of Watergate, one of six Emmys he won while at the network, including one for his coverage of the court martial of Lt. William, Calley for the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam.
Morton was named co-anchor of the CBS Morning News in 1975. He was also a fixture of election coverage.
“Bruce and I covered the [George] McGovern campaign together in 1972," said CBS News chief Washington correspondent and Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer told B&C/MultiChannel News. "He had a terrific ear for good quotes and was one of the fastest writers I ever knew. A real pro.“
Morton joined CBS in 1964 as a reporter in the Washington bureau, and was named a correspondent in 1966, when he was sent to the Saigon vureau and covered the war for a year.
Before CBS, Morton was a reporter for ABC News and a correspondent for News Associated and Radio Press. He began his news career while still a student at Harvard, and went on to report and edit in local TV in Pittsburgh and New York.
Morton is survived by his daughter, Sarah, and son, Alec.
