ABEL, ELIE

ABEL, ELIE (1920–2004), U.S. journalist. Born in Montreal, Canada, Abel received a bachelor's degree from McGill University and a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University (New York) in 1942. He began his career in journalism at the Windsor, Ontario, Daily Star and at the Montreal Gazette. During World War II he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Abel was correspondent in Europe for the North American Newspaper Alliance and also worked for the Overseas News Agency. In 1949, he joined the New York Times and served for ten years in Washington, Detroit, Europe, and India. In 1961, he moved into broadcasting, becoming a regular correspondent on the NBC evening news program The Huntley-Brinkley Report. During the 1960s, he covered the State Department and served as the network's London bureau chief and chief diplomatic correspondent. After working with the Detroit News and NBC, he was named dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia (1969–79). He then moved to Stanford University (1979–91), serving as chairman of the Communications Department from 1983 to 1986. He also served as Faculty Senate chair (1985–86) and directed the university's program in Washington, D.C. (1993). Among his many accolades, Abel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize (1958), a Peabody Award (1967), and two Overseas Press Club awards (1969 and 1970). In 1998 he received the Grand Prize for Press Freedom of the Inter-American Press Association for his efforts to fight proposed regulation of journalists. Abel wrote many books, articles, and reviews. His first book, Missile Crisis, appeared in 1966 and was considered the definitive text on the Cuban crisis for decades after its publication. Abel is quoted as saying, "How close we came to Armageddon I did not fully realize until I started researching this book." Roots of Involvement: The U.S. in Asia 1784–1971, which he wrote with marvin kalb , was published in 1971. His book about Averell Harriman, Special Envoy to Churchill and Stalin, 1941–1946, which he co-authored with Harriman, was published in 1975. Abel's last book, The Shattered Bloc: Behind the Upheaval in Eastern Europe, was published in 1990. (Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)