David Bloom

For other people named David Bloom, see David Bloom (disambiguation).

David Bloom (May 22, 1963 – April 6, 2003) was an NBC journalist (co-anchor of Weekend Today and reporter) until his sudden death in 2003 at the age of 39 from deep vein thrombosis (DVT). His name is honored every year in the form of the The David Bloom Award, established by the Radio & Television Association to honor excellence in reporting.

Early and personal life

David Bloom was born in Edina, Minnesota, an avid ice hockey player and state champion in high school debating in the National Forensic League. Bloom attended Pitzer College in Claremont, California, from 1981 to 1985 where he was a national debate champion. He majored in Political Science.

Bloom considered his most passionate role that of the family man, and was survived by his wife, Melanie, and three daughters: Nicole, Christine, and Ava. The Blooms were residents of Pound Ridge, New York, at the time of his death. Melanie Bloom now works with the Coalition to Prevent DVT.

Professional career

He began his television career at WKBT-TV in La Crosse, Wisconsin, covering local government stories. Bloom worked as a general assignment reporter at KWCH-TV in Wichita, Kansas, from 1988–1989

From 1989 until 1991 Bloom worked at WPBF in West Palm Beach before going onto WTVJ in Miami. His coverage of Hurricane Andrew, the storm that devastated south Florida, showed Bloom in his element — in the middle of the big story. While reporting the aftermath he chased off would-be looters. In 1991, he won a regional Emmy for investigative journalism for his report on South Florida's role in the shipment of arms to Iraq. He won both the Peabody Award and the RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award for his hurricane coverage.

In 1993, Bloom joined NBC News as correspondent in Chicago, Illinois, and moved to Los Angeles, California in 1995. Bloom later became NBC's White House correspondent. In 1999, Bloom was named co-anchor of Weekend Today along with Soledad O'Brien, a position he served until his death.

Iraq reporting and death

He will be remembered for his creation of the "Bloom Mobile," an Army tank recovery vehicle retrofitted by Miramar, Florida-based company Maritime Telecommunications Network, with live television and satellite transmission equipment so he could continuously broadcast reports as troops made their way toward Baghdad.^[1]

Bloom was traveling with the U.S. Third Infantry Division in Iraq when he suddenly died due to deep vein thrombosis and a pulmonary embolism. ^[2] The David Bloom Award was established by the Radio & Television Association in 2006 to honor excellence in enterprise reporting. ABC World News Tonight co-anchor Bob Woodruff received the award in its first year.

References

1. ^ Technology Review: "You Don't Understand Our Audience"
2. ^ ‘My husband should be living today’: Melanie Bloom, the widow of former NBC correspondent David Bloom, on preventing the often-silent killer DVT March 3, 2005]

External links

• David Bloom at the Internet Movie Database
• http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/04/06/sprj.irq.journalist.death/
• http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3079105/
• http://www.preventdvt.org/
• David Bloom's DVT Story: An Interview with David's Widow Melanie Bloom - ClotCare.com

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Name	Bloom, David
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Date of birth	May 22, 1963
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Date of death	April 6, 2003
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