R.I.P.: Charles Bierbauer, From WKAP Allentown To CNN Reporter

Charles Bierbauger (1942-2025)

Charles Bierbauer, a distinguished journalist and former CNN correspondent, passed away at the age of 83 on Friday at his home in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, where he had been living in retirement. 

His family announced his death on Sunday, though no specific cause of death was provided.

Bierbauer had a remarkable career spanning several decades. He joined CNN in 1981, a year after the network’s inception, and served as its Pentagon correspondent from 1981 to 1984, senior White House correspondent from 1984 to 1993, and senior Washington, D.C. correspondent from 1993 to 2001.

During his tenure at CNN, he covered significant events, including the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, five presidential campaigns, the U.S. Supreme Court, and major international events like U.S.-Soviet summits from 1975 to 1992. He also hosted CNN’s “Newsmaker Saturday” for a decade and traveled with U.S. presidents to all 50 states and over 30 countries.

Career started at WKAP Allentown

Bierbauer retired from CNN in 2001 and later contributed to a Discovery Channel documentary on the September 11 attacks. His work earned him an Emmy for coverage of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Park bombing.

Before CNN, Bierbauer had an extensive international journalism career. He served as ABC News’ Moscow bureau chief and correspondent starting in 1978 and later as bureau chief in Bonn, Germany. He also worked in London, Bonn, and Vienna for Westinghouse Broadcasting, covering Eastern Europe during the Cold War. 

His reporting included notable incidents, such as being detained in Moscow’s Red Square while filming an anti-Soviet demonstration and being denounced by the Soviet press for “asking impertinent questions” during Muhammad Ali’s 1978 travels in the Soviet Union. In 1973, he won an Overseas Press Club Award for his coverage of the Yom Kippur War.

After retiring from journalism, Bierbauer became the first dean of the University of South Carolina’s College of Mass Communications and Information Studies (now the College of Information and Communications) in 2002, serving until 2017. During his tenure, he led a significant modernization effort, including a multimillion-dollar fundraising and renovation project that relocated the school to a state-of-the-art facility. 

He began his career as a radio reporter for WKAP in Allentown and later wrote for The Morning Call.