David Bloom
{{short description|American journalist}}
{{Other people|David Bloom}}
{{Infobox person
| name = David Bloom
| image = David Bloom NBC News.png
| birth_name = David Jerome Bloom
| birth_date = May 22, 1963
| birth_place = Edina, Minnesota, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2003|04|06|1963|05|22|mf=y}}
| death_place = Iraq
| death_cause = Pulmonary embolism from deep vein thrombosis
| years_active = 1988–2003
| alma mater = Pitzer College
| other_names =
| occupation = Television journalist
| relatives = James Bloom (sibling) and John Bloom (sibling)
}}
David Jerome Bloom (May 22, 1963 – April 6, 2003) was an American television journalist (co-anchor of Weekend Today and reporter) until his sudden death in 2003 after a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) became a pulmonary embolism at the age of 39.
Early life
David Bloom was born in Edina, Minnesota,{{cite news |last=Neuman |first=Johanna |date=7 April 2003 |title=David Bloom, 39; NBC Correspondent in Iraq (obituary) |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-apr-07-me-bloom7-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230501193738/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-apr-07-me-bloom7-story.html |archive-date=1 May 2023 |access-date=30 May 2025}} the son of Laura Jean (née Carmichael) and Harold James Bloom. He was 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 majored in political science.
In 1985, Bloom was ranked top in the nation for intercollegiate policy debate. He and his partner, Greg Mastel, were ranked the top debate team in the nation before entering the National Debate Tournament of 1985. They lost in quarter-finals to Loyola Marymount.
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 to 1989.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}
In 1989, Bloom joined NBC's WTVJ in Miami. He covered Hurricane Andrew and 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 received the Peabody Award and was awarded the Edward R. Murrow Award by the Radio-Television News Directors Association for his hurricane coverage.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}
In 1993, Bloom joined NBC News as correspondent in Chicago, Illinois, and moved to Los Angeles, California in 1995. Bloom covered the presidential campaigns of 1996 and 2000 for the network and in 1997 became NBC's White House correspondent. Former President Clinton said that Bloom's "integrity and good humor will be missed."
During his tenure with NBC, Bloom reported on major stories including presidential races, the September 11 attacks, the Washington-area sniper shootings, and the war in Bosnia. According to the late Tim Russert, former NBC Washington bureau chief, "You couldn't keep him away from a story. Whenever something was breaking, he wanted to be there."{{cite web | url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/world/iraq/2003-04-06-bloom_x.htm | title=NBC News' David Bloom dies in Iraq | work=USA Today | date=April 6, 2003 | agency=Associated Press | access-date=July 18, 2021}} In March 2000, Bloom became co-anchor of Weekend Today along with Soledad O'Brien, a position in which he served until his death.
Iraq reporting and death
File:Plaque at War correspondents Memorial Gathland State Park.jpg, Gathland State Park]]
On April 6, 2003, Bloom was traveling with the U.S. Third Infantry Division in Iraq while covering the Iraq War in a vehicle pegged after his name, the "Bloom Mobile." It was a Ford F250 4 wheel drive Flatbed truck retrofitted with live television and satellite transmission equipment so he could continuously broadcast reports as troops made their way toward Baghdad.[http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/19845/page5/ "You Don't Understand Our Audience"] Technology Review Reporting live, round-the-clock, as the American armored column fought north across the desert toward Baghdad, Bloom commented offhandedly on the cramped conditions, excessive heat and lack of sleep that came with the mission.[http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/spotlighthealth/2003-04-11-bloom_x.htm Kleber, Mick. "DVT: David Bloom's silent killer", USA Today, April 11, 2003] [https://web.archive.org/web/20050307021431/http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/04/06/sprj.irq.journalist.death/ CNN]
He had been on assignment in Iraq for several weeks when a blood clot in his leg (deep vein thrombosis) traveled to an artery in his lungs, causing a fatal pulmonary embolism.{{cite news|url=https://www.today.com/news/my-husband-should-be-living-today-wbna7074940|last=Bloom|first=Melanie|title='My husband should be living today'|work=Today|date=2005-03-03|access-date=2019-05-23}} "The clot in Bloom's leg was likely brought on by spending long days and nights cramped inside armored vehicles. One night he called Melanie from a satellite phone in the middle of the night, exposing himself to hostile fire just to get a few minutes outside of an armored tank because his legs had been cramping up."[http://www.today.com/allday/10-years-later-david-bloom-remembered-1B9239813 10 years later, David Bloom remembered] Scott Stump, Today, April 5, 2013
Personal life
Bloom was survived by his wife, Melanie, [https://web.archive.org/web/20070505031622/http://www.clotcare.com/clotcare/dvtstorymelaniebloom.aspx David Bloom's DVT Story: An Interview with David Bloom's Widow, Melanie Bloom] - ClotCare.com and three daughters: Nicole, Christine, and Ava. [https://web.archive.org/web/20040418234237/http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3079105/ NBC News] The Blooms were residents of Pound Ridge, New York at the time of his death. After his death, his widow began working with the Coalition to Prevent DVT{{cite web|url=http://www.preventdvt.org/coalition/diary/chapter2.aspx|title=From High-Energy to Hospitalized in Less Than a Week|last=Merli|first=Geno|date=February 2012|publisher=The Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis|access-date=November 27, 2012|archive-date=February 4, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204154343/http://www.preventdvt.org/coalition/diary/chapter2.aspx|url-status=dead}} and married Daniel McNulty in 2008.[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-doyle-palmer-/david-bloom_b_3018277.html Huffington Post: "10 Years Later — Melanie Bloom and Lee Woodruff Look Back"], April 4, 2013.
The David Bloom Award
In 2006 The National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters established an award to honor excellence in enterprise reporting. ABC World News Tonight co-anchor Bob Woodruff received the award in its first year.{{citation needed|date=August 2012}}
References
External links
- {{IMDb name|1222898}}
- {{Find a Grave|7332407}}
{{NBCWH}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloom, David}}
Category:American television reporters and correspondents
Category:People from Edina, Minnesota
Category:Television anchors from Miami
Category:Deaths from pulmonary embolism
Category:Pitzer College alumni
Category:Deaths from thrombosis