Container Top
Search

Events Calendar

EVENT SEARCH:

In This Section


Most Read Stories


Blogs:


First Bell - On Education:
A few words from Uncle Walt

Pets:
Pet telethon re-airs

The Heldenfiles:
Chipmunks "Squeakquel" on DVD/BD March 30

Akron Zips:
Late surge gives Zips ugly road win

Tribe Matters:
Blogmail response on Hafner

Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth's contract terminated

Balanced Ledger:
QB in Browns future: another mock draft

Kent State Sports:
KSU Notes – February 9

Cleveland Cavaliers:
NBA Power Rankings from Around the Internet

Buckeye Blogging:
Buckeyes grab 18 players on signing day

Varsity Letters:
Garfield at Buchtel basketball

All Da King's Men:
Palin At The Tea Party Convention

Blog of Mass Destruction:
What "We Now Know"

Akron Law Café:
Citizens United v. F.E.C. (Part 4): Kennedy's and O'Connor's Basic Approaches to Constitutional Decisionmaking – Top Down and Bottom Up

Car Chase:
Collector Car Hobby Loses One of the Best—Jim Roll

Let's Talk Real Estate:
Decisions Decisions: Credit Cards or Your Mortgage?

Ohio Travels with Betty:
Loucile is looking for a Lake Erie getaway in June for three kids, ages 1, 3, and 5.

Sound Check:
Talk of the Town – Top entertainment picks for the weekend

HRLite House:
Track HR Research

Akron Gamer:
'Tecmo Bowl' recreation of Super Bowl XLIV

See Jane Style:
Do IT this week: Layering

Broadcaster Allen Saunders dead at 84

Veteran of Akron radio the first voice of CNN when cable network went on the air in 1980

By Jim Carney
Beacon Journal staff writer

Allen Saunders was the first voice of CNN.

Born Alvin L. Steinwedel but known professionally as Allen ''Al'' Saunders, he was a well-known fixture in Akron radio for nearly two decades.

His rich, deep voice was used for CNN identifications and promos when the all-news cable network was founded in 1980.

Mr. Steinwedel, 84, died Tuesday at Akron City Hospital following a brief illness.

A native of Baltimore, Md., he came to Akron in 1961 as vice president and general manager at WHLO Radio and Susquehanna Broadcasting.

David A. Lieberth, Akron's deputy mayor for administration, worked with him for many years in the newsroom and was news director of WHLO.

''Al had an astonishing array of talent,'' Lieberth said. ''He could write as well as anyone in our newsroom. He had the 'voice of God' that got CNN off the ground.''

Lieberth said Mr. Steinwedel ''moved easily among people of all walks of life.''

''He inspired the performances of dozens of talented people whom he had the wisdom to hire and the skill to manage,'' Lieberth said.

There were days, Lieberth said, ''when his radio station was the best in the United States.''

Bill Jasso, who worked in the newsroom at WHLO for many years, called Mr. Steinwedel, ''a father figure to all of us'' at the radio station.

''As a young man in his first professional job, he showed an example of what 'class' is, which is in short supply today,'' said Jasso, who's now the vice president of government and media relations for Time Warner Cable in Akron.

An Army veteran of World War II, Mr. Steinwedel served in the Aleutian Islands, where he played trumpet in the Service Forces Band.

As Al Saunders, he worked at WHLO from 1961 to 1978 and then moved to Atlanta, where he worked with WRMM and did CNN work.

He was inducted into the Akron Radio Hall of Fame in 1984.

His daughter, Karen Adsit, of Atlanta, said her father ''touched a lot of lives'' in his lifetime.

''He was a very warm individual with a wonderful sense of humor,'' she said. ''He loved to make you smile.''

He was a woodworker in his spare time and made furniture for his daughters and grandchildren over the years, Adsit said.

But what he loved most, she said, was working in radio.

During his time in Akron, she said, he was most proud of putting together a sizable newsroom at WHLO.

''A lot of people he worked with stayed in the business,'' she said.

It took a big voice to replace him at CNN, Adsit said.

The second voice of CNN was that of actor James Earl Jones.

Mr. Steinwedel had lived at Rockynol Retirement Community for the last 10 years.

A private interment will take place at Chestnut Hill Memorial Park in Cuyahoga Falls.

A memorial service will be held for Mr. Steinwedel through the Billow Funeral Home Fairlawn Chapel at a later date.


Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.

Allen Saunders was the first voice of CNN.

Get the full article here.



Story tools

Email  Email   Print  Print   Save  Save   Reprint  Reprint   Popular  Most Popular   Reprint  Subscribe

Share this story

AddThis Social Bookmark Button














Most Commented Stories