Louis Rukeyser: 1933 - 2006...

Louis Rukeyser has died.
If that name isn’t familiar to you it is understandable. Rukeyser made his life’s greatest successes in the niche area of television financial reporting, a world in which he was an unquestioned pioneer.
I remember when Louis was a national financial correspondent for ABC News in the late 60’s. I wasn’t aware of a parallel career he had as a financial writer for Tribune Media Services.
In early 1970 Rukeyser was approached by Maryland Public Television (MPT) to develop and host a financial show for PBS. The result was the show “Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser” which ran for 32 years on Friday evenings with him as its host. The only show ever running longer on national TV was CBS’s 60 minutes.
Like for many others my current interest in financial investments was kindled by watching Louis’s show in the mid 90’s. Rukeyser reportedly cautioned his guests to talk about “money” not economics. That formula worked for both the show and PBS which for many years relied on the strong contributions received from the show’s followers.
In 2002 Louis was dismissed by upstart management who thought he was too old. Two years after Rukeyser’s dismissal Wall Street Week was cancelled because its loyal watchers no longer tuned in.
Louis died of multiple myeloma, a rare cancer of the bone marrow, yesterday in Greenwich, Connecticut. He was 73.