CARTERSVILLE, Ga., May 13 (UPI) -- Longtime UPI newsman Bill G. Ferguson died Tuesday following a long battle with cancer at his retirement home in Cartersville, Ga. He was 83.
Ferguson became the news agency's acting managing editor in 1986 and in November 1987 was named managing editor-national in a reorganization of UPI, assuming responsibility for the agency's national and regional news operations.
Ferguson joined United Press, now UPI, in 1950 in the Atlanta bureau where he served as Southern Division sports editor, night editor, Georgia state editor and legislative correspondent.
He joined UPI's broadcast division in 1957 when its headquarters was moved to Chicago. He became an editor and supervisory editor before being named national editor and manager of the department in 1967.
Ferguson was named vice president and executive broadcast editor of UPI on July 23, 1982.
Ferguson is credited with many of UPI's editorial innovations, including high-speed customized services, CustomNews for broadcasters and CustomData for newspapers. He also was one of the editorial planners of UPI's central computer system.
During his tenure as managing editor, Ferguson helped decentralize the editorial operations by creating three assistant managing editors to take responsibility for day-to-day and long-range coverage needs.
Chicago was his home, and his love. Even as managing editor, Ferguson lived in a small apartment near the wire service's Washington headquarters, and returned to Chicago once a month. His commuting continued for three years.
In early 1990, Ferguson sought to reverse his commute and began spending longer periods at his home in suburban Evanston, Ill., visiting the Washington headquarters once a month. In November, Ferguson left UPI.
After leaving UPI, Ferguson became an assistant professor in the journalism department of Columbia College in Chicago in 1992 and fully retired May 31, 2007. In 2003, he co-authored "UNIPRESS, United Press International Covering the 20th Century," with Richard M. Harnett.
He later moved to his vacation home in Cartersville, Ga.
Ferguson was born in Winchester, Ind., on March 1, 1926. He served as a gunner in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.
He and his wife Betty were the parents of four sons. One son, Matthew, died at the age of 20 in 1982 after a long fight against muscular dystrophy.
Funeral arrangements were pending.
