Dick Leonard’s radio news career began in his native Denver. In 1952, he arrived in San Francisco to take a newscasting job at KNBC (later KNBR). In 1954, he joined the staff at KCBS and would become well-known for carrying a 22-pound tape recorder into the field, marking the arrival of mobile audio journalism in the Bay Area.
Leonard covered a wide variety of stories for KCBS and later for KGO, where he spent the last years of his long career. He served as News Director at both KCBS and KGO.
He was a regular winner of awards from the Associated Press, United Press International and the San Francisco Press Club. He was also the first recipient of the professional achievement award of the Northern California Chapter of Sigma Delta Chi.
Leonard died in 2001 at age 81.