Erling H. Erlandson, CSUN Journalism Pioneer, Dies at 63

Erling H. Erlandson, who launched the journalism program at California State University, Northridge, died Saturday after a bout with cancer, the university announced Wednesday. He was 63.

A native of Seattle, Erlandson taught journalism at Cal State Fresno and USC before starting the journalism program at the Northridge campus in 1958.

Erlandson, of Northridge, was regarded as an authority on the Latin American media, and assisted Mexican newspaper editors for two decades in the transition to offset printing.

He also pioneered use of offset printing by West Coast college newspapers in 1961.

“He had to recruit faculty and students. He had to develop the program from zero,” CSUN journalism Prof. Kenneth S. Devol recalled Wednesday. “His enthusiasm and dedication opened up the eyes of students to the media beyond this country.”

In 1965, Erlandson was awarded a Fulbright lectureship to Chile, where he helped establish the first college newspaper in that country at Catholic University in Santiago.

He was named the outstanding senior college journalism educator in 1972 by the California Newspaper Publishers Assn.

Erlandson served as a part-time copy editor at the Los Angeles Times for 22 years and earlier worked for the Chicago Tribune and the New York Herald Tribune.

The CSUN department of journalism is accepting donations for a scholarship in Erlandson’s name.