H.L. Stevenson; Former Editor in Chief of UPI

H.L. Stevenson, 65, a former editor in chief of United Press International who oversaw the news service’s coverage of events from Watergate to space exploration. Stevenson, who joined United Press in 1953 as a reporter, became managing editor of the news service in 1965 and was appointed editor in chief and vice president in 1972, with overall responsibility for a worldwide staff of 1,000. For 11 years, he oversaw UPI’s coverage of stories ranging from the Vietnam War to Middle East tensions, Apollo moon landings to the energy crisis. In 1972 and 1978, he and other UPI executives visited China to press for the reopening of Western news bureaus there. Stevenson was made executive vice president-editorial in June, 1983. In 1984, he left UPI and later served as corporate editor of Chicago-based Crain Communications for six years. After UPI had operated at a loss for years, its parent, E.W. Scripps Co., finally sold the operation in 1982 for $1. After that it went through two bankruptcy reorganizations and four owners. In Stamford, Conn., on Thursday after a series of illnesses.