Dana R. Bullen, 75, foreign editor of The Washington Star when it closed in 1981 and then executive director of the World Press Freedom Committee for 15 years, died Monday, June 25 of cancer at his home in Alexandria.
During 21 years at The Star, among other positions Bullen also was U.S. Supreme Court reporter, U.S. Senate reporter, covered the 1968 presidential campaign, wrote a weekly syndicated column on constitutional law and was an assistant news editor. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 1966-67.
Dana Ripley Bullen II was born in Boston, Mass., on Aug. 6, 1931. He attended Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., and earned journalism and law degrees at the University of Florida. Following active duty as a lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps, he came to the Washington area in 1958, joining The Star the next year after working for a suburban paper. During the time he covered the Supreme Court for "The Star," he was believed to be the first reporter with this beat who also had been admitted to practice before the court.
In later years, as executive director of the World Press Freedom Committee, Bullen represented it at U.N., intergovernmental and related conferences, spoke and wrote widely, produced books, studies and other materials and organized or co-organized numerous international meetings on press freedom issues.
Bullen retired as WPFC executive director in 1996, but remained an adviser to the group for a further 10 years during which press freedom on the Internet became a major concern. Among citations, Bullen twice received the American Bar Association's Silver Gavel Award for his coverage of the Supreme Court and the law, and in 2000 was awarded the Inter American Press Association's Chapultepec Grand Prize in recognition of his work for press freedom.
Survivors include his wife, Joyce Cornell Bullen of Alexandria; a brother, Pierce K. Bullen, of Washington, D.C., a niece and three nephews. Contributions may be made in his name to World Press Freedom Committee, 11690-C Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 20191.