Diane Bulger' s face often appeared in cut-away shots for television news when the event was a news conference.
Local cameramen jokingly called the broadcast journalist "the cut-away girl" because they relied on her profile so much to dress up drab footage. All she had to do was sit and take notes.
"In the 1970s, she'd be on TV almost every night," said her husband of 34 years, Bill Bulger, a former WSB news director and state Capitol reporter.
"Photographers would take shots of her to make the video more interesting," he said. "One thing I always remember was that she could light up a room just by walking in."
Mrs. Bulger was far more than a pretty face, though. She was a general assignment reporter for Atlanta's WSB Channel 2 and WQXI radio station as well as other locales.
Decades ago, Karen Keith and Mrs. Bulger were reporters at KTUL-TV, the ABC affiliate in Tulsa, Okla. The District 2 Tulsa County commissioner fondly recalls her colleague's zest to report the news accurately. She pursued stories with vigor and put interviewees at ease.
"She was very persistent and enthusiastic about her work," Mrs. Keith said. "And she didn't forget her friends."
On March 16, Diane Kennedy Bulger, of Roswell, entered Northside Hospital for minor surgery, but complications resulted in a 17-day stay in the intensive care unit. She died Friday at 60. A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at Northside Chapel Funeral Directors and Crematory in Roswell, which is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Bulger was born in Iowa City, Iowa, and grew up in Ann Arbor, Mich. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Michigan State University, then entered broadcast news. Besides Atlanta and Tulsa, she worked as a reporter in Lansing, Mich., and Washington, D.C.
As a journalist, she reported on major events, did feature stories and interviewed politicians, stars and everyday people. While a Channel 2 weekend reporter, she was the first TV journalist on the scene in 1977 when the Kelly Barnes Dam broke above Toccoa Falls Bible College, killing 39 people.
Notable celebrities and politicians she interviewed include President Gerald Ford, rock star Rod Stewart and actor John Wayne.
"She was very knowledgeable about a wide range of issues and popular culture," her husband said. "She put people at ease; that was her best talent as a reporter. She was not just a pretty TV face."
Mrs. Bulger left the profession around the time her daughter, Michelle, was born. She wanted a more manageable 9-to-5 gig.
After journalism, Mrs. Bulger spent 25 years with Travelport, an international corporate travel company, often traveling abroad to train call-center operators.
Additional survivors include her daughter, Michelle Bulger of Atlanta; brothers, David Kennedy of San Francisco and Robert Kennedy of Tulsa; and a sister, Candace Gottschall of Pittsburgh.
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