Background
The son of a shoemaker, he grew up in Fresno, California amid the same Armenian-American community that produced Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright William Saroyan.
The son of a shoemaker, he grew up in Fresno, California amid the same Armenian-American community that produced Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright William Saroyan.
Tatarian graduated from Fresno State College in 1938 with a degree in political science.
Tatarian"s family came to the United States from Bitlis, Turkey. At Longfellow Junior High School, Tatarian"s English teacher asked him to write for the school paper, the Longfellow Poet. He became sports editor and set his sights on a career in journalism.
He went to work for United Press International that same year and became a war correspondent during World World War World War II His career as a news reporter and editor took him to farflung outposts.
Over 34 years with United Press International, he worked his way up through the organization, becoming general news manager for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Bureau chief in both London and Rome.
And news editor in Washington, District of Columbia (During his residency in Rome he became fluent in Italian) Tatarian eventually became the top editor of the news service, which at the time was a rival to the Associated Press. Tatarian served as a Pulitzer Prize nomination juror in 1960, 1961, and 1985.
Awards and honors included the Elijah Parrish Lovejoy Award, a special citation by Ohio University, and an honorary doctorate in law from Colby College in Maine in 1980.
He was named a fellow of the Society of Professional Journalists-Sigma Delta Chi in 1972 and was among the first group inducted to the Hall of Fame of the society"s New York chapter. After his retirement from United Press International, Tatarian returned to his hometown and joined the journalism faculty of California State University, Fresno. He also served as a writing coach and consultant to newspapers, notably the hometown Fresno Bee.
He wrote a regular column for the paper and delivered commentary on local public television
He also served as advisor to various local and state governmental boards. Tatarian was especially well known for reaching out to talented young news professionals with advice and encouragement.
Tatarian wrote Day of Mourning, Day of Shame, a collection of essays published by Word Dancer Press. Their only child, son Allan Tatarian (1941-2007), was a longtime Fresno radio personality, also known by the on-air name Allan Rogers.
