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VOICE ONE:
I’m Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA SpecialEnglish. Today, we tell the story of Edward R. Murrow, a famousradio and television broadcaster. He helped create and developmodern news broadcasting.
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VOICE ONE:
Egbert Roscoe Murrow was born innineteen-oh-eight in the state of North Carolina. His parents livedon a farm in an area called Polecat Creek. The Murrows were membersof the Quakers, a religious group known for its humanitarianactivities and opposition to war. When he was a boy, the Murrowfamily moved across the country. They settled in the western stateof Washington, near the border with Canada.
VOICE TWO:
In college, Egbert Murrow changed his name to Edward. Hecompleted his college education at Washington State College innineteen-thirty. Edward was active in college politics. He served aspresident of the National Student Federation. He organized debatesand other events for the student organization. He also traveledthroughout the United States and Europe.
Ed Murrow joined the Institute of International Education innineteen-thirty-two. He served as assistant director of the group.During this period, he married a young woman he had met at a studentconference. Her name was Janet Brewster. They later had one child, ason.
VOICE ONE:
Edward R. Murrow accepted a job with the Columbia BroadcastingSystem in nineteen-thirty-five. His job was to get famous people tospeak on CBS radio programs. Two years later, Murrow was nameddirector of the CBS European office and moved to London, England.His job was to get European officials and experts to providecomments for CBS broadcasts. Murrow was twenty-nine years old andthe company’s only representative in Europe.
VOICE TWO:
The situation in Europe was becoming tense. Adolf Hitler and hisNazi party had come to power in Germany. Up until that time, radionews in the United States was mostly opinions, or commentary. CBSofficials were concerned about permitting news broadcasts byreporters.
Murrow offered a job to William L. Shirer, a newspaper reporter.The two men wanted to do something different. They wanted to presentradio reports about what they had seen and heard.
In March, nineteen-thirty-eight, the two men made radiobroadcasting history. They produced a thirty-minute broadcast toreport on the seizure of Austria by Nazi Germany. That meant gettingpeople in Berlin and other European capitals to comment on the newsstory.
Murrow traveled to Vienna to report on Nazi forces entering theAustrian capital. The broadcast also included reports from London,Berlin, Paris, France and Rome, Italy. It was a huge success.
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VOICE ONE:
Murrow returned to London and continued his broadcasts as WorldWar Two started. He opened the reports with the words, “This isLondon.” Murrow was an excellent reporter who chose his words withgreat skill. His reports seemed to bring the war home to Americans.
For example, he described the Battle of Britain as he saw andexperienced it. In some of his reports, listeners could hear thesound of bomb explosions or air raid warnings. Once, Murrowbroadcast from the top of a building and described what he saw. Hereis part of one report from August thirty-first,nineteen-thirty-nine. Murrow describes plans by British officials tomove children away from coastal areas:
((EDWARD R. MURROW :21))
“School children will be taken by their teachers to homes insafer districts where they will be housed by people who have alreadyoffered to receive them and look after them. All parents of schoolchildren are strongly urged to let their children go. Parents willbe told where their children are as soon as they reach their newhomes.”
VOICE TWO:
Murrow organized a team of reporters whose names would becomewell known to American listeners. They included Charles Collingwood,Robert Trout, Eric Severeid, and Howard K. Smith. The team hadeleven members. They were called “the Murrow boys.” They reportednews from the major European capitals. Their reports were heard onthe CBS radio program “World News Roundup.” These men establishedthe traditions of broadcast journalism.
Most of the reporters had worked for newspapers or magazines.They had learned to work quickly and clearly, much-needed qualitiesin radio. The Murrow boys were to have a powerful effect on Americanbroadcasting for years to come.
Edward R. Murrow took his listeners places they had never been.He let them experience things they could not imagine. For example,after World War Two, he was among the first Allied reporters tovisit the Buchenwald prison camp operated by the Nazis in Germanyduring the war. This is how he described the prisoners there:
(EDWARD R. MURROW:23)
“As we walked into the courtyard, a man fell dead. Two others,they must have been over sixty, were crawling toward the latrine. Isaw it, but will not describe it. In another part of the camp, theyshowed me the children, hundreds of them. Some were only six. Onerolled up his sleeve and showed me his number. It was tattooed onhis arm.”
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VOICE ONE:
Murrow was famous when he returned home to the United Statesafter the war. His work in Europe guaranteed him a place in thehistory of news reporting. He was appointed vice president of Newsat CBS in nineteen-forty-six. However, he resigned from the positionthe following year and returned to broadcasting.
Murrow recorded a series of record albums with a producer, FredFriendly. The series was called “I Can Hear It Now.” These programspresented historical events through recordings of speeches and newsbroadcasts. Later, Murrow and Friendly developed a similar weeklyradio show. It was called “Hear It Now.”
VOICE TWO:
In the United States, the rise of television in thenineteen-fifties ended the period called the Golden Age of RadioBroadcasting. Most of the popular shows disappeared from radio. Moreand more people started watching television. So Ed Murrow and hisboys moved to television. He joined with Fred Friendly to create theseries “See It Now.” This show lasted from nineteen-fifty-one tonineteen-fifty-eight. The first “See It Now” showed the firsttelevision pictures broadcast from both coasts. It showed theBrooklyn Bridge in New York City and the Golden Gate Bridge in SanFrancisco, California.
In one program, “See It Now” examined accusations made by SenatorJoseph McCarthy. He had accused government officials of beingsupporters or members of the Communist Party. The program showedthat Senator McCarthy had no real evidence for the accusations. Somepeople say the program helped to end the senator’s hunt forCommunists. Experts say the program was important in the history oftelevision.
Other broadcasts on “See It Now” concerned important issues ofrace, war and government dishonesty.
VOICE ONE:
Murrow also started another television show called “Person toPerson.” He spoke with famous people in their homes. One programvisited Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of former President Franklin D.Roosevelt. The show also visited actress Marilyn Monroe, actorMarlon Brando and Senator John F. Kennedy.
Ed Murrow also produced a number of special investigativeprograms for CBS. One such program was called “Harvest of Shame.” Itshowed the hard lives and poor living conditions of farm workers whomove from place to place. Some people say this broadcast was sopowerful that it influenced American lawmakers to pass measures toprotect these migrant workers.
VOICE TWO:
Murrow’s reporting and choice of subjects often led to disputeswith his supervisors at CBS. After John F.Kennedy was electedpresident, he asked the newsman to lead the United StatesInformation Agency. Murrow served as the agency’s director fromnineteen-sixty-one to nineteen-sixty-four. Then, he retired from thejob. Murrow was sick with lung cancer. He had smoked cigarettes formuch of his life. He died in nineteen-sixty-five at his farm inPawling, New York. He was fifty-seven years old.
By the time he died, Murrow had won all of the top awards givento reporters. He also received honors from five colleges. PresidentLyndon Johnson gave him the Medal of Freedom. That is the highesthonor a president can give to an American citizen.
Today, Edward R. Murrow is remembered for his influence onbroadcasting and the quality of his reporting. Former CBS chairmanWilliam Paley once said Murrow was a man made for his time and work.Paley called him a student, a thinker and, at heart, a poet ofmankind. As a result, he said, Murrow was a great reporter.
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VOICE ONE:
This program was written by George Grow. Lawan Davis was ourproducer. I’m Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. Join us again next week for PEOPLE INAMERICA in VOA Special English.