Customer Reviews

Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism (Turning Points in History)

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I wasn't born till long after Edward R. Murrow passed away, so I hadn't considered reading this book till I heard Bob Edwards give a interview/talk about Murrow on the Atlanta stop of his book tour. The best way to sum up this fascinating book is with a quote from Bob Edwards the author, himself -- "Most Americans living today never heard Ed Murrow in a live broadcast. This book is for them. I want them to know that broadcast journalism was established by someone with the highest standards. Tabloid crime stories, so much a part of the lust for ratings by today's news broadcasters held no interest for Murrow. He did like Hollywood celebrities; they had no place on his news programs. My book is focused on this life in journalism. I offer it in the hope that more people in and out of the news business will get to know Ed Murrow. Perhaps in time the descent from Murrow's principles can be reversed." - Bob Edwards

Even if you aren't interested in the subject of the history of broadcast journalism, or if you've never heard of Murrow, you will still find this book a fascinating read. You can listen to an audio recording of Mr. Edwards' amazing hour-long interview on NPR.org which also includes audio samples of Murrow's historic broadcasts. Bob Edwards uses transcrips from Murrow's broadcasts in his book so you can get a sense of what Murrow's voice was as he reported on some of the most important events in recent history. A truely engrossing and, paralleled with the 'standards' of today's journalism, enlightening read.

What a timely book, what with CBS mired in a controversy that seems connected with wanting to make news rather than report news.

Murrow was simply the best at reporting the news and in informing the reader and viewer of problems which in turn empowered the viewer to be more of a participant in their government, community and world. This is such a great book if only because it speaks to the value of honesty, integrity and ethics. Three elements missing in today's network 'news' that seems geared more to ratings and money than public service via the public air waves.

Bob Edwards was such a favorite of mine when he was on NPR which alas seems to be wanting to follow the failed path of the three alphabet networks. Edwards is a rare breed because like Murrow and even Cronkite he came across as trusting the listener to use their own brain to think and reason, rather than in need of a substituted brain on half power.

Shy 200 pages I do wish it had been another hundred pages longer. Also read World War II on the Air: Edward R. Murrow and the Broadcasts That Riveted a Nation. Suggest that the powers that be at CBS also read these two books.

I am too young to have heard the eloquent broadcasts of Edward R. Murrow. But that does not lessen my appreciation of him.

In my office hangs a Murrow poster: a Museum of Broadcasting photo of him with the ever present cigarette dangling from his fingertips.
From my father's album collection, I inherited one of the "I Can Hear It Now" LPs, and I have listened to it many times. In my video
collection, I own the very first "See It Now" broadcast Murrow did for CBS, which includes a very young Don Hewitt in the control room.

Up until recently, it was not possible to locate any of Murrow's original broadcasts, but that has recently changed.
For those who teach and want to add a valuable resource to your collection, I recommend: World War II on the Air: Edward R. Murrow and the
Broadcasts That Riveted a Nation, a book/CD compilation.

Aside from the poster, LP, and videotape, I have the comprehensive biography of Murrow written by Joseph Persico and a copy of "See It Now,"
a book that combines images and text from some of the best of those CBS News broadcasts of the 1950s ( including The Case of
Lieutenant Milo Radulovich).

This spring (2004) I came across Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism a concise book by former
National Public Radio host Bob Edwards. The book begins by quoting from the World War II broadcast which many will agree is
Murrow's most famous from atop a building in London as German bombers approached.

The poet Archibald MacLeish paid tribute to Murrow saying: " You burned the city of London in our houses and we felt the flames that
burned it. You laid the dead of London at our doors and we knew that the dead were our dead....were mankind's dead...."

Edwards admires Murrow and this revealing book is a loving tribute to the man who created modern day broadcast journalism. It was
Murrow who was brought up to love language; who attracted the best and brightest journalists of their time to help deliver the riveting news
from Europe, Asia and Africa to the US; and who fought the establishment when he saw radio and television heading down the path to trivialization and trash.

Edwards allows us to know Murrow the man as well as the journalist. The readers of this book will revel in the words of the man who painted
pictures with his writing. This is a book for every student of history and every one of us who is fond of news. It will remind you how good news
used to be and how it might be again, if the industry would focus on what really matters: objective reporting.

I probably wouldn't have read this book if it hadn't been written by Bob Edwards. (I have a three foot pile of unread books. It used to be four feet, but I slowed my buying rate until I get caught up.)
Not reading it would have been a mistake.
This is a very readable, well written book. (I was actually through with the first chapter by the time it was my turn to get my book signed.) All of book in this series (Turning Point) are short and intended to be quick reads. Even though it is short, the book gives a good picture of the key events that shaped broadcast journalism today. It's surprising how many of the key people in television news well into the 1980's (and to a lesser extent, even to today) got their start with Ed Murrow.
For me, this book fills in the background to the TV news of my earliest memories. It explains how broadcast journalism got from the days of live radio relayed by short wave to the era of instant satellite transmissions around the world.
This book is definitely worth reading.

Although I grew up with parents and teachers extolling the legacy of Murrow, I never experienced his live broadcasts. EDWARD R. MURROW AND THE BIRTH OF BROADCAST JOURNALISM brings home the man and his achievements. He was one of those rare forces who through the combination of personality, knowledge and will became an agent of change. Had Murrow, whose career aspirations were to be an educator, not come along with the notion that radio could do something other than convey live concerts and other entertainment, broadcast journalism might still be playing catch-up. Bob Edwards does a good job of portraying the state of the media from the 1930's into the 1960's, the period of Murrow's rise and, alas, decline. He may have brought the war in Europe live to Americans and, by letting the truth into every home, unmasked McCarthyism, but he was, in the end, no match for the corporate politics and ratings races that had infused broadcast journalism by the late 1950's.

Edwards packs a lot of information into a short text. He often races through the years, providing close-ups of critical times or telling tales of the Murrow persona. Sometimes though, he just stands aside and lets Murrow speak through transcripts of his speeches or broadcasts. In his own words the genius of the man shines through. This book has legs, but it has special resonance as I write, given the fresh loss of Peter Jennings and recent retirements of Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather. At its best, Edwards' book inspires the desire to read more detailed accounts of Murrow and his world.

Edward R. Murrow is to broadcasting news just as Red Barber is to broadcasting baseball. The book is at once a brief history of a new and quicker way of delivering news to people during a critical time in the world's history in addition to profiles of other Murrow Boys such as Howard K. Smith, Richard C. Hottelet, William Shirer, Eric Sevareid, Charles Collingwood, and other members who reported on World War II. Murrow's vivid descriptions of The Battle of Britian during August and September of 1940, and the Buchenwald death camp in 1945 showcase him for what he is, a reporter. Murrow and Bill Shirer had a falling out which Murrow later wanted to patch up, but Shirer would change the subject. Shirer felt Murrow was jealous that his book The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich outsold Murrow's This Is London, while Murrow felt Shirer had grown complacent in his broadcasts. CBS boss William Paley released Shirer from employment. It's sad that two Giants who reported on World War II had this unfortunate falling out. The book is only 166 pages long, and is certainly worth your time.

Bob Edwards' biography of Edward R Murrow is more than the interesting and well-written story of the life of this intriguing man. It is also a thoughtful look at the process by which broadcast news grew from empty entertainment to a window on the world's events that previous generations could never have imagined. In only 160 pages, we get a remarkably full view of what Murrow wanted to accomplish, the struggles he faced in trying to get there, and some of the disappointment Murrow faced at the end of his career, as the excellence and intellectual honesty he had brought to his broadcasts began to be eroded by corporate bureaucrats with lower intellectual standards and an eye only for the bottom line.

On the back of the book jacket, Edwards refers to Murrow as "someone with the highest standards. Tabloid crime stories, so much a part of the lust for ratings by today's news broadcasters, held no interest for Murrow ... I offer [this book] in the hope that more people in and out of the news business will get to know Ed Murrow. Perhaps in time the descent from Murrow's principles can be reversed."

There is real irony in those words, for, no sooner had this book been published, then the corporate bureaucrats at National Public Radio summarily fired Edwards as anchor of their flagship news show, "Morning Edition," which he had built over 25 years into the most-listened-to news show in radio broadcast history. The lame explanations about "natural evolution" of the show made no sense to most listeners, and "Morning Edition," which Edwards nurtured for a quarter century, is vastly less interesting without him. It hasn't descended to tabloid crime stories yet, but there are far more silly, feel-good puff pieces, and less rigorous news coverage and analysis than when Edwards sat in the anchor chair.

Ed Murrow's departure from CBS left Walter Cronkite as the nation's pre-eminent broadcast journalist, and Cronkite was a giant. But, with a few exceptions, broadcast journalism has suffered in the twenty years since Cronkite's retirement. Now, with Tom Brokaw's impending retirement from NBC, and Bob Edwards' departure from NPR's Morning Edition, we the audience may be in for more and more empty "infotainment," and less and less news coverage that lives up to Ed Murrow's high standards. The light that Bob Edwards' little gem of a book has shined on Ed Murrow's life will at least help us to understand what we're losing, and just might help kindle a demand for a return to the kind of journalism that can nurture and sustain our democracy instead of titillating, or simply pandering to the lowest common denominator.

Bill Moyers is quoted as saying of this book, "Get it, read it, and pass it on." I heartily agree.

Bob Edwards' biography of Edward R. Murrow is by no means comprehensive, but considering the restricted format of the Turning Points in History series, Edwards did a very good job hitting the high points of the life of the man responsible for establishing radio and TV news.

Edwards recounts all the notable moments--sprinkled liberally with quotes from Murrow's broadcasts and speeches--of Murrow's career, including his coverage of the development of WWII in Europe and the Blitz of London, and in later years, his crusade against Senator Joe McCarthy's red-baiting efforts for rooting out Communists. The book is very interesting and well-written, and includes bits of information about all the men (and women) whose careers Murrow shaped. Edwards' respect for Murrow is evident throughout the book; he gushes at times, though is not afraid to point out the times when Murrow may have erred in judgment.

Considering that one probably couldn't write a complete biography of a regular person in 160 pages, let alone the man responsible for the development of modern broadcast news, Edwards performed admirably in this effort. He covers all the high points of Murrow's career, and more importantly, explains why Murrow was so important, and shows the influence he still has on modern media.

This is a fantastic biography on the life of Edward R. Murrow, written by one of my all-time favorite radio personalities, Bob Edwards. Edwards brings Murrow to life in this book, with stories that show the highs and lows of Murrow's career through WWII , the McCarthy era, and other key historical moments. Edwards makes the point that Murrow's legendary influence on broadcasting and media should not be forgotten, especially with some of the dilemmas we see in today's media world. This is a super read and would make a great gift, especially for anyone who's interested in the history of broadcasting or journalism.

I remember Edward R. Murrow for two reasons: the reports from London during the blitz (which I only remember from more recent re-broadcasts as I was too little), and the 1953 broadcast that finally started the collapse of Senator Joseph McCarthy and one of the more shameful eras in our time which I saw live.

Making the change from radio to television, Murrow was one of the pioneers that attempted to develop the full potential of television to shape our lives. Remember this was an era before Sesame Street tought us that a few seconds of attention span is all that's needed, before politicans learned that the few second sound bite was all that's going to get on the air.

This was a time when the news was considered important instead of just another aspect of the ratings game.