Bob Edwards’s Edward R. Murrow and The Birth of Broadcast Journalism is a meaningful biography on one of CBS’s stalwart broadcasters. "Egbert Roscoe Murrow was born on April 24, 1908, at Polecat Creek in Guilford Country, North Carolina." He lived in a log cabin that had no electricity, plumbing, or heat except for a fireplace that doubled as the cooking area. He and his family later settled in Seattle, some thirty miles from the Canadian border. Edward attended high school in the town of Edison, four miles south of Blanchard where he was active in the orchestra, the glee club, sang solos in operettas, played baseball and basketball, drove a school bus, and was president in his senior year of the student body.
English teacher Ruth Lawson was his mentor and convinced him to join the debating team. After graduating from high school Ed spent the next year working in the timber industry. Soon he followed his brothers’ footsteps and enrolled at Washington State College in Pullam. There he learned to express his feelings about the meaning of words, and he became a star pupil. Ed Murrow conquered Washington State having excelled as an actor and debater, and served as ROTC cadet colonel, becoming not only the president of the student body, but also head of the Pacific Student Presidents Association. His class of 1930 was about to join the workforce during the Great Depression.
Soon Ed was off to New York City to run the national office of the National Student Federation Association (NSFA). He cocreated and supplied guests for the University of the Air for CBS. Dr, Stephen Duggan served as advisor to NSFA, and was director of the Institute of International Education (IIE). In 1932 he hired Ed Murrow as his assistant. Ed’s involvement with speakers in America and overseas brought him to the attention of Ed Klauber of CBS, who hired him. His first assignment would be in Europe, so he set sail for England.
It was while in Europe during the war years that Ed R. Murrow became famous. He is known for broadcasting war news, hiring an excellent staff away from the wire services, and initiating hookups with newsmen that were reporting from European capitals. It should be remembered that American broadcasting was still in its embryonic stage. NBC and CBS mainly broadcast entertainment, music, and talk shows. But it was Murrow who was the first to introduce Americans, and the world to live news broadcasts about Hitler’s adventurism on the European continent.
When Murrow was back in New York City at CBS, one of his more popular shows on TV was See It Now. He and producer Fred Friendly were responsible for the downfall of Joseph McCarthy who was perpetrating the Red Scare in America. By this time a number of innocent Americans had lost their jobs, suffered, and ridiculed. Another crowning achievement of Murrow was his documentary entitled Grapes of Wrath about migrant farm workers in the United States. For a little over three years Edward R. Murrow further worked as director of USIA. He died on April 25, 1965 at age fifty-seven years ( )

This is a deliberately short book addressing Murrow's influence on broadcast news and skimming over the details of his career and life, but it's a good, solid introduction to Murrow. It includes the text from some of his most famous broadcasts and speeches.

However, the most surprising, interesting, and gripping part of the book was Bob Edward's afterword. This scorching assessment of modern broadcast journalism and how Murrow would never have risen to the level of fame and influence he knew in the 1940s and 50s is the speech of an angry man, I think, one who is in intense agreement with Murrow's vision of television and radio's responsibility and power and its failure to use that power in upholding the responsibility. ( )

I listened to the audio version of this book during a road trip. I'd already seen Good Night and Good Luck, so I felt like I had an idea of what we'd be learning about Murrow in this book. I was wrong. This man led a full, rich, and amazing life. He achieved so many wonderful things, not the least of which was setting our expectations about what journalism could (and should) be. I think the one thing I took away from the book is that if I see good journalism, I should let the station know. Too often, I just send emails when I get all huffy about something and not when I see good, balanced reporting on issues important to the community and the country. ( )

Read this book after seeing "Good Night, and Good Luck". Well written, but pretty thin. ( )

Went to the WXXI interview with Bob Edwards and got the book signed. Enjoyed the book. Read this before I saw the movie Good Night and Good Luck. ( )