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Edward R Murrow Home

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Newsman. It evokes a certain image. Often a war correspondent writing his observations from a foxhole or a man in a trench coat and fedora with a cigarette dangling from his lips as he writes at an old-fashioned typewriter. Edward R. Murrow was just such a newsman. He was there at the very beginning of World War Two, he was there for the beginning of the television, he was there for the beginning of huge societal changes. From humble beginnings to the heights of network news, Murrow was the epitome of the American Dream. He rubbed shoulders with presidents and with privates. He saw the horrors of war and words failed him. You can hear Murrow’s show, I Can Hear It Now, and much more on the Murrow Collection . It is a fascinating to look into history and the evolution of network news.

Early Career

When Murrow and his fellow students graduated from college in 1930, the United States was seven months into the Great Depression. Interestingly, Murrow’s broadcasting career did not begin immediately after college. It may not have even entered his mind since radio was still exploring the boundaries. Instead, he went to work for the NSFA in New York City running the national office. After settling in at NSFA headquarters, Murrow was off to Europe for a meeting of the International Confederation of Students in Brussels, Belgium. The students attending the meeting were divided along country lines and no one could agree on anything. Actually, they did agree on one thing...to shun the German students in attendance. Murrow—with the sense of fairness instilled in him by his parents—made an impassioned speech to the assembly, telling them that they should not punish the students for the sins of their fathers. Once again, he brought the house down. The assembly was not so sure about the Germans