Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965) was one of the most influential and renowned radio and television broadcasters in American broadcast journalism during its formative years.

History of Murrow, Edward R.

Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965) was a prominent CBS broadcaster during the formative years of American radio and television news programs. Stationed in London for CBS Radio from 1937 to 1946, Murrow assembled a group of erudite correspondents who came to be known as the "Murrow Boys" and included one woman, Mary Marvin Breckinridge. Murrow’s and their broadcasts from London, Europe, Africa, and Asia before and during World War II set the standard for US foreign news broadcasting. They also helped shape the public’s view of a war that Americans were at first reluctant to be drawn into.

Returning to the US in 1946, Murrow became one of the most renowned radio and television news broadcasters of his time. Particularly famous were his programs Hear It Now, This I Believe, Person to Person, See It Now, and Years of Crisis. Of particular note are his 1954 broadcast about Senator Joseph McCarthy’s persecution of presumed Communists and his 1960 Harvest of Shame documentary depicting the plight of migrant farm workers in the US. From 1961 to January 1964 he served as the Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA). Murrow died of cancer on April 27, 1965.