Edward Roscoe Murrow

Edward Roscoe Murrow 1908-65, American news broadcaster, b. Greensboro, N.C. He joined the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) in 1935 and became its European director two years later, assembling and training a news staff to cover the impending war. As a CBS war correspondent (1939-45) Murrow was noted for dramatic and accurate radio broadcasts from London during the Battle of Britain . He served the network as vice president and director of public affairs (1945-47) and news analyst (1947-61), producing and broadcasting the popular television programs Person to Person and See It Now, on which in 1954 he challenged the practices of Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy . Murrow was director of the U.S. Information Agency from 1961 to 1964.

Bibliography: See biographies by A. Kendrick (1969) and A. M. Sperber (1986); studies by S. Cloud and L. Olson (1996), M. Bernstein and A. Lubertozzi (2003), and B. Edwards (2004); The Edward R. Murrow Collection, (VCR, 1991; DVD, 2005).

Murrow, Ed ( Edward Roscoe) (1908–65) US journalist. He joined the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) in 1935 and during World War II gained fame for his vivid descriptions of the Battle of Britain. After the war he became a CBS vice-president and then a news analyst. Murrow also produced many programmes for television, including the popular See It Now and Person to Person. He was director of the US Information Agency (1961–64).