Biography Of Edward Murrow And The Birth Of Broadcast Journalism

Edward Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism, a book written by Bob Edward, is a short biography about Edward Murrow and his contribution to broadcast journalism. The establishment and revolution of broadcast journalism revolve around Edward Murrow, who is believed to have contributed to the turning point in the history of broadcast journalism. Bob Edwards find interest in writing the biography of Edward Murrow since he is an experienced broadcast journalism. Bob has been a journalist for thirty years as the host of radio news and talk shows. He was greatly influenced by Edward Murrow into a career in journalism. This book portrays the life of Murrow, first as a logger, secondly as an advocate of education, and lastly as a broadcast journalism. The purpose of this
biography is to inform and educate the readers about the life and career of Murrow. The author does a great job by highlighting the career of Edward and stressing his importance in the development of broadcast journalism. Edward Murrow is credited for coming up with the concept of news roundup (Edwards, 2004, pg. 37). The current widespread application of the news roundup idea is attributed to Murrow and the CBS team as well as the innovation of radio and TV news. He clearly portrays Murrow as an iconic figure in the broadcast journalism. He was an idol for those who wanted to venture into journalism. It is crucial for anybody who would love to have an understanding of the modern news media to about the contribution of Edward Murrow in this field. Although broadcast journalism existed before Edward Murrow, it was not just good enough. Through the effort of Edward Murrow, broadcast journalism underwent impressive transformation to become what it is today. This brief biography colorfully portrays the life of Edward Murrow as a prominent broadcast journalism with complete sound bites. It is written in a conversational style. The book is chronologically structured into ten chapters that clearly highlight the extensive and adventurous career of Edward Murrow. The charismatic character of Murrow is brought into the picture in this book by including broadcast reports of Edward Murrow word for word. The direct application of Murrow 's words adds flavor to the narrative. Throughout the entire book, the author clearly portrays the desire of Murrow of using radio and television to promote education (Edwards, 2004, p. 160). The heroic status of Murrow is portrayed in this book through many of his encounter as a journalist. The dangers that Murrow were facing while he was covering World War I portrays him as a die-hard reporter. The book sustains the attention of readers by narrating the dangerous encounters during the World War I. The author also paints a picture of Murrow 's personal and family life. Murrow 's personal interpretation of media is portrayed in this biography by the use of direct quotes from the speeches of Murrow as well as his reports. One of the contemporary criticism of media that summarize the dissatisfaction of Murrow to popular media is "I would like television to produce some itching pills rather than this endless outpouring of tranquilizers (Edwards, 2004, p. 134)." The passion of Murrow for journalism is shown in historical events like red scare, Cuban missile and World War II which portrays him as an outstanding and iconic figure in broadcast journalism. Murrow 's had a fearless passion for journalism that inspired people to gain interest in news media. Since the era Edward Murrow journalism has undergone so much transformation, but it is impossible to ignore the importance of Murrow in the history and the emergence of modern journalism. This booked is packed with history, passion and charisma that attempts to capture the role of Murrow in shaping broadcast journalism. The broadcasting innovations of Murrow were significant turning points in broadcast journalism. Murrow joined CBS in 1935, a period in which radio news was focused preplanned events like flower shows and parades. By 1937, Murrow was running network 's European Bureau. He was a renowned celebrity by 1940 following his excellent broadcast of the London Blitz. Across the living in the United States Murrow made it possible for the listeners to listen to news on real time. He was the pioneer of real-time news delivery, unrehearsed TV interviews, split screen and live remotes which are currently practiced in the current broadcasting at an advanced level. He also pioneered the offering of the original film footage. He had a great impact broadcasting journalism even after his death in 1965, and his principles are still being applied or have acted as a precursor to the current trend in journalism. He formed part of the World War I and World War II news correspondent who informed the world of the happenings in the battle field. He delivered dramatic reports on almost everything. All these contribution of Murrow highly influenced the evolution of modern broadcast journalism. His passion, commitment and enthusiasm towards his work inspired many journalists to embrace their roles with passion and a lot of commitment. He is the brain behind live TV shows that are currently dominant in broadcast media. His approach has a fearless report which endangered his life to cover news in battlefield also influenced other journalist to follow his footsteps in bringing live coverage of war tone zone. Murrow 's success as a broadcast journalism was driven by his passion for journalism, the ability to portray facts with a compelling passion, the ability to take risks so as to be a part of dangerous combats and his distinctive voice and great leadership skills. All these made him tackle his job artistically and professionally. Broadcasting refers to the process of disseminating news from a television or a radio station to a wide audience with the aim of delivering a message.
Murrow contributed towards developing high standards of broadcast journalism to the future journalist, his ideas and concepts are still relevant but with some deviation which have come about due to the modern trends in journalism. Edward Murrow is the most distinguished figure in the history of broadcast journalism in America. He is considered to the godfather of modern journalism. College of journalism has been named after him due to his immense contribution in the advancement of journalism. In addition, the most outstanding journalism personalities in America are usually awarded Edward. R. Murrow awards for their great contribution. The advancement of digital technology and the emergence of social media network have contributed to a significant transformation on the manner in which broadcast journalism is performed, but not much has changed since the time of Edward Murrow, who still offers a lot of lessons for the current crop of journalists. The current reporters need to apply more courage, integrity and steadiness in their
work. One thing about the book that opened my eyes was the hinting how news was actually “news” in Murrow 's day, but even then it was starting to fade. That to me is unsettling. I remember speaking in class about how so many different stories are twisted around just so only certain facts remain and others are completely negated; it 's starting to become more about who can we get to watch rather than how can we, as the newscasters, relay the proper facts to the public eye so they know what 's happening here, or halfway around the world. News, to me, should never be about ratings and sweeps week, but how accurately the story can get from the site, to the newsroom, and then out to the masses, and I feel like Murrow and Edwards only wanted this to be the case for the world of on-air broadcasting.

Work Cited
Edwards, Bob. Edward R. Murrow and the birth of broadcast journalism. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2004. Print.