Edward R. Murrow - Career at CBS

Career At CBS

Murrow joined CBS as director of talks and education in 1935 and remained with the network for his entire career. CBS did not have news staff when Murrow joined, save for announcer Bob Trout; his job was to line up newsmakers who would appear on the network to talk about the issues of the day. But the onetime Washington State speech major was intrigued by Trout's on-air delivery, and Trout gave Murrow tips on how to communicate effectively on the radio.

Murrow went to London in 1937 to serve as the director of CBS's European operations. The position did not involve on-air reporting; Murrow's job was persuading European figures to broadcast over the CBS network, which was in direct competition with NBC's two radio networks. Murrow recruited journalist William L. Shirer to take a similar post on the continent. The two men would become the forefathers of broadcast journalism.