Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965), the distinguished radio and television journalist, was an alumnus of Washington State College (WSC). Hired by the Columbia Broadcasting System in 1935, Murrow worked for CBS until 1961 and then headed the U.S. Information Agency until 1964. Murrow became known first for his "This is … London" radio broadcasts during the Second World War and then as a television journalist who demonstrated the power of the new medium in his documentaries exposing Senator Joseph McCarthy's red-baiting and later the wretched conditions endured by migrant laborers in the United States. Throughout his lifetime, Murrow acknowledged his alma mater in word and deed, returning to campus to speak and to offer his voice to projects such as the 1952 promotional film "This is W.S.C."
Washington State University recognized the Murrow legacy in eponymous building and program names, lecture series, and awards. In 1973 WSU renamed the home of its communications programs after Murrow when the old Science Hall later Arts Hall connected by a skyway to a new building became the Edward R. Murrow Communications (later Communication) Center. That year also began a panel discussion and lecture series focused on media issues named the Murrow Symposium. The symposium welcomed over the next two and a half decades prominent journalists such as Howard K. Smith, Charles Kuralt, Ted Koppel, and Diane Sawyer. Beginning in 1997, the Murrow Symposium expanded to add recognition of communication leaders through the Edward R. Murrow Award. Sam Donaldson, Ted Turner, Christiane Amanpour, former Murrow colleague Daniel Schorr, and Tom Brokaw are among those to receive the award.
During his college years that began in 1926, Murrow studied radio broadcasting in one of the first courses offered in the nation in that field. He graduated in 1930 with a Speech degree and held in high regard the people and the training at WSC. The Speech Department's broadcasting courses that prepared Murrow were merged in 1964 with the Journalism Department to create the Department of Communications. In 1990 that department became the Murrow School of Communication and in 2008 the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication.
Murrow's lifelong connection to Washington State University was acknowledged again in 1994 when WSU in the Edward R. Murrow Communication Center hosted the dedication of the U.S. postage stamp honoring Murrow's achievements, the first broadcast journalist honored with a commemorative stamp.
From the guide to the Washington State University Murrow College of Communication Event Recordings, 1973-2002, (Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections)
