Edwin Newman, whose TV news career spanned much of the early decades of NBC TV and most of its news programs, has died at age 91. Over the years, Newman had roles as various as foreign bureau chief, political correspondent, Today Show personality and Meet the Press moderator and panelist.
From the early ’50s through the early ’80s, Americans became used to hearing Newman’s voice carry breaking news reports. He was the first, in November 1963, to announce President Kennedy’s assassination on NBC radio. The night of the assassination, Newman delivered this thoughtful commentary, which not only crystallized his feelings and others’ but became a kind of essay on American history and the role of violence in it. He also offered some thoughts about the connection between ugly public discourse and ugly acts, which ring both timely and timeless:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t363kAlHnE]
RIP.