Back on the Beat

Next month's Italian election will get what radiomen call an "unprecedented coverage" by U.S. radio. In Manhattan last week, Edward Roscoe Murrow, 39, famed wartime chief of CBS's European Bureau, was packing his bags for the trip. He could have included three bright new prizes*: 1) his first Alfred I. du Pont Award (for "aggressive, independent and meritorious" newsgathering); 2) his second Overseas Press Club Award (for the "best interpretation of foreign affairs by radio"); 3) his third National Headliners' Club medal (for his coverage of the British royal wedding).

The Italian election looked like another

Gold Cup assignment for Murrow (he thinks it bears a depressing resemblance to Munich, 1938). "It's the biggest news story out of Europe this year," he says, "and I cannot sit here in an air-conditioned office and report it."

Murrow has had his fill of office work since the war's end. For 18 months after his return from London, he was chained to a modernistic desk in CBS's main Manhattan office, as vice president in charge of public affairs. His aggressive, imaginative programming supplied much of the impetus that has made CBS first in the field of public service programs. Among the impressive list of Murrow-inspired projects: the Documentary Unit, CBS Views the Press, As Others See Us.

Inevitably, Reporter Murrow began to get restless for a newsbeat. Six months ago, he returned to reporting. The public found that his voice had lost none of its persuasive ring. And he was happy to be back. This summer, European weather permitting, Reporter Murrow hopes to cover the U.S. presidential campaign. But he isn't counting on it: "You never can tell where or what the big news story is going to be. My horizon is never more than thirty days ahead."

*Radio's most laureated reporter, Murrow has received 15 that he can recall, including the prized Peabody Award.

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