Posted on 09/15/2010 9:30:52 AM PDT by My Favorite Headache
NEW YORK — Edwin Newman, who brought literacy, wit and energy to NBC newscasts for more than three decades, and battled linguistic pretense and clutter in his best sellers "Strictly Speaking" and "A Civil Tongue," has died. He was 91.
NBC News did not immediately say Wednesday where or when Newman had died, or the cause of death.
At NBC from 1952 until his retirement in 1984, Newman did political reporting, foreign reporting, anchoring of news specials, "Meet the Press," ''Today," ''The Nightly News," midday news and a variety of radio spots. He announced the death of President Kennedy on radio and analyzed the Vietnam War.
Customized. Optimized. Pocket sized. Buy the new Baltimore Sun iPhone app.
He also narrated and helped write documentaries, back when they were an influential staple of network programming. They included "Who Shall Live?" — a 1965 study of the difficulties of deciding which kidney disease should receive lifesaving dialysis — and "Politics: The Outer Fringe," a 1966 look at extremism.
"I think I worked on more documentaries than anybody else in TV history," he once said.
Newman, with his rumpled, squinting delivery, impressed his audience not so much with how he looked as with the likelihood that what he'd say would be worth hearing. And his occasional witty turn of phrase might be accompanied by a mischievous smile. The New York Times wrote in 1966 that Newman "is one of broadcasting's rarities. ... NBC's instant renaissance man speaks with the distinctive growl of a rusted muffler. He makes no concessions to the charm boy school of commentator."
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Always thought he was a class act. RIP.
RIP. I appreciated his word books.
I loved his books. He was a GREAT BRAIN. RIP, sir.
Newman!
RIP Edwin, always liked your style.
Back when they had pride in their craft. R.I.P.
Journalism used to have some respectable people. RIP.
RIP, Ed. You fought the good fight to defend the use of plain, correct, and understandable American English on the airwaves. It's a pity the war was lost a short time after you retired.
A journalist with class, poise, and standing. He was more concerned about getting the story right than what he looked like on television.
A real journalist.
I recommended his books “Strictly Speaking” and “A Civil Tongue” to my kids, and both had the same experience as me.
These books will absolutely help people improve their writing/speaking skills, and they are not boring. Newman was a funny man.
RIP.
A wit, a teacher, and a great journalist. RIP, Ed. You were one of the real greats.
I have no idea what his politics were, which is the way it should be for a newsman and so rarely is these days.
He was a class act. I remember him doing a halirious skit on Saturday Night Live where he played a gang leader appearing on a TV show debating a rival gang leader.
NBC has gone from the likes of Edwin Neuman and Tim Russert to Brian Williams and Dick Gregory.
Strictly Speaking was a very entertaining book. Anyone who cares about the future of English should check it out. I especially liked his description of trying to talk his way through a Police cordon in Paris by plaing the “important member of the Press” card.
Newman: Je suie un journaliste (I am a journalist)
Cop: Oui, monsieur, et moi, je suis un policier
(Yes, sir, and me, I am a policeman)
ah, of all media presumptiveness were dismissed in the manner of that French policeman!
Years ago, Newman terminated an interview with George Jessel on the Today Show because Jessel criticized the Washinton Post. Basically, an arrogant bastard.
That was the first thing I thought about when I saw his obit this morning.
Um...no. You do not understand tenses. Or voices.
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