Cecil Brown

The son of Jewish immigrants, war correspondent Cecil Brown (1907–1987) was a member of CBS’ esteemed Murrow Boys. Expelled from Italy and Singapore for reporting the facts, he witnessed the Nazi invasion of Yugoslavia and the war in North Africa, and survived the sinking of the British battleship HMS Repulse by a Japanese submarine. Back in the U.S., he became an influential commentator during the years when Americans sought a dispassionate voice to make sense of complex developments. He was one of the first journalists to champion civil rights, to condemn Senator McCarthy’s tactics (and President Eisenhower’s reticence), and to support Israel’s creation.Although he won every major broadcast journalism award, his accomplishments have been largely overlooked by historians. This first biography of Brown chronicles his career in journalism and traces his contributions to the profession.

"Smith's graceful writing, careful contextualization, and use of primary sources bring to life Brown's struggles to maintain his journalistic values. The book should be required reading in journalism, history, and ethics classes.... We are fortunate that it was Smith who discovered a treasure trove of documents and living sources. He has served us well."--Journalism History; "Smith's biography leaves the reader well informed about Brown's life...complex and detailed portrait of Brown"--American Journalism: A Journal of Media History.

Reed W. Smith is a professor of Multimedia Communication at Georgia Southern University. He has published multiple journal articles regarding journalism and broadcast history.