Broadcasters

Bob Hice

I was saddened to learn of Bob Hice's death last week.  He was a couple of years ahead of us at Central (class of '52) so I didn't get to know him that well.  However, we did have one of those "What do you want to be when you grow up...." conversations, and of course we bonded on the spot.  Heros of ours like Arthur Godfrey and  Edward R.Murrow were sprinkled throughout the conversation. I think Bob wanted to be the next Godfrey and I wanted to be next Murrow.

Well, neither one of us ever achieved anything like the fame of either, but there's nothing wrong with "shooting for the stars."

Later, I had that same conversation with another fellow that I went to college with and he was more specific about  what he wanted to be;

"Well," he said, " this is probably a pipe dream, but  I want to be a CBS News Correspondant."

A friend of his had mapped out a way to accomplish that goal.

A young Charles Kuralt

"Study history and political science in school (avoid courses on Radio and TV). After you graduate, go to work for a newspaper for a couple of years, to get some real news experience...then come to see me in New York."

That kid was Charles Kuralt and his friend was Edward R. Murrow.  

-Ed

(Kuralt had come to the attention of Murrow when, at age 14, he had won the national "I Speak for Democracy" contest. Murrow was one of the judges that year and had maintained a correspondance with the young Kuralt since then.)