Edwin Newman

Edwin Newman (January 25, 1919 – August 13, 2010) was an American broadcast journalist and author noted for his three-decade tenure at NBC News and his sharp critiques of English language misuse. Born in New York City, he graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in political science before joining NBC in 1952, initially as a foreign correspondent in London, Rome, and Paris.

Newman's career encompassed anchoring programs like the Today show and Meet the Press, moderating presidential debates including the 1976 Ford-Carter and 1984 Reagan-Mondale encounters, and reporting on landmark events such as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which he first announced on NBC radio, and the coronations and funerals of British royalty. He earned recognition including seven New York Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award in 1966 for his radio series Emphasis, and an Overseas Press Club Award in 1961.

Edwin Harold Newman was born on January 25, 1919, in New York City to Myron Newman, a credit manager, and the former Rose Parker. He was the second of three children in a family of Jewish descent, with all grandparents having immigrated from Russia; his older brother, Morton W. (M.W.) Newman, pursued a career in journalism at outlets including the Chicago Daily News, while his younger sister was Evelyn Newman Lee.

Newman grew up in New York City during the interwar period, an environment shaped by his family's immigrant roots and the prominence of print media, with his brother's profession contributing to an early familiarity with journalistic "ink" as a family trade. This setting, amid the rise of radio broadcasting in urban Jewish households valuing literacy and discourse, exposed him to forms of clear, public communication from a young age.