Daniel Schorr

Daniel Schorr

Imagine a journalist compared to a history book, someone who has seen history and is able to compare new events to the past. Daniel Schorr, is one such journalist. He was a journalist from a young age. "He got his first scoop when he was 12 years old," A woman had jumped from his apartment building, located in the Bronx. He was born in the Bronx in 1916 and went to school there. While in school, he reported for Clinton News, the school newspaper. He also wrote for the Jewish Daily Bulletin while he was in college. Daniel left New York when he decided to serve for Army Intelligence in Fort Pork, Louisiana.

Schorr's first television interview was in 1957. He had an exclusive interview with Nikita Khrushchev. He had joined CBS in 1953, and had been covering Cold War stories since. He opened the Moscow Bureau while with CBS. He researched life under communist rule in East Germany and worked as a foreign correspondent for many years, until the 1970's. Schorr reported on Nixon's time in the White House and the Watergate Scandal. When a list of Nixon's Enemies was published, Schorr read the list aloud on TV, which included his own name. Richard Helms called him "Killer Schorr", outraged by the articles Schorr was writing about the White House. Schorr leaked information about investigation regarding the CIA and FBI. He was charged a large fine for doing so. He later resigned from CBS before he could be fired.

Around this time, a new network was getting its start, CNN. "The network inaugurated its programming the following year with his interview with President Jimmy Carter." His career with CNN came to an end in 1985. He counted this as his second firing, since his contract was not renewed. Schorr then joined NPR, which was the last network he worked with before passing away in 2010.

Daniel Schorr described himself as a "walking history book". He had seen and experienced so much history through the 60 years he worked in the world of journalism. Senate historian, Donald A. Richie  said, "He could compare presidents from Eisenhower on through, and that gave him historical context for things." His insight was truly valuable and will be missed in the journalism world.


Sources: npr.org, nytimes.com