Friendly, Fred W.

orig. Ferdinand Friendly Wachenheimer

born Oct. 30, 1915, New York, N.Y., U.S.

died March 3, 1998, New York City

U.S. broadcast producer and journalist.

He began his career in radio in 1938 and later joined CBS. In the 1950s he collaborated with Edward R. Murrow to produce the radio news series Hear It Now and the television series See It Now. Friendly also produced CBS Reports (1961–71) and many special programs. He served as president of CBS News (1964–66), then taught at Columbia University's school of journalism. An outspoken critic of the quality of most TV programming, he became a communications adviser for the Ford Foundation (1966–80) and was instrumental in establishing the PBS network.

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▪ 1999

      American broadcast journalist, educator, and executive (b. Oct. 30, 1915, New York, N.Y.—d. March 3, 1998, New York), teamed with reporter Edward R. Murrow to formulate television journalism. The two men developed the news documentary and pioneered the use of original footage and unrehearsed interviews. Their partnership began in 1948 when they collaborated on I Can Hear It Now, an album series of oral history covering the years 1932-45. Encouraged by its success, they created the weekly radio news digest "Hear It Now" (1950-51) and in 1951 moved to television with "See It Now" (1951-58). With Murrow as host and Friendly as producer, the program set the standard in television journalism with its innovative and hard-hitting reporting. It featured the first live hookup between the two coasts and helped end Sen. Joseph McCarthy's anticommunist campaign. In 1959 "CBS Reports" debuted with Friendly as executive producer. The show aired landmark documentaries on migrant workers, illegal gambling, and racial conflict. Friendly became the president of CBS News in 1964 but resigned two years later when the network refused to air live Senate hearings on the Vietnam War. As Edward R. Murrow professor of journalism at Columbia University, New York City (1966-79), Friendly lectured that freedom of the press must be tempered with integrity and honesty. In 1984 he created the Columbia University Seminars on Media and Society (also known as the Fred Friendly Seminars), a public television series that featured discussions on a wide range of topics. Friendly won 10 Peabody Awards and wrote several books, including Due to Circumstances Beyond Our Control (1967), a chronicle of his career at CBS. In 1994 he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.

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