Broadcast journalist, born in New York City, New York, USA. He started writing for newspapers in high school, and by 1941 he was New York news editor for the Netherlands News Agency, rejoining them in Holland after his army service (19435). Recruited by Edward R Murrow in 1953, he was CBS News diplomatic correspondent until the late 1960s, when he began covering American politics. A hard-nosed reporter, he won three Emmys for his Watergate coverage and earned the wrath of several presidents. After leaking a Congressional report on illegal Central Intelligence Agency and FBI operations, he was suspended by CBS News and resigned in 1976. He went on to do commentary for National Public Radio.
Daniel Schorr (born August 31, 1916) is an American journalist who has covered the world for more than 60 years.
Birth and early years
Born in New York City, Schorr is the son of two Russian Jewish immigrants, but his father died when he was only five.
Journalism during the Cold War
Following several years as a stringer, in 1953 he joined CBS News as one of the recruits of Edward R. Schorr left the Soviet Union later that year.
In January 1962, he aired the first examination of everyday life under communism in East Germany, The Land Beyond the Wall: Three Weeks in a German City, which The New York Times called a "journalistic coup". After agreeing not to foster "propaganda" for the United States, Schorr was granted the rights to conduct the interviews in the city of Rostock. By airing everyday life, Schorr painted a picture of the necessity for a Communist state to seal itself off from the west in order to survive.
The '70s
Schorr attracted the anger of the Nixon White House. In 1971, after a dispute with White House aides, Schorr's friends, neighbors, and co-workers were questioned by the FBI about his habits. They were told that Schorr was under consideration for a high-level position in the environmental area. Schorr knew nothing about it. Later, during the Watergate hearings, it was revealed that Nixon aides had drawn up what became known as Nixon's Enemies List, and Daniel Schorr was on that list. Famously, Schorr read the list aloud on live TV, surprised to be reading his own name in that context. Schorr won Emmys for news reporting in 1972, 1973, and 1974.
After Nixon's resignation, Schorr attracted controversy in 1976 when he received and published the leaked Pike Commission's report about illegal CIA and FBI activities. This did not mollify CBS executives, and Schorr resigned his position in September 1976. On May 14, 2006, Schorr revealed on NPR's Weekend Edition that his source was then-New York Times editor A.M.
Career as an elder statesman of journalism
In 1979, Schorr was among the first hired by Ted Turner and Reese Schoenfeld to deliver commentary and news analysis on the fledgling Cable News Network (CNN).
Trivia
Though by no means a fan of rock music, Daniel Schorr became friends with composer Frank Zappa after the former contacted him, asking for help with a voter-registration drive. Perhaps earning the envy of journalists half his age, Schorr made an appearance with Zappa on Feburary 10, 1988, where he sang It Ain't Necessarily So and Summertime. Schorr delivered the eulogy on NPR after Zappa's death on December 4, 1993;
When Daniel Schorr met Richard Nixon several years after his illegal investigation, Nixon responded to Schorr's introduction by saying, "Dan Schorr, damn near hired you once!"
Daniel Schorr had a small role playing himself in the 1997 film The Game starring Michael Douglas, where he spoke to the main character through his television.
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