WHAT I LEARNED FROM
EDWARD R. MURROW
J ournalism today bears little
resemblance to what it was
when I started in this business
more than fifty years ago. At
that time, we focused on the “who,
what, where and when” and left the
“why” to educated commentators.
Now everybody reporting the news
is a commentator, and they want to
tell you “why” something happened,
rather than what happened.
When I was trying to figure out
what to study in college, I asked for
the advice of Edward R. Murrow,
the CBS president who electrified
America with his reports from England
during World War II. He shocked me
when he said to avoid studying print
journalism, which I thought should be
the foundation for all journalism. Murrow
told me to focus instead on world history,
geography, politics, a foreign language
and arts and humanities. The rest, he said
will take care of itself. I soon discovered
that storytelling on the air required about
a dozen techniques that were not needed
in print journalism. Broadcasting the news
required the skilled use of tone of voice,
pauses, inflection, pronunciation, posture,
facial expressions, body movements and
most importantly, breathing. What I
learned went way beyond journalism. I
discovered that our mental and physical
well-being is far more connected to the
arts and humanities than most of us ever
suspected.
By John Wilson
The more I thought about it, the more
I discovered how academicians in this
country have long promoted sports at the
expense of arts and humanities. College
sports get a lot of quick attention. Students
of the arts, such as my own actor son,
Patrick Wilson, take longer to become
stars. Many public school systems no
longer offer arts and humanities to their
students.
A top specialist at the Mayo Clinic,
Joanna Rian, reports there is growing
evidence that the arts and humanities can
deal effectively with releasing pain, treat
dementia, asthma and even malignancies.
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock says
doctors in England are prescribing music,
dance and painting classes to treat a variety
of physical and mental health issues. The
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London
has been working with stroke victims
128 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020
who have displayed remarkable
improvement after regaining muscle
control. There is solid evidence in
England that 90% of stroke victims
who learned to play instruments
and even conduct an orchestra have
shown dramatic improvement with
fewer dizzy spells and epileptic
seizures, less anxiety, improved
sleep, memory and concentration.
In the United States, budget cuts
have contributed to a vast reduction
of arts programs across the country.
Half of the public schools in Detroit
offer no music or art classes and in
New York, the PTA provides the money
from parents in wealthier neighborhoods.
Like Murrow’s comment about the
importance of the arts and humanities,
people including musicians, actors,
dancers, artists and sculptors have known
for years that the arts and humanities are
nature’s most effective way of stimulating
the brain, our muscles and the individual
motivation that contributes to our wellbeing,
concentration and communication.
Every parent knows how important music
is to our children. The research findings in
England are finally confirming what the
arts and humanities can do for our speech,
brains and our muscles. And it goes way
beyond sports, acting and dance. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: John Wilson, who retired
from Fox TV in 2014, worked more than 50
years in radio and television news broadcasting.
COMMENTARY
John Wilson