Herman, George E(dward) 1920-2005

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born January 14, 1920, in New York, NY; died of heart failure February 8, 2005, in Washington, DC. Journalist, broadcaster, and author. Herman was a longtime correspondent with the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) and was also well known as the moderator for the television news program Face the Nation. At Dartmouth College, he earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1941, but then switched to journalism at Columbia University, completing a master's degree in 1942. His first job out of school was at WQXR Radio in New York City, where he was night editor. In 1944, he joined CBS to begin a career that would last forty-three years. Beginning at the bottom, he was a stringer in 1949 when he was assigned to Vietnam to report on the fighting that was escalating there against the French. His coverage was so professional that he was promoted as a war correspondent in 1950, just as the war in Korea was beginning. Herman spent the next three years in Korea, following the troops there and sending in reports under very dangerous conditions. When he returned home, CBS moved him to Washington, D.C., where he became a White House correspondent. During the early 1960s, he covered such landmark events as the Cuban Missile Crisis and President John F. Kennedy's assassination. His knowledge of politics made him an ideal selection for the job of moderator on the television program Face the Nation, which he hosted from 1969 until 1983. While on that program, Herman was the first television journalist to report on the Watergate break-in, the event that would eventually lead to President Richard Nixon's resignation. After leaving his television show, Herman remained with CBS until 1987, when he retired.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, February 9, 2005, section 3, p. 9.

Los Angeles Times, February 9, 2005, p. B8.

New York Times, February 9, 2005, p. C19.

Washington Post, February 9, 2005, p. B6.