Marvin Kalb
Encyclopedia
Marvin L. Kalb is an American
journalist
. Kalb was the Shorenstein Center's Founding Director and Edward R. Murrow Professor of Press and Public Policy (1987–1999). The Shorenstein Center and the Kennedy School are part of Harvard University
. He is currently a James Clark Welling Fellow at The George Washington University and a member of Atlantic Community
Advisory Board.
Kalb spent 30 years as an award-winning reporter for CBS News
and NBC News
. Kalb was the last newsman recruited by Edward R. Murrow
to join CBS News, becoming part of the later generation of the "Murrow's Boys
." His work at CBS landed him on Richard Nixon
's "enemies list"
. At NBC, he served as chief Diplomatic Correspondent and host of Meet the Press
. During many years of Kalb's tenures at CBS and NBC, his brother Bernard
worked alongside him.
Kalb has authored or coauthored nine nonfiction books (Eastern Exposure, Dragon in the Kremlin, The Volga, Roots of Involvement, Kissinger, Campaign ’88, The Nixon Memo, and One Scandalous Story) and two best-selling novels (In the National Interest and The Last Ambassador). His most recent book is about the haunting legacy of Vietnam, co-authored with his daughter.
He hosts The Kalb Report, a monthly discussion of media ethics and responsibility
at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
sponsored by the Shorenstein Center and George Washington University
. He is a news analyst for Fox News, and a contributor to National Public Radio and America Abroad
.
debacle, under what circumstances should the United States go to war?
The father-daughter journalist team spent five years interviewing hundreds of officials from every administration and researching in presidential libraries and archives. The result is a book that is equal parts taut history, revealing biography, and cautionary tale that divulges insight and information never before published.
“Viet Nam continues to be an albatross, circling the White House. In a compelling and totally accessible book the Kalbs (father and daughter) show how profoundly America's defeat in Viet Nam has affected one US administration after another, over the course of the past 36 years. If you wonder whether Viet Nam still matters, it does. Read this book and discover why and how.” –Ted Koppel
, anchor of ABC’s Nightline
for 25 years; senior news analyst at National Public Radio
– KALB-TV, referring to that affiliate as "Marvin's Station". At one point, Today co-host Bryant Gumbel
, in a co-op promo for the station's upcoming feature about Today in 1985, identified the station as KALB, smiled into the camera, and then intoned, "Marvin's Station" at which point the off-camera crew broke up.
Fox News political commentator Bill O'Reilly
was one of Kalb's students.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. Kalb was the Shorenstein Center's Founding Director and Edward R. Murrow Professor of Press and Public Policy (1987–1999). The Shorenstein Center and the Kennedy School are part of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He is currently a James Clark Welling Fellow at The George Washington University and a member of Atlantic Community
Atlantic Community
The Atlantic Community is a German-American project to apply Web 2.0 ideas to transatlantic foreign policy strategy. Launched in April 2007 as an undertaking of the Atlantic Initiative, the Atlantic Community aims at facilitating discussion between young thinkers and established members of the...
Advisory Board.
Kalb spent 30 years as an award-winning reporter for CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
and NBC News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
. Kalb was the last newsman recruited by Edward R. Murrow
Edward R. Murrow
Edward Roscoe Murrow, KBE was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada.Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, and Alexander Kendrick...
to join CBS News, becoming part of the later generation of the "Murrow's Boys
Murrow's Boys
Murrow’s Boys, or “The Murrow Boys,” were the CBS broadcast journalists most closely associated with Edward R. Murrow during his years at the network, most notably the years before and during World War II....
." His work at CBS landed him on Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
's "enemies list"
Master list of Nixon political opponents
A master list of Nixon political opponents was compiled to supplement the original Nixon's Enemies List of 20 key people considered opponents of President Richard Nixon. The master list was compiled by Charles Colson's office and sent in memorandum form to John Dean. Dean later provided this...
. At NBC, he served as chief Diplomatic Correspondent and host of Meet the Press
Meet the Press
Meet the Press is a weekly American television news/interview program produced by NBC. It is the longest-running television series in American broadcasting history, despite bearing little resemblance to the original format of the program seen in its television debut on November 6, 1947. It has been...
. During many years of Kalb's tenures at CBS and NBC, his brother Bernard
Bernard Kalb
Bernard Kalb is a journalist, media critic and author.Born in New York City, he covered international affairs for more than three decades at CBS News, NBC News and The New York Times. Nearly half that time he was based abroad in Indonesia, Hong Kong, Paris and Saigon.Near the end of his tenure at...
worked alongside him.
Kalb has authored or coauthored nine nonfiction books (Eastern Exposure, Dragon in the Kremlin, The Volga, Roots of Involvement, Kissinger, Campaign ’88, The Nixon Memo, and One Scandalous Story) and two best-selling novels (In the National Interest and The Last Ambassador). His most recent book is about the haunting legacy of Vietnam, co-authored with his daughter.
He hosts The Kalb Report, a monthly discussion of media ethics and responsibility
Journalism ethics and standards
Journalism ethics and standards comprise principles of ethics and of good practice as applicable to the specific challenges faced by journalists. Historically and currently, this subset of media ethics is widely known to journalists as their professional "code of ethics" or the "canons of journalism"...
at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
sponsored by the Shorenstein Center and George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
. He is a news analyst for Fox News, and a contributor to National Public Radio and America Abroad
America Abroad
America Abroad is an international affairs public radio program produced by that is distributed in the United States by Public Radio International . The program is also distributed internationally by National Public Radio Worldwide...
.
Haunting Legacy
In his latest book, Haunting Legacy: Vietnam and the American Presidency from Ford to Obama (Brookings Institution Press 2011), Marvin Kalb collaborated with his daughter, Deborah Kalb, to present an accessible and hugely important history of presidential decision-making on one crucial issue: in light of the VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
debacle, under what circumstances should the United States go to war?
The father-daughter journalist team spent five years interviewing hundreds of officials from every administration and researching in presidential libraries and archives. The result is a book that is equal parts taut history, revealing biography, and cautionary tale that divulges insight and information never before published.
“Viet Nam continues to be an albatross, circling the White House. In a compelling and totally accessible book the Kalbs (father and daughter) show how profoundly America's defeat in Viet Nam has affected one US administration after another, over the course of the past 36 years. If you wonder whether Viet Nam still matters, it does. Read this book and discover why and how.” –Ted Koppel
Ted Koppel
Edward James "Ted" Koppel is an English-born American broadcast journalist, best known as the anchor for Nightline from the program's inception in 1980 until his retirement in late 2005. After leaving Nightline, Koppel worked as managing editor for the Discovery Channel before resigning in 2008...
, anchor of ABC’s Nightline
Nightline
Nightline, or ABC News Nightline is a late-night news program broadcast by ABC in the United States, and has a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. It airs weeknights, usually for 31 minutes. Created by Roone Arledge, the program featured Ted Koppel as its main...
for 25 years; senior news analyst at National Public Radio
Partial bibliography
- Haunting Legacy: Vietnam and the American Presidency from Ford to Obama (Brookings Institution Press, 2011)
- Dragon in the Kremlin: A Report on the Russian-Chinese Alliance (1961)
- In the National Interest (1977, ISBN 0671226568)
- Kissinger (ISBN 1125577843)
- The Last Ambassador (1981, ISBN 0316482226)
- The Media and the War on Terrorism (2003, ISBN 0815735812)
- The Nixon Memo: Political Respectability, Russia, and the Press (1994, ISBN 0226422992)
- One Scandalous Story: Clinton, LewinskyLewinsky scandalThe Lewinsky scandal was a political sex scandal emerging in 1998 from a sexual relationship between United States President Bill Clinton and a 25-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. The news of this extra-marital affair and the resulting investigation eventually led to the impeachment of...
, and Thirteen Days That Tarnished American Journalism (2001, ISBN 0684859394) - Roots of Involvement: the U.S. in Asia, 1784–1971 (1971, ISBN 0393054403)
Trivia
Kalb's colleagues at NBC had a running joke involving an NBC affiliate in Alexandria, LouisianaAlexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
– KALB-TV, referring to that affiliate as "Marvin's Station". At one point, Today co-host Bryant Gumbel
Bryant Gumbel
Bryant Charles Gumbel is an American television journalist and sportscaster. He is best known for his 15 years as co-host of NBC's The Today Show. He is the younger brother of sportscaster Greg Gumbel.-Early life:...
, in a co-op promo for the station's upcoming feature about Today in 1985, identified the station as KALB, smiled into the camera, and then intoned, "Marvin's Station" at which point the off-camera crew broke up.
Fox News political commentator Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly (political commentator)
William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. is an American television host, author, syndicated columnist and political commentator. He is the host of the political commentary program The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel, which is the most watched cable news television program on American television...
was one of Kalb's students.
External links
- Marvin Kalb's Profile at Harvard University from the John F. Kennedy School of GovernmentJohn F. Kennedy School of GovernmentThe John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
website - About Marvin Kalb at The Kalb Report from the George Washington UniversityGeorge Washington UniversityThe George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
website