Herbert Morrison (journalist)

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Herbert Morrison (May 12, 1905 – January 10, 1989) was an American journalist whose charged radio report on the Hindenburg disaster is recognized as a landmark in broadcasting. Decades on from his 1937 report, he became the first news director at Pennsylvania's television station WTAE-TV. The writer Craig M. Allen describes him as "an early pioneer of both radio and television news". Native to Pennsylvania, Morrison joined the WLS radio station in 1936. When the airship Hindenburg was set to conclude its maiden US trip of 1937 in Lakehurst, New Jersey, he was sent there to report on its planned landing. He brought with him new, unusual recording equipment. As the airship neared the landing ground, it burst into flames, and Morrison's report turned emotional. He hyperventilated and wept, crying, "Oh, the humanity" out of grief for the lives lost, a phrase that has since been assimilated into popular culture. Morrison's report aired on WLS the following day, and parts of it featured on NBC...

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