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Bob Edwards hosted National Public Radio's daily newsmagazine Morning Edition from its premiere in November 1979 up until April 30, 2004. Edwards will be expanding his news reporting presence across all NPR News programs, taking on new duties as senior correspondent with NPR News. As host of Morning Edition, Edwards conducted more than 800 interviews each year covering politics, international affairs, education, labor, economics, sports, the arts, and entertainment.
Over its long history, Edwards and Morning Edition earned accolades of all kinds, including a 1999 George Foster Peabody Award. In the award notification, the Peabody committee described the program as "two hours of daily in-depth news and entertainment expertly helmed by a man who embodies the essence of excellence in radio."
Edwards' 1993 book, FRIDAYS WITH RED, chronicles his radio friendship with sports broadcasting legend Red Barber, with whom he talked about sports, camellias, and the nature of man every Friday morning for nearly 12 years. Edwards' latest book, EDWARD R. MURROW AND THE BIRTH OF BROADCAST JOURNALISM, examines the charismatic career and pioneering efforts of renowned newsman Murrow.
A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Edwards earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville and began his career at a small radio station in New Albany, Indiana. While serving in the U.S. Army, he produced and anchored TV and radio news programs for the American Forces Korea Network (AFKN) in Seoul. After his service in the Army, Edwards moved to Washington, DC, where he worked as a weekend and evening anchorman for WTOP-AM, an all-news CBS affiliate, while earning a master's degree in broadcast journalism from The American University. Edwards is the recipient of the 1984 Edward R. Murrow Award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for "outstanding contributions to public radio."
In 1990, Edwards won a Gabriel Award from the National Catholic Association of Broadcasters for BORN DRUNK, a five-part Morning Edition series about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. He won his first Gabriel Award in 1987 for a Morning Edition story entitled "Bill of Sale: A Black Heritage." In 1995, Edwards' report, "The Changing of the Guard: The Republican Revolution" earned him the prestigious Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for excellence in radio journalism. Edwards is a national vice president of AFTRA, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. He and his wife, Sharon, have three children and one grandchild.
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