Personal Award: Paul Harvey

Millions “stand by for news” with Paul Harvey each week, and his deft amalgam of news and views always leaves his listeners informed and entertained. For over 50 years, Paul Harvey has brought news and information into the American home. Born in Tulsa, Mr. Harvey literally grew up with radio. As a boy, he made his own radio sets. During his high school years, he dropped by KVOO in Tulsa so often that the station manager finally hired him. From Oklahoma, Mr. Harvey moved to KXOX in St. Louis, where he was a newsman and special events director. After World War II he and his wife, Angel, moved to Chicago, site of his daily newscasts, now broadcast over more than 1300 radio stations in the United States and 400 stations overseas. His listeners hear not only the news but also, “The Rest of the Story,” a separate series begun in 1976 from a longstanding newscast segment. As the signature personality of ABC Radio News, for many years Mr. Harvey almost single handedly propelled the AM band through difficult times. Now that commentators from the left and right have helped bring new vitality to the radio’s original bandwidth, it is important to recognize one of its preeminent personalities. Today, we add a personal Peabody Award to Paul Harvey’s ever-growing list of honors.