Weeping for Daniel Schorr
Daniel Schorr is dead. It feels like the end of an era. 
I sat in the car and wept last evening as I heard the news from NPR.
I’ll confess it: I am a total NPR junkie. I wake to it in the morning. When I get to my car after work, it’s already on. On weekends, I plan my activities around it. On Saturday mornings, I especially waited for the segment in which Scott Simon would talk with Daniel Schorr about his thoughts and perspective on the political news of the week.
Over the last couple of years, I’ve been thinking, “What in the world will I do when Daniel Schorr is gone?” I knew he was beyond 90 years old. I knew he would have to die some day. I just couldn’t imagine what NPR or the world of journalism or I would be without his wise voice, his perspective, his wisdom.
When I got into the car last evening, I heard the sad news from NPR that he died yesterday. I was shocked by the sobs that came. And I was moved by the 15-minute tribute they offered to him.
What a hero he was. What a courageous mountain of a man. What a saint of journalism. The world of journalism is impoverished by his death. And we – we who seek to be informed citizens – are impoverished.
I don’t keep up with popular culture. Standing in line at the grocery store, I am ignorant about the names that blaze from the magazine covers. Lindsay Lohan? Perez Hilton? Some Mel Gibson blow-up? Lady Gaga? Ignorant. I’m totally ignorant about all that stuff.
But in my little world, yesterday’s death of Daniel Schorr was like a major earthquake. I felt like I knew him. I trusted him. I am strangely grieved by the death of this man whom I never met. It still brings tears to my eyes.
I sat in the car and wept last evening as I heard the news from NPR.I’ll confess it: I am a total NPR junkie. I wake to it in the morning. When I get to my car after work, it’s already on. On weekends, I plan my activities around it. On Saturday mornings, I especially waited for the segment in which Scott Simon would talk with Daniel Schorr about his thoughts and perspective on the political news of the week.
Over the last couple of years, I’ve been thinking, “What in the world will I do when Daniel Schorr is gone?” I knew he was beyond 90 years old. I knew he would have to die some day. I just couldn’t imagine what NPR or the world of journalism or I would be without his wise voice, his perspective, his wisdom.
When I got into the car last evening, I heard the sad news from NPR that he died yesterday. I was shocked by the sobs that came. And I was moved by the 15-minute tribute they offered to him.
What a hero he was. What a courageous mountain of a man. What a saint of journalism. The world of journalism is impoverished by his death. And we – we who seek to be informed citizens – are impoverished.
I don’t keep up with popular culture. Standing in line at the grocery store, I am ignorant about the names that blaze from the magazine covers. Lindsay Lohan? Perez Hilton? Some Mel Gibson blow-up? Lady Gaga? Ignorant. I’m totally ignorant about all that stuff.
But in my little world, yesterday’s death of Daniel Schorr was like a major earthquake. I felt like I knew him. I trusted him. I am strangely grieved by the death of this man whom I never met. It still brings tears to my eyes.
posted by Lisa Fox at 7/24/2010 08:15:00 AM
8 Comments:
A huge loss to the world of truth and honor.
More on his life here
I am listening to their hour-long special on Schorr. I, too, will miss greatly his voice... especially on Saturday morning.
Hear, hear. May he rest in peace.
I remember him on the CBS evening news growing up; his segment was my favorite part, and his voice, I loved to hear his voice speaking such truth, the same truth that earned him the exit door when the truth was hitting too close to home for some.
May he rest in peace and rise in glory, with light shining perpetually around him. Nope, no hiding his light under a bushel basket...no sir-ee.
Deep thanks for your comments here. And thanks, Ann, for that link.
I actually wrote this post on Friday evening, after the news of his death was announced. Hearing NPR's "Weekend Edition" on Saturday and Sunday just kept bringing back the sadness. I must always so it did my heart good to hear the genuine affection -- personal and professional -- in which the NPR staff so obviously held him.
As Shakespeare wrote [about the death of Prince Hall, I think it was]: We shall not see his like again.
But if there are heirs to Dan Schorr's mantle, I suspect they are folks like Scott Simon, Bob Edwards, Susan Stamberg. They seem to have many of the same skills. However, they don't have the level of visibility that Dan Schorr had at CBS ... so they probably can never be the national-level icons that Daniel Schorr was.
Damn! I miss his voice already.
BTW, I heard this morning that his funeral was to be today. You folks are better than I had this web-seeking stuff. Is the service online anywhere? C-Span? NPR? If you find it, would you post the link here?
I, too, felt real grief at the loss. In fact, I really have no other words, yet.
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