Bob Edwards - Controversial Departure From NPR

Controversial Departure From NPR

In April 2004, NPR executives decided to "freshen up" Morning Edition's sound. Edwards was removed as host, replaced with Steve Inskeep and Renée Montagne, and reassigned as a senior correspondent for NPR News. The move took him by surprise. "I'd rather stay," he said, "but it's not my decision to make." At first, NPR executives and spokespersons did not fully explain the move, leaving many listeners confused. Eventually they did make some attempts to explain themselves. According to NPR spokeswoman Laura Gross, "It’s part of a natural evolution. A new host will bring new ideas and perspectives to the show. Bob's voice will still be heard; he’ll still be a tremendous influence on the show. We just felt it was time for a change." Executive Vice President Ken Stern also explained the move. "This change in Morning Edition is part of the ongoing evaluation of all NPR programming that has taken place over the last several years. We've looked at shows like All Things Considered and Talk of the Nation with an eye to how we can best serve listeners in the future." Stern later participated in an online chat with listeners at NPR's website, but only heightened their confusion and anger.

The decision to remove Edwards, made shortly before his 25th anniversary with the show, was met with much criticism by listeners. Jeffrey Dvorkin, NPR's ombudsman, reported that the network received over 50,000 letters and emails regarding Edwards' demotion, most of them angry. This is the largest reaction to one subject NPR has ever received, even more than its noted Middle Eastern coverage. Other journalists, including ABC's Cokie Roberts and CBS' Charles Osgood, expressed dissatisfaction with the move.

His final broadcast as the host was on April 30, 2004; his last 'Morning Edition interview was with Charles Osgood, who had also been Edwards' first Morning Edition interview subject almost 25 years earlier. Coincidentally, the last show also included a segment about the last Oldsmobile, which rolled off an assembly line the day before.

During his final months at NPR, Edwards wrote his second book, Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism (ISBN 0-471-47753-2), published in May 2004. The book, a short biography of Edward R. Murrow, brought some public attention to history's most noted broadcast journalist prior to the release of the 2004 film Good Night and Good Luck. NPR removed Edwards from Morning Edition that spring, rather than waiting for his 25th anniversary with the show in the fall, using the book tour to make a "clean break," rather than bringing him back for a final three-month stint.

Edwards decided not to remain at NPR as a senior correspondent, filing only one story in that role (an interview with Bob Dole and other Senate veterans of World War II about the Washington, DC World War II memorial). Three months after his departure from Morning Edition, XM Satellite Radio announced that he had signed on to host a new program, The Bob Edwards Show, for its new XM Public Radio channel.

His memoir, A Voice in the Box, was published in September, 2011.