Edward Ware Barrett (1910–1989) was an American

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

who was

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from 1950 to 1952, and

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of the

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism s ...

from 1956 to 1968, in which capacity he founded the ''

Columbia Journalism Review The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its contents include news and media industry trends, an ...

'' in 1961.

Biography

Barrett was born on July 3, 1910, in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, where his father was editor of the Birmingham ''Age-Herald''. He was educated at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

, graduating with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in public and international affairs in 1932. During his time at Princeton, he was editor of ''

The Daily Princetonian ''The Daily Princetonian'', originally known as ''The Princetonian'' and nicknamed the Prince, is the independent daily student newspaper of Princeton University. Founded on June 14, 1876 as ''The'' ''Princetonian'', it changed its name to ''T ...

''. After college, Barrett worked briefly for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, before joining ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

'' as a researcher-writer; later, he became the magazine's Washington correspondent and then its national affairs editor. He moved to ''Today'' magazine in 1937, but ''Today'' merged with ''Newsweek'' later in 1937, and he was therefore back at ''Newsweek''. Barrett originated the "Periscope" feature at ''Newsweek''. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Barrett joined the

Office of the Coordinator of Information The Office of the Coordinator of Information was an intelligence and propaganda agency of the United States Government, founded on July 11, 1941, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, prior to U.S. involvement in the Second World War. It was intend ...

, which later became the Office of Strategic Services. Later in 1942, he became chief of the overseas news and features division of the

Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...

. After the war, Barrett returned to ''Newsweek'' in 1946. In 1950,

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Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

named Barrett

and Barrett held this office from February 16, 1950, until February 20, 1952. After his time at the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

, Barrett founded his own

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

firm, Edward W. Barrett and Associates. In 1953, he published a

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

entitled ''Truth Is Our Weapon'' recounting his experiences during World War II. He joined Hill & Knowlton as executive vice president in 1956. In 1956, Barrett became

of the

, a post he would hold until 1968, when he resigned. He explained, somewhat cryptically, that his resignation had to do with the Columbia student riots of that year. He founded the ''

'' in 1961. In 1963, he published a second book, entitled ''Journalism in Action''. Barrett died at Greenwich Hospital in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast, Greenwich is home to many hedge funds and other ...

on October 23, 1989, at the age of 79.

References

Glenn Fowler, "Edward W. Barrett, 79, Ex-Journalism Dean, Dies", ''New York Times'', October 25, 1989
* ttp://www.trumanlibrary.org/oralhist/barrette.htm Oral History Interview with Edward W. Barrett at the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum* Arthur M. Louis, ''Journalism and Other Atrocities''. Createspace.com (2010)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, Edward 1910 births 1989 deaths United States Assistant Secretaries of State Writers from Birmingham, Alabama Princeton University alumni Newsweek people Maria Moors Cabot Prize winners People of the United States Office of War Information Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism faculty American male journalists American public relations people 20th-century American non-fiction writers Journalists from Alabama 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American journalists