This I Believe
Encyclopedia
This I Believe was a five-minute CBS Radio Network
program hosted by journalist Edward R. Murrow
from 1951 to 1955. A half-hour European version of This I Believe ran from 1956 to 1958 over Radio Luxembourg
.
The show encouraged both famous and everyday people to write short essay
s about their own personal motivation in life and then read them on the air. This I Believe became a cultural phenomenon that stressed individual belief rather than religious dogma. Its popularity both developed and waned within the era of U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy
and the Cold War
.
The show was revived by Dan Gediman and Jay Allison
on NPR from 2005-2009, and subsequently by Preston Manning
on Canada
's CBC Radio One
in 2007. Essays that appear on the show are available free of charge at its website.
In 2009 and 2010, some of the original 1951 This I Believe programs were rebroadcast on PRI's Bob Edwards Weekend. Since late 2010, all new This I Believe segments have been broadcast on Bob Edwards Weekend and are also available free of charge via podcast.
(who had spent of the latter 1930s and most of 1940s in the United Kingdom
and continental Europe
), and the emerging Cold War hostility with the Soviet Union
.
During Murrow's stay in London he had become a friend of the WWII British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
(who had an American mother and British father), and this enabled him to introduce Churchill to William S. Paley
, who was his boss at CBS. During WWII Paley spent much of his time in London working in the Psychological Warfare Branch of the Office of War Information (OWI), which included redirecting the transmitters of Radio Luxembourg
following the liberation of the Grand Duchy, for use as a black propaganda
station (Radio 1212)
. Meanwhile Murrow had "covered the London air raids from the streets and rooftops ...went on 25 bombing missions over Germany and broadcast from a British minesweeper in World War II." (See TIME magazine, Monday, September 30, 1957: : This is Murrow) This close relationship between Murrow, Paley, CBS and the British Establishment led to an offer after the War for Murrow to become part of the editorial diarchy at the British Broadcasting Corporation, an offer that was not endorsed by the BBC Board of Directors.
Murrow returned to the USA which was in a growing Cold War
with its former WWII partner, the Soviet Union. During these years of the late 1940s and early 1950s, political paranoia involving a Communist
conspiracy was flowing from Washington, DC and it eventually came to be led by U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy
. Paley who came from a CBS/OWI background also became a firm supporter of the new Central Intelligence Agency
after the War and allowed some of his part-time CBS newsmen to serve as CIA agents. His own Paley Foundation also became engaged in laundering money for the CIA and Paley allowed the creation of a CBS blacklist
and Murrow was among the first to sign a CBS loyalty affirmation. (See pages 303-307, In All His Glory: The life of WIlliam S. Paley.) At the same time the Pledge of Allegiance
was being repackaged amid controversy
as a general test of American loyalty at large, and it was into this climate of fear and agitation that Murrow introduced his new radio program: This I Believe.
Murrow's style of presentation had been influenced by a teacher of speech named Ida Lou Anderson
. She suggested that he should become more concise in his opening presentations on radio. Cesar Saerchinger, his predecessor at CBS Europe had introduced his broadcasts with: "Hello America. This is London calling." Murrow abbreviated his own opening remarks to "This...is London" and he soon began adapting the prefix "this" to many titles including "This... I Believe". James Earl Jones
became one of many to adopt the Murrow style when he later announced: "This...is CNN". Murrow was not without his critics at CBS, and some of his colleagues had formed their own "Murrow-Ain't-God Club" (ibid TIME
September 30, 1957.)
in Philadelphia and was aired over the CBS Radio Network
and 196 affiliated stations between 1951 and 1955. The Program Director was Edward P. Morgan
who told potential contributors that This I Believe was a "non-religious" program and that it was not a forum for one contributor to attack the beliefs of another contributor. The actual time allotted to each contributor in order to allow for the introduction, closing and sponsorship of the program, was three and a half minutes. Novelist Kathleen Norris
refused to participate on the grounds that "It's either a mawkish sermon, or it's indecent exposure." (See TIME
magazine, Monday, December 1, 1952.)
This I Believe was also relayed by U.S. government funding over the Voice of America
and the U.S. Armed Forces Network
to listeners in 97 foreign countries. The BBC World Service
, funded by the British Foreign Office, relayed the program to Australia
.
A print version of the show appeared in 85 U.S. newspapers where contributors were asked to submit essays containing no more than 600 words. The U.S. State Department offered these editions to foreign newspapers in 97 nations with which the USA had diplomatic relations.
In 1952 Simon and Schuster published This I Believe: Written for, and with a foreword by Edward R. Murrow and edited by Edward P. Morgan. Its cover stated that it contained: ...the personal philosophies of one hundred thoughtful men and women. Its sales were only exceeded by the Bible
.
A cover description of its contents stated that:
as a half-hour show over its famous 208 wavelength. It was described in programme listings as "the human drama programme telling of faith in times of trouble and adversity", and "the programme that brings you human drama and tells the story of people where courage and belief form an integral part of their life." While the 208 wavelength schedule of Radio Luxembourg was aimed at serving the British Isles with a commercial radio station format of American shows that were not provided by the monopoly of the non-commercial BBC
, its actual audience covered much of Europe
and beyond via its simultaneous transmissions over 49.26 meters in the Shortwave Band.
The first English language European series of This I Believe began on September 16, 1956 at 9:30 PM on Sundays under the sponsorship of the Co-operative Wholesale Society, Ltd. It was hosted by Sir Basil Bartlett who had a part in British WWII propaganda films. The script was written by James Carhatt and Nicholas Winter.
A second series began on October 6, 1957 and presented by host James McKechnie with research by Susan Franks and script written by James Eastwood.
The third series was hosted by Richard Hurndall
and began on October 5, 1958 with a script written by Paul Tabori. This last series concentrated upon the lives of celebrities such as Shirley Bassey
, Vanessa Lee and T.E.B.Clark.
The series was produced by Monty Bailey-Watson in London
where it was recorded by a unique process on to the audio tracks of film strips for later transmission from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The final series ended when American originated talk shows that had been heard on Radio Luxembourg
, began to give way to the increasing demand for sponsored record programmes (which could be produced at a lower cost for higher revenue), in order to satisfy the British demand for recorded music that was not available on the BBC.
and Jay Allison
. It was independently produced by Dan Gediman and Jay Allison from 2005-2009 for the non-profit organization This I Believe, Inc. The series invites individuals to write short essays about the core beliefs that guide their daily life. NPR aired these personal statements each week on their newsmagazine programs Morning Edition
, All Things Considered
, Weekend Edition Sunday and Tell Me More
. On the February 16 episode, Allison announced that "our series will be finishing its four-year run in April." True to his word, the NPR series concluded on Sunday, April 26, 2009. However, the series continues with weekly segments on PRI's Bob Edwards Weekend and Sirius XM's The Bob Edwards Show (see below).
, Isabel Allende
, Bill Gates
, Gloria Steinem
, Newt Gingrich
, Penn Jillette
. Henry Holt and Co., ISBN 0-8050-8087-2
A second volume, This I Believe II: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women, was published in 2008. It collects seventy-five new essays by people both famous and unknown. Among the new contributors are Yo-Yo Ma
, Elie Wiesel
, Tony Hawk
, Mary Chapin Carpenter
, and Michelle Gardner-Quinn. ISBN 9780805087680
Another book, This I Believe: On Love was published in 2010. It collects sixty new essays from public radio listeners on the subject of love. ISBN 978-0-470-87268-0
This I believe: Life Lessons was published in October 2011. It is a collection of essays on the personal beliefs and guiding principals in American life. ISBN 978-1118074541
began airing its own version of the show on May 14, 2007. The first forty essays were commissioned from prominent Canadians, including Julie Payette
, Rick Hansen
and Joe Clark
, although subsequent essays are invited from the public. The show is hosted by former politician Preston Manning
.
CBS Radio Network
The CBS Radio Network provides news, sports and other programming to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by CBS Corporation, and operated by CBS Radio ....
program hosted by journalist Edward R. Murrow
Edward R. Murrow
Edward Roscoe Murrow, KBE was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada.Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, and Alexander Kendrick...
from 1951 to 1955. A half-hour European version of This I Believe ran from 1956 to 1958 over Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg (English)
Radio Luxembourg is a commercial broadcaster in many languages from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is nowadays known in most non-English languages as RTL ....
.
The show encouraged both famous and everyday people to write short essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
s about their own personal motivation in life and then read them on the air. This I Believe became a cultural phenomenon that stressed individual belief rather than religious dogma. Its popularity both developed and waned within the era of U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
and the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.
The show was revived by Dan Gediman and Jay Allison
Jay Allison
Jay Allison is an American independent public radio producer and broadcast journalist. His work has been featured on radio programs such as This American Life, as well as National Public Radio's All Things Considered, and Morning Edition...
on NPR from 2005-2009, and subsequently by Preston Manning
Preston Manning
Ernest Preston Manning, CC is a Canadian politician. He was the only leader of the Reform Party of Canada, a Canadian federal political party that evolved into the Canadian Alliance...
on Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
in 2007. Essays that appear on the show are available free of charge at its website.
In 2009 and 2010, some of the original 1951 This I Believe programs were rebroadcast on PRI's Bob Edwards Weekend. Since late 2010, all new This I Believe segments have been broadcast on Bob Edwards Weekend and are also available free of charge via podcast.
Background
The idea for This I Believe flowed from both the WWII broadcasting experiences of Edward R. MurrowEdward R. Murrow
Edward Roscoe Murrow, KBE was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada.Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, and Alexander Kendrick...
(who had spent of the latter 1930s and most of 1940s in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and continental Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
), and the emerging Cold War hostility with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
During Murrow's stay in London he had become a friend of the WWII British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
(who had an American mother and British father), and this enabled him to introduce Churchill to William S. Paley
William S. Paley
William S. Paley was the chief executive who built Columbia Broadcasting System from a small radio network into one of the foremost radio and television network operations in the United States.-Early life:...
, who was his boss at CBS. During WWII Paley spent much of his time in London working in the Psychological Warfare Branch of the Office of War Information (OWI), which included redirecting the transmitters of Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg (English)
Radio Luxembourg is a commercial broadcaster in many languages from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is nowadays known in most non-English languages as RTL ....
following the liberation of the Grand Duchy, for use as a black propaganda
Black propaganda
Black propaganda is false information and material that purports to be from a source on one side of a conflict, but is actually from the opposing side. It is typically used to vilify, embarrass or misrepresent the enemy...
station (Radio 1212)
Radio 1212
Radio 1212 or Nachtsender 1212 was a black propaganda radio station operated from 1944 to 1945 by the Psychological Warfare Branch of the US Office of War Information under the direction of CBS radio chief William S. Paley, who was based in London...
. Meanwhile Murrow had "covered the London air raids from the streets and rooftops ...went on 25 bombing missions over Germany and broadcast from a British minesweeper in World War II." (See TIME magazine, Monday, September 30, 1957: : This is Murrow) This close relationship between Murrow, Paley, CBS and the British Establishment led to an offer after the War for Murrow to become part of the editorial diarchy at the British Broadcasting Corporation, an offer that was not endorsed by the BBC Board of Directors.
Murrow returned to the USA which was in a growing Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
with its former WWII partner, the Soviet Union. During these years of the late 1940s and early 1950s, political paranoia involving a Communist
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
conspiracy was flowing from Washington, DC and it eventually came to be led by U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
. Paley who came from a CBS/OWI background also became a firm supporter of the new Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
after the War and allowed some of his part-time CBS newsmen to serve as CIA agents. His own Paley Foundation also became engaged in laundering money for the CIA and Paley allowed the creation of a CBS blacklist
Blacklist
A blacklist is a list or register of entities who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, mobility, access or recognition. As a verb, to blacklist can mean to deny someone work in a particular field, or to ostracize a person from a certain social circle...
and Murrow was among the first to sign a CBS loyalty affirmation. (See pages 303-307, In All His Glory: The life of WIlliam S. Paley.) At the same time the Pledge of Allegiance
Pledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is an expression of loyalty to the federal flag and the republic of the United States of America, originally composed by Christian Socialist Francis Bellamy in 1892 and formally adopted by Congress as the pledge in 1942...
was being repackaged amid controversy
Pledge of Allegiance criticism
The criticism of the Pledge of Allegiance of the United States exists on several grounds. Its use in public schools has been the most controversial, as critics contend that a government-sanctioned endorsement of religion violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S....
as a general test of American loyalty at large, and it was into this climate of fear and agitation that Murrow introduced his new radio program: This I Believe.
Murrow's style of presentation had been influenced by a teacher of speech named Ida Lou Anderson
Ida Lou Anderson
Ida Lou Anderson was a pioneer in the field of radio broadcasting. She was a professor at Washington State College in the 1920's and 1930's. One of Anderson's earliest and most impressive students was Edward R...
. She suggested that he should become more concise in his opening presentations on radio. Cesar Saerchinger, his predecessor at CBS Europe had introduced his broadcasts with: "Hello America. This is London calling." Murrow abbreviated his own opening remarks to "This...is London" and he soon began adapting the prefix "this" to many titles including "This... I Believe". James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
became one of many to adopt the Murrow style when he later announced: "This...is CNN". Murrow was not without his critics at CBS, and some of his colleagues had formed their own "Murrow-Ain't-God Club" (ibid TIME
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
September 30, 1957.)
The original CBS series (1951–1955)
The original five-minute series began at WCAUWCAU
WCAU, channel 10, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. WCAU has its studios on the border between Philadelphia and Bala Cynwyd. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 34 from a transmitter in the...
in Philadelphia and was aired over the CBS Radio Network
CBS Radio Network
The CBS Radio Network provides news, sports and other programming to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by CBS Corporation, and operated by CBS Radio ....
and 196 affiliated stations between 1951 and 1955. The Program Director was Edward P. Morgan
Edward P. Morgan
Edward Paddock Morgan was an American journalist and writer who reported for newspapers, radio, and television media services including ABC, CBS networks, and Public Broadcasting Service Public television....
who told potential contributors that This I Believe was a "non-religious" program and that it was not a forum for one contributor to attack the beliefs of another contributor. The actual time allotted to each contributor in order to allow for the introduction, closing and sponsorship of the program, was three and a half minutes. Novelist Kathleen Norris
Kathleen Norris
Kathleen Thompson Norris was an American novelist and wife of fellow writer Charles Norris, whom she wed in 1909...
refused to participate on the grounds that "It's either a mawkish sermon, or it's indecent exposure." (See TIME
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
magazine, Monday, December 1, 1952.)
This I Believe was also relayed by U.S. government funding over the Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
and the U.S. Armed Forces Network
AFN
AFN is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* Alaska Federation of Natives* American Forces Network* Ancestral File Number* Assembly of First Nations* AFN Ltd was the company that owned the British car maker Frazer Nash from 1926 to 1957....
to listeners in 97 foreign countries. The BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
, funded by the British Foreign Office, relayed the program to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
A print version of the show appeared in 85 U.S. newspapers where contributors were asked to submit essays containing no more than 600 words. The U.S. State Department offered these editions to foreign newspapers in 97 nations with which the USA had diplomatic relations.
In 1952 Simon and Schuster published This I Believe: Written for, and with a foreword by Edward R. Murrow and edited by Edward P. Morgan. Its cover stated that it contained: ...the personal philosophies of one hundred thoughtful men and women. Its sales were only exceeded by the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
.
A cover description of its contents stated that:
...this book is the further extension of an idea that has already exploded into the most widely listened to radio program in the world. That idea is simple. It is that men and women will live happier and richer lives if they deliberately decide what they want from life — what they want in material things and the relative importance of moral and spiritual things. You, like most people, undoubtedly have certain rules by which you run your life. But, again like most people, you've probably never tried to formulate them, even to yourself. That's where the men and women in this book differ from you. They have at least tried to do so. They have "looked in their hearts and written," humbly and hesitantly, upon the invitation of the distinguished radio and television news analyst, Edward R. Murrow. "After all," says he, "the only way of discovering what people believe is to ask them." What these thoughtful people, in all walks of life, have written is here for you to read and ponder, and perhaps to emulate — in this collection of the 100 of the best of the personal philosophies of life which Mr. Murrow has discovered among the many hundreds contributed to This I Believe - on the air and in newspapers.
How the show began
According to Ward Wheelock who wrote a preface to the 1952 book, This I Believe was launched in 1949 at a business luncheon of four men (Murrow being one, but he did not name the other three. However, in a postscript written by Murrow he stated that the editorial board of This I Believe consisted of himself, Wheelock and Edward P. Morgan.) He related that the reasons for the project "were obvious":
...the uncertainty of the economic future, the shadow of war, the atom bomb, army service for one's self or loved ones, the frustration of young people facing the future.
This I Believe, books
- USA edition - 100 essays edited by Edward P. Morgan. 1952, Simon & Schuster. Second edition published 1953.
- UK edition — with 50 British and 50 American essays, published 1954.
- Egyptian edition with 50 Arabian and 50 American writers - published in Arabic 1954.
This I Believe, record
- This I Believe: With Commentary by Edward R. Murrow. The Personal Philosophies of Ten Living Americans & 10 Immortals. Columbia SL-192.
See also
- Edward R. MurrowEdward R. MurrowEdward Roscoe Murrow, KBE was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada.Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, and Alexander Kendrick...
– host of the original 1951–1955 CBS series - Edward P. MorganEdward P. MorganEdward Paddock Morgan was an American journalist and writer who reported for newspapers, radio, and television media services including ABC, CBS networks, and Public Broadcasting Service Public television....
– program director of the original series - CBS Radio NetworkCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
Radio Luxembourg series (1956–1958)
When the original American series ended, This I Believe was broadcast by Radio LuxembourgRadio Luxembourg (English)
Radio Luxembourg is a commercial broadcaster in many languages from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is nowadays known in most non-English languages as RTL ....
as a half-hour show over its famous 208 wavelength. It was described in programme listings as "the human drama programme telling of faith in times of trouble and adversity", and "the programme that brings you human drama and tells the story of people where courage and belief form an integral part of their life." While the 208 wavelength schedule of Radio Luxembourg was aimed at serving the British Isles with a commercial radio station format of American shows that were not provided by the monopoly of the non-commercial BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, its actual audience covered much of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and beyond via its simultaneous transmissions over 49.26 meters in the Shortwave Band.
The first English language European series of This I Believe began on September 16, 1956 at 9:30 PM on Sundays under the sponsorship of the Co-operative Wholesale Society, Ltd. It was hosted by Sir Basil Bartlett who had a part in British WWII propaganda films. The script was written by James Carhatt and Nicholas Winter.
A second series began on October 6, 1957 and presented by host James McKechnie with research by Susan Franks and script written by James Eastwood.
The third series was hosted by Richard Hurndall
Richard Hurndall
Richard Gibbon Hurndall was an English actor.-BBC radio:Hurndall was born in Darlington and he attended Claremont Preparatory School, Darlington and Scarborough College, before training as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. He then appeared in several plays at Stratford-upon-Avon...
and began on October 5, 1958 with a script written by Paul Tabori. This last series concentrated upon the lives of celebrities such as Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
, Vanessa Lee and T.E.B.Clark.
The series was produced by Monty Bailey-Watson in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where it was recorded by a unique process on to the audio tracks of film strips for later transmission from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The final series ended when American originated talk shows that had been heard on Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg (English)
Radio Luxembourg is a commercial broadcaster in many languages from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is nowadays known in most non-English languages as RTL ....
, began to give way to the increasing demand for sponsored record programmes (which could be produced at a lower cost for higher revenue), in order to satisfy the British demand for recorded music that was not available on the BBC.
New NPR series (2005–2009)
This I Believe is a weekly radio series that began airing April 2005 in the United States on National Public Radio produced by Dan GedimanDan Gediman
Dan Gediman is an American radio producer and performing songwriter. He is the executive producer of the public radio series This I Believe and co-editor, with Jay Allison, of the books This I Believe and This I Believe II: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women...
and Jay Allison
Jay Allison
Jay Allison is an American independent public radio producer and broadcast journalist. His work has been featured on radio programs such as This American Life, as well as National Public Radio's All Things Considered, and Morning Edition...
. It was independently produced by Dan Gediman and Jay Allison from 2005-2009 for the non-profit organization This I Believe, Inc. The series invites individuals to write short essays about the core beliefs that guide their daily life. NPR aired these personal statements each week on their newsmagazine programs Morning Edition
Morning Edition
Morning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 09:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...
, All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
, Weekend Edition Sunday and Tell Me More
Tell Me More
Tell Me More is a National Public Radio daytime interview show hosted by journalist Michel Martin. Tell Me More was first introduced in a novel way; it was made available online in December 2006 through an "open piloting" program called "Rough Cuts." Martin and the show's producers provided a...
. On the February 16 episode, Allison announced that "our series will be finishing its four-year run in April." True to his word, the NPR series concluded on Sunday, April 26, 2009. However, the series continues with weekly segments on PRI's Bob Edwards Weekend and Sirius XM's The Bob Edwards Show (see below).
This I Believe books
In 2006 a new book called This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women was published. It collects sixty essays from the NPR series, plus twenty essays from Murrow's original radio series. Among the new contributors are Colin PowellColin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
, Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende Llona is a Chilean writer with American citizenship. Allende, whose works sometimes contain aspects of the "magic realist" tradition, is famous for novels such as The House of the Spirits and City of the Beasts , which have been commercially successful...
, Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
, Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Marie Steinem is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s...
, Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....
, Penn Jillette
Penn Jillette
Penn Fraser Jillette is an American magician, comedian, illusionist, juggler, bassist and a best-selling author known for his work with fellow illusionist Teller in the team Penn & Teller, and advocacy of atheism, libertarian philosophy, free-market economics, and scientific skepticism.-Early...
. Henry Holt and Co., ISBN 0-8050-8087-2
A second volume, This I Believe II: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women, was published in 2008. It collects seventy-five new essays by people both famous and unknown. Among the new contributors are Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011...
, Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel
Sir Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel KBE; born September 30, 1928) is a Hungarian-born Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and...
, Tony Hawk
Tony Hawk
Anthony Frank "Tony" Hawk , nicknamed "The Birdman" is an American retired professional skateboarder and actor. Hawk gained significant fame for completing the first 900 as well as his licensed video game titles distributed by Activision...
, Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary Chapin Carpenter is an American folk and country music artist. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C. clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records, who marketed her as a country singer...
, and Michelle Gardner-Quinn. ISBN 9780805087680
Another book, This I Believe: On Love was published in 2010. It collects sixty new essays from public radio listeners on the subject of love. ISBN 978-0-470-87268-0
This I believe: Life Lessons was published in October 2011. It is a collection of essays on the personal beliefs and guiding principals in American life. ISBN 978-1118074541
New CBC series (2007)
CBC Radio OneCBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
began airing its own version of the show on May 14, 2007. The first forty essays were commissioned from prominent Canadians, including Julie Payette
Julie Payette
Julie Payette, OC, CQ is a Canadian engineer and a Canadian Space Agency astronaut. Payette has completed two spaceflights, STS-96 and STS-127, logging more than 25 days in space...
, Rick Hansen
Rick Hansen
Richard M. Hansen, CC, OBC is a Canadian Paralympian and an activist for people with spinal cord injuries. Following a car crash at the age of 15, Hansen sustained a spinal cord injury that paralyzed him from the waist down. Hansen is most famous for his Man In Motion World Tour...
and Joe Clark
Joe Clark
Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...
, although subsequent essays are invited from the public. The show is hosted by former politician Preston Manning
Preston Manning
Ernest Preston Manning, CC is a Canadian politician. He was the only leader of the Reform Party of Canada, a Canadian federal political party that evolved into the Canadian Alliance...
.
New PRI series (2009-Present)
In May 2009, This I Believe, Inc. moved its broadcast operations to the Public Radio International (PRI) program Bob Edwards Weekend and the related Sirius XM program The Bob Edwards Show. These programs feature a weekly This I Believe segment which airs first on Fridays on Sirius XM then on the following weekend on PRI's Bob Edwards Weekend. From May 2009 until August 2010, Edwards each week interviewed This I Believe, Inc.'s Executive Director Dan Gediman about a different episode of Murrow's 1950s radio series, which was then heard in its entirety. Beginning in September 2010, Edwards has each week been airing a new contemporary This I Believe essay, written by one of the tens of thousands of listeners who have submitted essays to This I Believe, Inc. since the beginning of their public radio series in 2005.External links
- This I Believe, Inc.
- "This I Believe" NPR homepage
- "This I Believe" CBC homepage
- Historical archive of the show
- Discussion of the NPR revival
- Interview with Jay Allison on the podcast and public radio interview program ThoughtCast.
- Profile of Jay Allison; "Following the Heard: How Jay Allison Went Searching for Sound and Inspired a Radio Revolution"
- Global Youth Fund's This I Believe - Democratic youth charity launched its own This I Believe essay project targeting youth around the world. Essays are posted on Global Youth Fund's website and distributed via podcast.
- This I Believe (book) reading guides