Edward Ware Barrett (July 3, 1910 – October 3, 1989) was an American

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

who was

Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Assistant may refer to: * Assistant (by Speaktoit), a virtual assistant app for smartphones * Assistant (software), a software tool to assist in computer configuration * Google Assistant, a virtual assistant by Google * ''The Assistant'' (TV ser ...

from 1950 to 1952, and

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

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 sch ...

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 original purpose was "to assess the performance ...

'' in 1961.

Biography

Barrett was born on July 3, 1910, in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, where his father was

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

of the Birmingham ''Age-Herald''. He was educated at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, graduating with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

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. The newspaper is owned by The Daily Princetonian Publishing Co. and boasts a cir ...

''. After college, Barrett worked briefly for

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

, before joining ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Barrett joined the

Office of the Coordinator of Information The Office of the Coordinator of Information (COI) 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 in ...

, which later became the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...

. 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,

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

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 simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

, 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. Pu ...

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

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on 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 autob ...

entitled ''Truth Is Our Weapon'' recounting his experiences during World War II. He joined

Hill & Knowlton Hill & Knowlton is an American global public relations consulting company, headquartered in New York City. The firm has over 80 additional offices in more than 40 countries. The company was founded in Cleveland, in 1927 by John W. Hill and is no ...

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 New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 63,518. It is the largest town on Gold Coast (Connecticut), Connectic ...

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 Journalists 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 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American journalists