Celebrating Douglas Edwards, a CBS legend

A centennial celebration for a CBS legend

"CBS News presents Douglas Edwards with up-to-the minute developments from all parts of the world." That's how America was introduced to network television's first anchor.

Douglas Edwards, the first anchor of this broadcast, was born 100 years ago, on July 14, 1917 in Ada, Oklahoma.

A radio veteran, Edwards was tapped to anchor the first nightly network TV newscast, in 1948 -- put together, he would later say, "with spit, bailing wire and high spirits."

Douglas Edwards CBS News

Edwards told us in 1988 that "each night, I was welcoming a new station -- until one night early in the early '50s I said, 'Good evening everybody, coast to coast.'"

Edwards anchored this newscast for 14 years, reporting the biggest stories of his time. 

Edwards holds a record not likely to be broken: He anchored a daily network television newscast for 40 years.  

"Douglas Edwards, CBS News, New York. More news later on this CBS station," he said.

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