Martin Agronsky | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Agronsky in 1957 | |
| Born | Martin Zama Agrons (1915-01-12)January 12, 1915 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | July 25, 1999(1999-07-25) (aged 84) |
| Alma mater | Rutgers University |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1936–1988 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 5 |
| Relatives | Agron family |
| Awards | See list |
| Signature | |
 | |
Martin Zama Agronsky (/əˈɡrɒn.skɪ/ə-GRON-skih;[a] January 12, 1915 – July 25, 1999), also known asMartin Agronski,[4] was an American journalist, political analyst,[5] and television host. He began his career in 1936, working under his uncle,Gershon Agron, at thePalestine Post in Jerusalem, before deciding to work freelance in Europe a year later. At the outbreak ofWorld War II, he became a war correspondent forNBC, working across three continents before returning to the United States in 1943 and covering the last few years of the war from Washington, D.C., withABC.
After the war, Agronsky coveredMcCarthyism for ABC; fearless against McCarthy, he won aPeabody Award for 1952. When broadcast journalism moved away from radio, Agronsky returned to NBC, covering the news as well as interviewing prominent figures, includingMartin Luther King Jr. as a young man. He returned to Jerusalem for a time and won theAlfred I. duPont Award in 1961 for his coverage of theEichmann trial there. At the end of 1962, he recorded a documentary aboard the submarineUSSGeorge Washington which received an award at theVenice Film Festival. A prominent news reporter, and associate ofJohn F. Kennedy, he extensively covered the 1963assassination of Kennedy. The following year, he joinedCBS, reportedly becoming the only journalist to work for all three commercial networks. With CBS, he moderatedFace the Nation and won anEmmy for his interviews withHugo Black, which marked the first television interview with a sittingSupreme Court Justice.
He left major companies in 1968, joining a local network to helm his own show,Agronsky & Co. A success, the show pioneered the "talking heads" news format. He added theEvening Edition, an interview format, to his show, which became prominent for its coverage of theWatergate scandal. Agronsky then joinedPBS, swapping theEvening Edition for a longer interview show,Agronsky at Large. In his later career, he also acted as variations on himself in film and television. A graduate ofRutgers University, this institution would also award Agronsky an honorary Master of Arts and the Rutgers University Award (its highest honor), as well as inducting him into its Hall of Distinguished Alumni. He continued hostingAgronsky & Co. until 1988, when he retired from his over 50-year journalism career.
Martin Zama Agronsky[6] was born Martin Zama Agrons[7] inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania, on January 12, 1915, to Isador and Marcia (née Dvorin),Russian Jewish immigrants fromMinsk in present-day Belarus.[8] Isador Agrons changed the family name from Agronsky to Agrons some time before Martin's birth, but Martin chose to use the original name when he began his journalism career.[7] Members of the family variously used the names Agronsky, Agrons, and Agron. In his career, Agronsky had a friendship withHarry Golden, who befriended and became a confidant to Isador.[9]
Agronsky's family moved toAtlantic City, New Jersey, when he was a young child, and he graduated fromAtlantic City High School in 1932. He studied atRutgers University inNew Brunswick, New Jersey, graduating in 1936.[10] At Rutgers, Agronsky (still Agrons) wasa member of Jewish fraternitySigma Alpha Mu and represented them on the Interfraternity Council.[11][12][13]
In 1936, upon his graduation, Agronsky was offered a job as areporter for the English-languagePalestine Post, precursor to today'sJerusalem Post, which was owned by his uncle,Gershon Agron, and moved toJerusalem.[8][14] He left the newspaper in 1937[15] – he was uncomfortable working for Agron, calling it "purenepotism",[16] as he "wanted to make it on his own" – and moved to Paris[17][16] to open a bookstore,[15] before becoming afreelance journalist covering theSpanish Civil War.[8] During his time in Europe, primarily Britain and France,[18] he freelanced for various newspapers and translatedFrench stories intoEnglish for theInternational News Service;[19][16] he notably wrote an in-depth piece forForeign Affairs magazine on the rise ofanti-Semitism inMussolini's Italy.[20][21] This article caught the attention of the Paris bureau of theNew York Times, the newspaper at which Agronsky had long aspired to work.[16]
At the outbreak ofWorld War II, he moved toGeneva in Switzerland, where he metMax Jordan, theNational Broadcasting Company (NBC) bureau chief in Europe, who initially asked Agronsky to work freelance writing radio stories. Agronsky sold his stories to both NBC and theNew York Times.[16] Despite having nobroadcast journalism training, in April 1940 he was hired by NBC as a radiowar correspondent when the company expanded their coverage.[8][16] Agronsky was conflicted in taking the job, as on the same day he had been offered a foreign assignment job byThe New York Times, his dream job, but NBC was offering $250 per week plus expenses.[19][16] Jordan wanted to put together an NBC presence throughout Europe to cover the British conflict with Germany in theBalkans and tapped Agronsky to be the bureau chief there. Joining NBC as their Balkan correspondent, Agronsky became accredited by the British military andRoyal Air Force (RAF).[16] He covered the war from all over the Balkans and much of Eastern Europe before opening a permanent NBC bureau inAnkara, the capital of neutral Turkey.[19] Although based in Ankara, Agronsky spent most of his time in Istanbul.[citation needed] He then became aforeign correspondent in Europe and North Africa, transferring toCairo and being accredited to cover theBritish Eighth Army, in North Africa.[citation needed] Though NBC's European war coverage was not particularly celebrated, Agronsky "was a bright spot [...] distinguishing himself under fire in the Balkans, North Africa, and the Middle East."[8]
He was also accredited to cover "Malaya and theDutch East Indies" in Southeast Asia;[18] when NBC's Asia correspondentJohn Young had to leaveSingapore in November 1941 due to lack of British accreditation, Agronsky was sent in his stead, arriving from Ankara on December 22, 1941.[22] AfterPearl Harbor and Singapore were bombed by Japan on December 7–8, 1941, Agronsky, now considered a seasoned war correspondent, was sent to thePacific theater. His Pacific coverage would take him to Australia, where he was set to coverDouglas MacArthur's arrival inMelbourne.[8][23] In Singapore, Agronsky first stayed at theRaffles Hotel with other journalists, but left the week after Christmas 1941, on the daymartial law was declared, to stay outside the city. He was not allowed to send news of the implementation of martial law, due to the short length of his broadcasts, and was subject to the same censorship as the local press; fellow journalistCecil Brown was ultimately completely censored, and Agronsky was not permitted to telegraph this news for several days.[24] Brown had met Agronsky in Ankara in 1941, and described him then: "He is a jet-haired, zealous correspondent ... who gets almost all his information from the British Embassy. He works very hard ... and he andBurdett are busy cutting each other's throat to achieve what are euphemistically known as 'scoops.'"[14]
Agronsky was still in Singapore as the Japanese arrived, managing to catch the last plane out before the city was captured. He was then attached to MacArthur's troops and primarily covered Japan's conquest and the Allied retreat in Asia,[25][8][26] nearly being captured by Japanese soldiers inKuala Lumpur and riding with the Dutch military on aLockheed Lodestar for the final leg to Australia.[16] He came to national attention in 1942 due to his reporting in the Pacific, after broadcasting news that the Allies were struggling inJava due to expired munitions[2] and that the RAF had been turned away from Singapore as the Americans were not expecting them, suffering severe Japanese attacks in the confusion.[27] He flew with the RAF on some bombing missions.[16]
NBC was ordered to divest its radio network through theRed and Blue Networks in 1943, and Agronsky's contract was among those assigned to the "Blue" network, which NBC chose to divest. The associated assets became theAmerican Broadcasting Company (ABC); smaller and less-renowned than the already-established networks, ABC did not have a television bureau.[8] Agronsky returned to the United States in 1943 when he joined ABC.[16] While other prominent war journalists found themselves able to take senior positions on television, Agronsky was instead assigned toWashington, D.C.,[8] where he didThe Daily War Journal until the end of World War II.[citation needed][28][16]
Agronsky maintained his prominence as a radio journalist for ABC following the war. An early proponent ofcivil rights, when presidentHarry S. Truman gave hisspeech to the NAACP in 1947, Agronsky was sceptical, suggesting that it was "a political gesture";NAACP presidentWalter Francis White wrote to Agronsky to disagree, showing the NAACP's support for Truman.[29] In 1948, Agronsky helped to pioneer television coverage of Americanpolitical conventions,[30][31][32] continuing to report from them with the first major television broadcasts in 1952.[33][34] In 1948, Agronsky had the most sponsors in broadcasting, with 104.[35]
He then took a principled stance against growingMcCarthyism, also reporting on theHollywood 10 andHouse Un-American Activities Committee. While many reporters gavemilquetoast coverage of McCarthyism, said to be out of fear, Agronsky, likeCBS'sEdward R. Murrow after him, was openly critical of McCarthy and of the senators who enabled him. This bold stance saw Agronsky targeted withanti-Semitichate mail and his show lose sponsors,[8][36][37][38] apparently pressured to leave by McCarthy so that Agronsky's show would be taken off air;[36] ABC, however, "congratulated him and took him to lunch", and encouraged him to continue with the criticisms.[8][37] The conversation reportedly went:[36][39]
Robert Kintner: They suggested I should talk to you [Agronsky] about the way you're reporting McCarthy. Are you going to change?
Agronsky:(flatly) No.
Kintner: That's what I thought you'd say. Keep it up.
He won thePeabody Award for 1952 for his coverage and criticism of SenatorJoseph McCarthy's excessive accusations,[8] with the awarding committee noting that his ability to get "the story behind the story is distinctive".[40] He summarized McCarthy by saying: "Joe didn't take criticism very well."[16]
In 1953, Agronsky questioned presidentDwight D. Eisenhower on investigatingcommunism in churches and onbook burning.[41] ABC then became the only major network to broadcast the 1954Army–McCarthy hearings on television, growing their prominence[42] and "sinking McCarthy" due to the public exposure to his excesses.[43]
Agronsky also did a one-on-one discussion show at ABC,At Issue, which aired on Sunday evenings in 1953.[44] One prominent episode dealt with thetobacco crisis in 1953; new medical reports were appearing that suggested a link between smoking and lung cancer, and thetobacco industry was keen to encourage suppression of this information. One of few shows to cover the reports, Agronsky's program nevertheless "ended on a favorable note after conferences [withHill & Knowlton]", the public relations firm hired byBig Tobacco.[45][46]At Issue was moved to Sunday afternoons as part of its block of public affairs programming in 1954, and ended later that year when ABC faced technical and sponsorship issues, scrapping its Sunday afternoon programming.[47] Agronsky was a member of theRadio and Television Correspondents' Association (RTCA) from 1948;[48] and became its chair, ending his term in 1954 (whenRichard Harkness took the position) and becoming anex officio member of its executive committee.[47]
In 1956, with television now the leading broadcast medium, Agronsky left ABC (whose program was still weak) and returned to NBC, as a news correspondent.[8][16] From 1957 through 1964, starting with the Dave Garroway-hostedToday show, he did all the interviews out of Washington, D.C. In 1960, the show (and so Agronsky) began interviewingexecutive Secretaries. During this period his reputation grew.[8][NBC 1] He also hosted the one-on-one interview showLook Here, where he interviewed, among others,John F. Kennedy as a senator,[38][49] and a youngMartin Luther King Jr.[50][51] Agronsky interviewed King on multiple occasions, with King notably outlining hisnonviolence beliefs and faith in God onLook Here.[52][53][54] Also speaking on God, an answer Kennedy gave to Agronsky on his faith – that he would "uphold theConstitution" above all – became a prolific quote he used throughout his presidential campaign.[55][56]
Agronsky covered theEichmann trial, ofNaziwar criminalAdolf Eichmann, in Jerusalem in 1961 for nine months from start to finish, for which he won theAlfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award. Agronsky's reports were broadcast daily in a segment of theHuntley-Brinkley Report[8] at 6:30 a.m. as special reports;[57] he interviewedHolocaust survivors as well as figures of interest in Israel and Germany.[58] There was much media attention given to the trial, but typically on the wider implications, with little focus on the case of Eichmann: Agronsky's updates, including a verdict interview on theToday show, were atypical in their regularity.[59] Agronsky called the assignment the "most moving" story of his career.[16] While in Jerusalem, he spoke to friendRichard C. Blum, expressing his stress; Blum said that Agronsky was the go-to reporter in D.C. for Israel affairs.[60] Also in 1961, Agronsky interviewedFreedom Riders in the United States as the group was formed,[61] and covered theVienna summit.[16]
In December 1962, Agronsky and a film crew underwent Navy training and joined the submariners of theUSSGeorge Washington, part of theAmerican Polaris program, undersea for almost three weeks during operational duty to film the documentaryPolaris Submarine: Journal of an Undersea Voyage. It won a variety of awards, including a documentary award, the St Mark's Plaque – First Prize, at the 1963Venice Film Festival.[NBC 2][16]
Agronsky began television coverage of theMarch on Washington in August 1963, at 8:30 a.m. onToday, giving a half-hour report. Coverage then continued in different bursts across networks;[62] Agronsky reported withNancy Dickerson from theWashington Monument during the day.[NBC 3] This same month, NBC wrote that Agronsky's "incisive questioning of Cabinet members[,] Congressmen and otherWashington [D.C.] officials, as well as visiting statesmen from abroad, often results in important newsbreaks in the next day's papers."[NBC 4] Later in 1963, Agronsky was given special permission to travel to Moscow to report on nuclear discussions, after NBC had been banned.[NBC 5] Upon his return, he gave audiences his opinions on US foreign policy based on what he had witnessed, saying in such a global political climate, no country could remain a bystander, encouraging the general population to not be apathetic.[63]
In the four-day aftermath of theassassination of president John F. Kennedy, Agronsky was one of the senior journalists to leadthe large television news coverage.[64][65] The coverage invented thebreaking format of moderntelevision news.[66] Sociologists fromColumbia University, led byHerbert Gans, interviewed a selection of the on-air journalists covering the assassination shortly afterwards to assess its affects; many were questioned about showing emotion. Agronsky's response, saying a journalist cannot show emotion as it would be imposing feelings on the viewer, was later said to typify the view of the issue at the time. When pressed further on the matter by Gans, Agronsky added: "I wanted to cry, but you don't".[64] He was reported to be smoking as he delivered reports from Washington, D.C., during the coverage, while hiding his cigarettes from the camera.[66]
| Agronsky interviewing Governor Connally at his hospital bedside, November 27, 1963 | |
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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzvGIsu6KGo |
HistorianWilliam Manchester wrote that shortly after the shooting, Agronsky telephonedTed Kennedy to ask if he would be flying from D.C. to Dallas, one of limited communications Ted Kennedy received in the aftermath of his brother's assassination due to telephone lines overloading as people tried to call others to talk about the news.[67] Agronsky coveredKennedy's lying in state on theToday show. He noted that he had also covered the funeral ofFranklin D. Roosevelt, describing the different mood by explaining that people mourning Kennedy seemed moved by his unfulfilled potential.[68] On November 27, 1963, five days after the assassination, Agronsky conducted an interview with Texas governorJohn Connally from his bedside inParkland Memorial Hospital. Connally, to whom Agronsky was a good friend, had been riding in the seat ahead of Kennedy and was wounded.[69][70] As Connally recovered, the press were desperate to hear his story, but his aides deemed him too weak to face a conference. Instead, the combined press accepted the proposal to use a single reporter as apool, with all networks carrying the interview live. Connally's office chose Agronsky to be their reporter; he was found inArlington National Cemetery late the night before and took a midnight flight to Dallas.[71]
Agronsky had interviewed Kennedy in life, with segments re-run on the 20th anniversary of the assassination in television documentaryThank You, Mr. President,[72] and co-authored and edited the 1961 bookLet Us Begin: The First 100 Days of the Kennedy Administration.[73][74]
Agronsky moved to CBS in 1964. While there he held positions as the CBS bureau chief in Paris and moderator ofFace the Nation. In 1969 he won anEmmy Award for his CBS News Special Reports television documentaryJustice Black and the Bill of Rights orJustice Black and the Constitution, the first television interview withSupreme Court JusticeHugo Black, aboutBlack's views on incorporation of theBill of Rights.[8][16] This was rebroadcast in 1971.[75][76]
From 1968 to 1969, Agronsky was the Paris bureau chief for CBS.[16]
Agronsky became a news anchor forWTOP-TV in Washington, D.C., in 1969, and in 1970 became host of the political discussion television programAgronsky & Company, produced by the same station. The format had Agronsky introduce a short segment on the news with political reporters. Shortly afterward, Agronsky left the local evening news andAgronsky & Company became a stand-alone weekly show produced and syndicated byPost-Newsweek stations (WTOP's then-owner). The show was syndicated nationally by Post-Newsweek to local stations and thePublic Broadcasting Service (PBS) nationally, includingWETA in D.C.[77] It was syndicated, in 1981, to twenty-five television stations, andMutual Broadcasting System began carrying a radio format of the show in October 1981.[16]
In the 1970s and 80s, Agronsky also moderated a radio show,European Perspectives, tackling international news with foreign correspondents based in Washington on the panel.[16]
Broadcasting magazine noted in 1981 that Agronsky "still finds himself in the center of most of the biggest stories of the day."[16] He hostedAgronsky & Company until he retired in January 1988, and it proved to be one of the biggest successes of his career.[77] It was renamedInside Washington upon Agronsky's retirement, and was hosted byGordon Peterson until it ended in 2013.[78]
The show generally is credited as having invented the preeminent roundtable ("Talking Heads") discussion format for public affairs and political television shows that feature prominent journalists discussing current events and offering their opinions about them.Agronsky & Company did not have the spirited arguments and shouting that came to characterize many of its imitators, however. Its regular panelists includedHugh Sidey ofTime magazine,Peter Lisagor of theChicago Daily News, and columnistsCarl Rowan,James J. Kilpatrick,Elizabeth Drew, andGeorge Will. Although some of the liberal-versus-conservative argumentation now common on American public affairs shows began with pointed arguments betweenAgronsky & Company panelists, Agronsky himself always exerted a calming influence. The show was held in generally high regard; Ted Kennedy once said that "everybody who is in public life watches Agronsky."[10] In a celebrated essay for The New Republic, liberal pundit Michael Kinsley lampooned the program as "Jerkofsky and Company."
It had been at the forefront of the changing face of journalism in format and in terms of personalities, particularly the rise of "buckraking", with its panelists becoming national figures and often sought after as public speakers in later years.[79] In 1986, it was overtaken in ratings byJohn McLaughlin's copycat showThe McLaughlin Group; the major difference was said to be that "the pace ofMcLaughlin and its air of personal enmity give viewers the sense that they are watching genuine insider banter."[79]
After Agronsky's death,Agronsky & Co. commentator Hugh Sidey told theAmerican Journalism Review of the show:[77]
I think the first thing is, it was first of its particular nature... So it had its own flavor... And Martin was its patriarch... He was a true shoe-leather reporter... I can remember many a program when we came straight from reporting the story... We came right out of the trenches. I'm not saying that doesn't happen now... but not with the same frequency... I would often come from being with the president... Show business had really not invaded our world back then... The idea was not to shout down anybody... I think another reason for its success was the nature of the times... We had real, real problems, explosive problems, security problems--and the discussions, I think, reflected that gravity... Compared to today... the kind of melding here between entertainment and journalism... The nature of those times was quite different, and I think that helped out the program a great deal as well as the people on it.
In 1970, in addition to hostingAgronsky & Company once a week, Agronsky started a five-night-a-week half-hour interview show,Martin Agronsky's Evening Edition, produced byEastern Educational Network.[80][81] An early daily news program,[80] it became much-viewed during theWatergate scandal.[82]Richard Nixon reportedly watched the show avidly, sending Agronsky notes on his coverage.[8]Evening Edition extensively covered Nixon'spresidency, including theCold War détente andVietnam War.[81]Evening Edition aired nightly and was on before, during and after theWatergate break-in hearings broadcast on PBS that led, ultimately, toNixon's resignation on August 9, 1974.[8]Evening Edition went off the air in late 1975. Due to PBS experiencing "escalating program costs", it cut many shows going into 1976, includingEvening Edition.[83]
Though Agronsky had been on coast-to-coast stations for many years, the relatively local programming which he headlined "did much to make Agronsky an influential national figure."[8]
For PBS, Agronsky andPaul Duke interviewed presidentGerald Ford in 1975.[84] Agronsky then did a one-hour interview show weekly on PBS during 1976 titledAgronsky at Large, where he interviewed such guests asAlfred Hitchcock andAnwar Sadat shortly before the Egyptian leader's assassination.[77] He also interviewedMuhammad Ali andGeorge F. Kennan, a recording of which is held in theAmerican Archive of Public Broadcasting's Peabody Awards collection.[85]
InterviewingJody Powell, presidentJimmy Carter's press secretary, in 1977, Agronsky suggested that the "honeymoon" period between the media and new presidents had been effectively curtailed following the Vietnam War and Watergate.[86]
During his 52-year journalism career (print from 1936 to 1940 and radio and television from 1940 to 1988) Agronsky worked for all three commercial networks in the United States.[8] He is believed to be the only broadcast journalist/commentator to have worked for all three, and is the only person to work for all three and PBS. He was the first television reporter to interview a sittingSupreme Court Justice.[87]
Themoderator-ledpanel discussion format of news shows was, in 1984, described as "Martin Agronski style".[4]Agronsky & Company pioneered the "talking heads" news format.[87]
His papers, containing approximately 30,000 items, are held in a collection in theLibrary of Congress.[88][89]
Profiling him for his Peabody win,Newsweek noted that Agronsky was a figure, being 5' 11" and dark-haired.[90] He married Helen Smathers on September 1, 1943.[91] Smathers was aUnited States Army nurse whom he met in 1942 while covering MacArthur in Melbourne.[92] Agronsky returned to the U.S. in March 1943,[8] whereupon he expedited Smathers's return. They were married inBaltimore, Maryland, atCity Hall, grabbing a stranger off the street to be their witness.[citation needed] They went on to have four children: Marcia, Jonathan, David, and Julie.[8] He built a modernist house for his family in Washington, D.C. in 1951, though grew sick of the style by 1953.[90] In 1964, his home set on fire, suffering $35,000 worth of damage, and he broke his heel jumping from the second floor porch to get out.[93] Helen died on February 18, 1969, of cancer.[94] Agronsky then married Sharon Hines on April 22, 1971;[16] the marriage produced one child, Rachel. TheAmerican National Biography says that Agronsky and Hines divorced after fifteen years.[8] He died at his Rock Creek Park home in Washington, D.C., on July 25, 1999, ofcongestive heart failure. He was 84.[77]
Agronsky's son Jonathan Ian Zama Agronsky[95][96] is an American journalist and biographer. He attendedSt. Albans School in Washington, D.C.,[95] before studying English atDartmouth College; enrolling in 1964,[97] he failed his studies twice before graduating with anAB in 1971. He used his studentship to avoid the draft for theVietnam War, something about which he has expressed embarrassment, despite disagreeing with the war. He began professionally writing in 1967.[96] Though he followed his father's career, he had planned to be acollege football player, joining a team at the age of eight and playingvarsityhalfback at prep school before joining and, ten days later, quitting the team at Dartmouth due to injury and discontentment.[97] Some of his earlier columns include contributing to thePenthouse Vietnam Veterans Advisor column in the 1970s and 1980s; he also wrote an article onMarion Barry in the magazine in 1991,[98] a topic on which he was an expert, publishing a book on Barry the same year.[99] At this time he worked forVoice of America in Washington, D.C.[97][100] He also wrote for theWashington City Paper.[101] As well as journalistic writing, he has written books and scripts for film and radio.[96] His book on Barry,The Politics of Race, was said byKirkus Reviews to give "a careful, sober, and balanced account of Barry's decline and fall, and of a manipulation of the politics of race", but to "not explore the profound political cleavages evident in the result of Barry's trial".[100] He has written on other legal matters, including in 1987 onMiranda rights inABA Journal.[102] In 2009 he was included inThe Nine Lives of Marion Barry, a documentary film about the controversial politician.[103] In 2020, he began writing a book onDavid Whiting.[104]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953–1954 | At Issue | – | Host; television | [105] |
| 1957–1958 | Look Here | – | Host; television | [106] |
| 1961 | It's Child's Play | [107] | ||
| 1961 | Nazareth to Bethlehem travelog | – | [107] | |
| 1962 | Polaris Submarine: Journal of an Undersea Voyage | – | Narrator; television documentary First aired in 1962 in the US and 1963 in the UK (onBBC Television) | [NBC 2][108] |
| 1960–1964 | Today | – | Reporter; television | [8] |
| 1964 | Cuba: The Missile Crisis | – | Correspondent; NBC White Paper television special | [NBC 6] |
| 1964 | After Ten Years: The Court and the Schools | – | Correspondent; CBS News television special | [109] |
| 1962–1968 | The Huntley–Brinkley Report | – | Reporter; television | |
| 1964–1968 | CBS Reports | – | Reporter; television | |
| 1965–1968 | Face the Nation | – | Moderator; television | |
| 1971 | Vanished | Reporter | Television mini-series | |
| 1973 | What You Don't Know Can Kill You | – | Host; television special on President's Committee on Health Education | [110][111] |
| 1971–1976 | Martin Agronsky's Evening Edition | – | Host; television | [48] |
| 1976 | American Workmanship | [106] | ||
| 1979–1980 | And One to Grow On | [106] | ||
| 1981 | First Monday in October | TV Commentator | Film | [107] |
| 1983 | The National Financial Planning Quiz | [107] | ||
| 1983 | A Matter of Commitment | [107] | ||
| 1983 | Thank You, Mr. President | – | Archive footage; television | [72] |
| 1969–1987 | Agronsky & Co. | – | Host; television | [48] |
| 2018 | Hope & Fury: MLK, the Movement and the Media | – | Archive footage; television documentary |
| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | Rutgers University | The Rutgers University Award | Coverage ofWorld War II; described by Rutgers as "the most lucid and penetrating interpretation of world events during this war" (Agronsky was in Australia at the time: the award, the university's highest, was presented to his parents.) | Won | [18][112] |
| 1948 | Newspaper Guild | Heywood Broun Award | Career | Won | [73] |
| 1948 | Press Club of Atlantic City | National Headliner Award | Career | Won | [48] |
| 1949 | Society of Professional Journalists | Sigma Delta Chi Award | Career; Agronsky was also inducted into the Washington, D.C., chapter's Hall of Fame | Won | [88][113] |
| 1953 | Alfred I. duPont Award | Excellence in broadcast journalism | ABC radio | Special commendation | [47] |
| 1953 | Peabody Awards | Outstanding Radio News Coverage | Coverage of the excesses of SenatorJoseph McCarthy; ABC radio (1952 awards presented in 1953); the citation read: "In this uneasy period of insecurity and fear, he has consistently and with rare courage given voice to the preservation of basic values in our democratic system." | Won | [6][114][37][40] |
| 1961 | Alfred I. duPont Award | Excellence in broadcast journalism | Eichmann trial coverage; NBC | Won | [6] |
| 1962 | Press Club of Atlantic City | National Headliner Award | Career | Won | [73] |
| 1962 | Overseas Press Club | Best Movie Photography from Abroad | Polaris Submarine: Journal of an Undersea Voyage; NBC (with Scott Berner) | Won | [115][NBC 2] |
| 1963 | CINE | Golden Eagle Award | Polaris Submarine: Journal of an Undersea Voyage | Won | [NBC 2] |
| 1963 | Venice Film Festival | Best Documentary: St. Mark's Plaque – First Prize | Polaris Submarine: Journal of an Undersea Voyage | Won | [73][NBC 2] |
| 1969 | Emmy Awards | Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of News Commentary or Public Affairs | CBS News Special Reports: "Justice Black and the Bill of Rights" | Won | [8][75][116] |
| 1973 | Peabody Awards | Area of Excellence: Broadcasting | Agronsky and Co. | Submitted | [117] |
| 1974 | Peabody Awards | Area of Excellence: Broadcasting | Agronsky and Company | Submitted | [117] |
| 1975 | Peabody Awards | Area of Excellence: Broadcasting | Agronsky and Company | Submitted | [117] |
| 1976 | Peabody Awards | Area of Excellence: Broadcasting | Agronsky and Company | Submitted | [117] |
| Agronsky at Large: "An Interview with Muhammad Ali" and "An Interview with George Kennan" | Submitted | [85] | |||
| 1995 | Rutgers University | Hall of Distinguished Alumni | Career | Honored | [87] |
| Location | Date | School | Degree |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 1949 | Rutgers University | Master of Arts (MA)[16] |
| New Hampshire | 1977 | Southern New Hampshire University | Doctor of Laws (LL.D)[118] |
In 1987, Agronsky gave the commencement address atSan Diego State University.[119]
Mr. SHANNON. Do you know the correct pronunciation of the name of this gentleman that sent this message to all the world? What is his name?
Admiral BLANDY. As I pronounce it, it is Martin Agronsky.
Mr. SHANNON. What is his nationality?
Admiral BLANDY. That I do not know, sir.
Mr. SHANNON. [...] I have not found anybody that can pronounce his name, and I have not found anybody that knows anything about him. Maybe the chair-man knows how to pronounce it.
The CHAIRMAN. No, I cannot pronounce it. The only things I can pronounce are plain English names. These odd names are too hard for me.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Preceded by | Face the Nation moderator July 11, 1965 – May 26, 1968 | Succeeded by |
