Herbert Morrison (announcer) 360870 225275454 2008-07-12T20:56:22Z Democratica 7465280 /* Hindenburg disaster */ additional facts that contribute to significance and meaning '''Herbert Morrison''' ([[May 14]], [[1905]] &ndash; [[January 10]], [[1989]]) was an [[United States|American]] [[radio]] [[reporter]] best known for his vivid description of the [[Hindenburg disaster|''Hindenburg'' disaster]] - fire that destroyed the [[LZ 129 Hindenburg|Hindenburg]] [[zeppelin]] on [[May 6]], [[1937]]. ==[[Hindenburg disaster]]== Morrison and engineer Charlie Nielsen<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0760606/ BBC Prime: TV Documentary: Days That Shook the World (2003): TV Episode: Disaster in the Skies (2004); Charlie Nielsen played by Dickon Tolson]</ref>had been assigned by station [[WLS]] in [[Chicago]] to cover the arrival of the [[airship]] in [[New Jersey]] as an experiment in recording news for delayed broadcast. Network policy in those days forbade the use of recorded material except for sound effects on dramas, and Morrison and Nielsen had no facilities for live broadcast. Still the results became the prototype for news broadcasting in the war years to follow. The fame of this recording had no effect on network policies, however, and it was not until after the end of [[World War II]] that recordings were regularly used. Morrison's description began routinely but changed instantly as the [[airship]] burst into flames: {{quotation|''It's practically standing still now. They've dropped ropes out of the nose of the ship; and (uh) they've been taken ahold of down on the field by a number of men. It's starting to rain again; it's—the rain had (uh) slacked up a little bit. The back motors of the ship are just holding it (uh) just enough to keep it from—'' ''It's burst into flames! It burst into flames, and it's falling, it's crashing! Watch it! Watch it! Get out of the way! Get out of the way! Get this, Charlie; get this, Charlie! It's fire—and it's crashing! It's crashing terrible! Oh, my! Get out of the way, please! It's burning and bursting into flames; and the—and it's falling on the mooring-mast. And all the folks agree that [may be "all the folks between"] this is terrible; this is the worst of the worst [may be "work of the worst"] catastrophes in the world. [indecipherable, sometimes interpreted as "Oh my Jesus!"] its flames... Crashing, oh! Four- or five-hundred feet into the sky and it—it's a terrific crash, ladies and gentlemen. It's smoke, and it's flames now [may be the "frame's down"]; and the frame is crashing to the ground, not quite to the mooring-mast. ["All the humanity" or "Oh, the humanity"] and all the passengers streaming [may be "screaming"] around here. I told you; it—I can't even talk to people ["Their friends are out there" or "Their friends are on there"]. Ah! It's—it—it's a—ah! I—I can't talk, ladies and gentlemen. Honest: it's just laying there [may be "it's just laid there"], mass of smoking wreckage. Ah! And everybody can hardly breathe and talk and [indecipherable; may be "the screaming"]. Lady, I—I—I'm sorry. Honest: I—I can hardly breathe. I—I'm going to step inside, where I cannot see it [may be "for I dare not see it"]. Charlie, that's terrible. Ah, ah;—I can't. Listen, folks; I—I'm gonna have to stop for a minute because [indecipherable] I've lost my voice. This is the worst thing I've ever witnessed.''}} Morrison and Nielsen continued their work, reporting at length on the rescue efforts and interviewing survivors, with several pauses while Morrison composes himself. Morrison mistakenly thought there were 106 people aboard the flight, when in reality there were 97 aboard. Thirty five people died in addition to one fatality on the ground. The sixteen-inch lacquer disk recordings were rushed back to Chicago and broadcast in full later that night. Portions were rebroadcast nationally by the [[NBC]] network the next day. It was the first time recordings of a news event were ever broadcast, and also the first coast-to-coast radio broadcast. Morrison's quick professional response and accurate description combined with his own emotional reaction have made the recordings a classic of audio history. The emotional feeling may be intensified by the fact that Nielsen's recorder ran a bit slow and all subsequent playbacks have been slightly speeded up. Judging by other recordings, Morrison's normal speaking voice was actually quite deep. Audio historian [[Michael Biel]] of [[Morehead State University]] studied the original recordings and documented Nielsen's vital contribution as an engineer as well as the playback speed issue: :I have closely examined the original discs and photographed the grooves at the point of the explosion. You can see several deep digs in the lacquer before the groove disappears. Then almost immediately there is a faint groove for about two revolutions while Charlie Nielsen gently lowered the cutting head back to the disc. Fortunately the cutting stylus never cut through the lacquer to the aluminum base. If that had happened the most dramatic part of the recording would not have been made because the stylus would have been ruined. The digs and the bouncing off of the cutting head were caused by the shock wave of the explosion which reached the machine just after Morrison said "It burst into flame&hellip;" :I and several others believe that the originals were recorded slightly slow, and that all replays have been at too fast a speed. Comparison with the now two other known contemporary recordings of Morrison demonstrate this conclusion. Morrison's description has been dubbed onto the [[Hindenburg Disaster Newsreel Footage|newsreel]] film of the crash, giving the impression of a modern television-style broadcast, but at the time newsreels were separately narrated in a studio and Morrison's words were not heard in theaters. The availability of newsreel films, photographs and Morrison's description was a result of heavy promotion of the arrival by the [[Luftschiffbau Zeppelin|Zeppelin Company]], ironically making the crash a media event and raising its importance far beyond other disasters, less well reported and documented. Morrison's usual broadcast work was as an [[announcer]] on live musical programs, but his earlier successful reporting of midwestern floods from an airplane led to his assignment at Lakehurst that day. ==Aftermath== An [[urban legend]] has it that Morrison was fired by WLS for his emotional reaction, but according to the station's weekly magazine and Morrison himself, this is not true. In fact, he was highly praised by station management, and the story of how he and Nielsen made the recording was described in detail. It is possible that the story of his being fired came about because Morrison left WLS a year later to work for the [[Mutual Broadcasting System]] and that network's New York flagship station, [[WOR (AM)|WOR]]. Morrison served in the [[United States Army Air Forces]] during World War II, and later became the first news director at [[WTAE-TV]] in Pittsburgh. In the 1975 motion picture ''[[The Hindenburg (film)|The Hindenburg]]'', Herbert Morrison was employed as a technical adviser. He was portrayed by actor [[Greg Mullavy]] in the movie, but his recording was used in the film. Herbert was also sent across the country by [[Universal Studios]] to promote the film. He retired to live outside [[Morgantown, West Virginia]]. He was active as a lecturer to colleges and news organizations. He died in Morgantown, survived by his wife Mary Jane. During the 1999 75th Anniversary broadcast of the History of WLS, producer and narrator Jeff Davis played the corrected speed version of Morrison's Hindenburg recording. This was the first time that the corrected speed version of the broadcast was heard by a national radio audience. The corrected speed version is quite astounding as the shock wave from the blast is now clearly audible, whereas in the previous higher speed version the shock wave was somewhat muffled. ==Oh, the humanity== Morrison's phrase "Oh, the humanity" has become an American [[meme]]. The popular expression is most often used in a satirical way to ridicule, diminish, and trivialize deep emotional feelings that are part of the [[human condition]]. The phrase has also been used in a cynical way to decry exaggerated responses to minor tragedies - four examples being on the "[[List of WKRP in Cincinnati episodes#.22Turkeys_Away.22|Turkeys Away]]" episode of ''[[WKRP In Cincinnati]]'', "[[The Pothole]]" episode of ''[[Seinfeld]]'', the "[[Simpsons Already Did It]]", "[[Cow Days]]" and "[[Terrance and Phillip in Not Without My Anus]]" episodes of [[South Park]], and ''[[Couch Potato (song)|Couch Potato]]'', on [["Weird" Al Yankovic]]'s, "[[Poodle Hat]]" album. Morrison seems to have used the word "humanity" or "humanities" to indicate large numbers of people; he calls the crowd on the ground "a seething mass of humanity" before the crash. ==Footnotes== {{reflist}} ==References== *“Herbert Morrison, Hindenburg Reporter” ''New York Times'', January 11, 1989. *“Herbert Morrison; Gave Report on Hindenburg” ''Chicago Tribune'', January 11, 1989, page 13. *“Herbert Morrison, Radio Reporter at Hindenburg Crash” ''Los Angeles Times'', January 11, 1989, page 1-20. *“Unforgettable Day” ''New York Times'', May 5, 1985, page 58. ==External links== * [http://www.otr.com/hindenburg.shtml Real Audio playback] of Morrison's report from the Radio Days web site (7:19) * [http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/vohind.htm Alternate playback] from the Voices of the Twentieth Century web site (0:57) * [http://members.aol.com/jeff1070/hindenburg.html Historian Michael Biel] and others in an exhaustive discussion of the broadcast and recordings from the old.time.radio mailing list. *[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F54rqDh2mWA YouTube - Hindenburg Disaster] {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Herbert}} [[Category:1905 births]] [[Category:1989 deaths]] [[Category:American radio personalities]] [[de:Herbert Morrison]] [[es:Herbert Morrison]]