Marvin Galbraith Barrett (May 6, 1920 – August 19, 2006) was an American author and educator known as an authority on broadcast journalism.[1]

Life and career

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Barrett was born in Des Moines, Iowa. His father, Edwin, was a radio actor and taught communications at Drake University.[1] Barrett graduated from Harvard University in 1942. He served in the United States Navy from 1942 to 1946.[1] In 1952 Barrett married Mary Ellin Berlin, daughter of Irving Berlin.[1]

Barrett worked as a contributing editor to TIME and Newsweek magazines, executive editor of Show Business Illustrated, and managing editor of Show Magazine.[1]

For many years, Barrett was the director of the DuPont-Columbia Survey of Broadcast Journalism. He received the Sigma Delta Chi Award for distinguished journalism for its 1975 report Moments of Truth.[2]

A near-death experience in 1984 inspired Barrett to keep journals, and resulted in his 1999 book Second Chance: A Life After Death.[3]

Barrett died in Manhattan as a result of congestive heart failure.[1]

Bibliography

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  • Meet Thomas Jefferson (1967, Random House Children's Books, ISBN 0-394-90067-7)
  • The Politics of Broadcasting (1973, Crowell, ISBN 0-690-64696-8)
  • Moments of Truth (1975, Crowell, ISBN 0-8152-0370-5)
  • The End of the Party (1976, Putnam, ISBN 0-399-11745-8)
  • Rich News, Poor News (1978, Crowell, ISBN 0-690-01741-3)
  • The Eye of the Storm (with Zachary Sklar, 1980, Lippincott & Crowell, ISBN 0-690-01876-2)
  • Broadcast Journalism, 1979-1981 (editor, 1982, Everest House, ISBN 0-89696-160-5)
  • Spare Days (1988, Arbor House, ISBN 1-55710-006-3)
  • Second Chance: A Life After Death (1999, Parabola, ISBN 0-930407-42-3)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Fox, Margalit (August 22, 2006). "Marvin Barrett, 86, a Leader in Journalism Broadcasting, Is Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved January 22, 2010.
  2. ^ "Man In Novelists' Family Turns Hand To Writing". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. September 19, 1976. Retrieved January 22, 2010.
  3. ^ Delatiner, Barbara (September 19, 1999). "When Pastimes Turn Into Passions and Passions Into Books; A Near-Death Experience And a New Lease on Life". The New York Times. Retrieved January 23, 2010.