July 9, 1998 6:58 PM

Charles Osgood

Charles Osgood

Charles Osgood (CBS)

(CBS News)  Charles Osgood, often referred to as CBS News' poet-in-residence, has been anchor of "CBS News Sunday Morning" since 1994. He also anchors and writes "The Osgood File," his daily news commentary broadcast on the CBS Radio Network.

Osgood's commentaries draw one of the largest audiences of any network radio feature. He was called "one of the last great broadcast writers" by his "Sunday Morning" predecessor, Charles Kuralt.

Osgood was recognized with the 2008 National Association of Broadcasters Distinguished Service Award. He was the recipient of the 2005 Paul White Award, presented by the Radio-Television News Directors Association, for lifetime contribution to electronic journalism. In 2005, Osgood received the Walter Cronkite Excellence in Journalism Award from Arizona State University. He was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame in 2000 and joined the ranks of the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1990. Osgood has received some of the highest accolades in broadcast journalism, including a 1999 International Radio and Television Society Foundation (IRTS) Award for significant achievement.

Osgood received a 1997 George Foster Peabody Award for "Sunday Morning" and two additional Peabody Awards in 1985 and 1986 for "Newsmark," a weekly CBS Radio public affairs broadcast. He received his fourth Emmy Award in 2005, for his story on "Playing for Peace," a basketball group created by Americans to bring strife-torn children of different religions and races together.

"The Osgood File" has earned its author five coveted Washington Journalism Review Best in the Business Awards. Osgood received a 1999 Radio Mercury Award, a 1996 President's Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers for outstanding coverage and support of music creators and a 1993 Marconi Radio Award.

He has been an anchor and reporter for many CBS News broadcasts, including the "CBS Morning News," the "CBS Evening News with Dan Rather" and the "CBS Sunday Night News." Before joining CBS News in September 1971, Osgood was an anchor/reporter for WCBS News Radio 88 in New York (1967-71). Prior to that, he worked for ABC News, was the general manager of WHCT-TV Hartford, Conn., and the program director and manager of WGMS Radio Washington, D.C.

Osgood recently made his big screen debut as the narrator of Dr. Seuss' "Horton Hears a Who," the animated feature film adaptation of the beloved children's book, voiced by Carol Burnett, Steve Carell and Jim Carry. He also wrote "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the White House" (Hyperion, 2008), a compendium of anecdotes from the last 70 years of presidential campaigns. Osgood, who edited "Funny Letters From Famous People" (Broadway Books, 2003) and "Kilroy Was Here" (Hyperion, 2001), is the author of six books. They are: "Nothing Could Be Finer Than a Crisis That Is Minor in the Morning" (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1979); "There's Nothing I Wouldn't Do if You Would Be My POSSLQ" (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1981); "Osgood on Speaking: How to Think on Your Feet without Falling on Your Face" (William Morrow and Company, 1988); "The Osgood Files" (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1991); "See You on the Radio" (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1999) and his most recent, "Defending Baltimore Against Enemy Attack" (Hyperion, 2004).

Osgood was born in New York. He was graduated from Fordham University in 1954 with a B.S. degree in economics and holds honorary doctorates from 11 institutions of higher learning. He has served as a trustee for Fordham University and St. Bonaventure, is an overseer at Colby College and is a trustee at the School of Strings in Manhattan. Osgood has performed with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and played the piano and banjo with the New York Pops and Boston Pops Orchestras.

He lives in New York City with his wife, Jean. They have five children and three grandchildren.

© 1998 CBS Interactive Inc.. All Rights Reserved.
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by -_-_-_____ October 8, 2011 11:46 PM EDT
Today i heard your comments about prohibition. Anybody who thinks we don't have prohibition right now is really dumb. The prohibition on drugs is many times worse for the country than alcohol prohibition ever was.The drug war is bringing us to ruin. If you don't understand this, consult with dr. dean edel.
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by poemuseum September 26, 2011 1:55 PM EDT
Mr. Osgood,
CBS Sunday Morning yesterday reported that the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia is closing because it lost its funding. This is absolutely NOT TRUE. Please make sure your viewers are informed of this mistake as soon as possible. We would gladly give you a tour of the museum to prove to you it is doing just fine. In fact, the Poe Museum will be celebrating its 90th anniversary in April. Thank you for attention to this matter.
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by jcc2513 August 28, 2011 10:56 AM EDT
It is very upsetting to watch an episode on hurricanes when you have lived through so many yourself and CBS' facts are incorrect. I have lived through Katrina and Camille, just to mention a few. Being on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, we seem to get a piece of all storms that enter the Gulf of Mexico. The catagory 5 storm that destroyed everything in its path was Camille, 1969. You did not even mention this storm in your report.
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by frazman3 June 19, 2011 9:17 PM EDT
Mr.Osgood;
You host a very remarkable newsmagazine that I, and my wife, never fail to watch every Sunday morning. It offers a varied and creative assemblage of interesting subjects. This morning's offering to Father's day, however, left an extremely bad taste in my mouth, and a belief that CBS was trying, like all the rest of the media, to make a statement, rather than just reporting a story. The idea that a child was adopted and being raised by a dad was a sound idea. With the exception of the liberals on the left coast, and New York city, the majority of Americans do not care to have homosexuality shoved in our faces, even in this concept. "We're here and we're queer" might be a rallying cry for those individuals who are born that way, but they are a large percentage of the population. You don't hear of 'straight' people promoting their heterosexuality; they keep it to themselves.
I feel that you will be receiving a lot of negative publicity from this feature. Some may laud you for your position, but most will vilify you for desecreating a day that is reserved for those who honor a child's connection with the person who gave them life through a union with a mother. This could never happen with the homosexual relations. At least they cannot reproduce normally.
I will continue to watch your fine show, but with a tinge of regret for the statement that you have made.
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by WillNotWatchAgain June 19, 2011 5:25 PM EDT
After this morning's two gay dads story, my wife and I will never watch this program again.
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by cmeyer1212 June 15, 2011 10:03 PM EDT
Hi Mr. Osgood, I met you today at the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center. I was the one at the second floor infusion center who was nervous to meet you. I am a oncology nurse for 20 some odd years and I am proud of what I do and where I work. But, the reason I write is to tell you how much you and your show has meant to me. I always watch the show when I was very young with my Dad every Sunday. When my parents divorced when I was 17, I would watch the show and call my Dad from separate homes to discuss the show. I learned about Broadway, the arts, politics and the world through the show. To this day, at my young age of 47 and my Dad's age of 74, we still call every Sunday to discuss. Thank for keeping us connected. Plus my two dogs of 15 know the statement, "And this nature moments is brought to you by" and run to the TV. Let me keep my Dad and dogs longer and closer because of your show Love Cindy Meyer
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by courage2change June 5, 2011 9:42 PM EDT
Sunday June 5, 2011 was a radical departure from your usual format and I didn't like it, actually I turned the TV off. I watch CBS on Sunday mornings because it keeps me informed, and I love your human interest stories. While the topic of bedbugs is okay, having your graphics put bugs up and down the screen was distracting and offensive. And the moderator sounded like a Halloween character. If you were trying to entertain, you failed. If you were trying to inform, you failed. If you were trying to scare me, you failed at that, too.
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by henryknox32 June 5, 2011 9:50 AM EDT
This show , Sunday June 5 , 2011 is the worst show that I have ever seen on this series !!! Bedbugs and Dr. Kovorkian . Thanks a lot for getting Sunday off on sour note .
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