Richard Hottelet, member of vaunted Murrow Boys, to be honored at Club awards dinner, Aug. 10

On a night when the National Press Club is honoring some of the best journalism being done today, it will also pay tribute to one of the pioneers of broadcast journalism.

Richard Hottelet, now 93, was hired by Edward R. Murrow of CBS News as preparations for D-Day got under way in 1944. At 26 years old, he became a member of the vaunted Murrow Boys, the group of journalists credited with helping invent broadcast news.

On June 6, 1944, Hottelet provided the first broadcast report that Americans heard of the Allied landings at Normandy. He went on to cover the Battle of the Bulge and other major battles of WWII. At one point, the plane he was in was shot down and he parachuted to safety over enemy lines.

The Club will honor Hottelet and other journalists at its annual journalism awards dinner on Aug. 10.

Reservations are required and can be made through Joann Booze ([email protected] ) at 662-7532, the reservation line at 662-7501 or the front desk at 662-7500. Tickets are $45.

Prior to joining CBS, Hottelet was a reporter for United Press (before the word International was added). In 1941, at the age of 23, he was taken prisoner by the Nazis. He was arrested on trumped up charges of espionage and held in solitary confinement for four months. He was released in a prisoner exchange.

In all, Hottelet spent 41 years at CBS News. He was the last of the original Murrow Boys to retire, in 1985.

For the past 11 years, he was been a Fellow at George Washington University and has guest lectured journalism classes every semester, either by phone or in person. The students are truly thrilled to have this link to one of the men who actually created broadcast journalism. Today, Hottelet is the last surviving member of that group.

He and wife Ann live in Wilton, Conn.