On and Off the Air

The thesis of this volume is the relatively tired one that television news has suffered a decline since the era of Edward R. Murrow, principally at the hands of corporate managers who have no news experience. Equally shopworn is the story the author narrates of who pushed whom off which rungs on the corporate ladder, an account limited, despite the subtitle, to the small world of CBS News, not TV news in general. Schoenbrun, who died a year ago, joined CBS in 1941, served as CBS Paris bureau chief for 17 years, then was recalled to become Washington bureau chief, scoring his greatest scoop in reporting the resolution of the Cuban missile crisis. He broke with the network after his Sunday news show was cancelled. Despite inside stories of Murrow, Walter Cronkite and Mike Wallace, this autobiography covers well-trodden ground. Photos not seen by PW. (June)