On this day in 1979, Morning Edition broadcast its first show, bringing a new style of storytelling to the early-drive-time airwaves.
That first show, hosted by Bob Edwards and Barbara Hoctor, included an interview with a young actor named Martin Sheen about Apocalypse Now; a report on a failed prison escape by James Earl Ray, the man who assassinated Martin Luther King Jr.; and a story about Rhodesia, a country that no longer exists. (You can view the first show's rundown of segments here.)
Over the next 35 years, Morning Edition would elevate itself to become public radio's top news program.
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