Burl: Journalism Giant and Medical Trailblazer

Wolfe (The Murchisons) does justice in this comprehensive biography to the inspiring life of journalist Burl Osborne (1937–2012), who during his career led both the Associated Press and the Dallas Morning News. Born in a Kentucky coal camp, Osborn suffered a bad case of strep throat at age six, wasn’t expected to survive his teen years, and suffered kidney disease, eventual failure, and frequent dialysis. He nevertheless overcame the odds and enrolled in college in 1956, where a chance question from a professor—“Anybody here want to be a cub reporter?”—sparked his career. In 1957, he joined The Ashland Daily Independent, which led to his job at the AP. He climbed the ladder, becoming managing editor in 1977 and being elected chairman by 2001. Meanwhile, his tenure at the Dallas Morning News, which started in 1980, was so successful it ran its city rival out of business. Photos and excerpts from Osborne’s own writing bring his colorful personality to life: he captured the nation’s attention, for example, with reports on a man in West Virginia who nearly lost his dog in a mine shaft but emerged “half laughing and almost crying as he carried his 3-year-old rabbit hound off the mountain.” The result is a moving testament to a consequential figure. (Sept.)