Dean Herbst (1923-2012)

We belatedly learned last week about the passing of Dean Herbst in Austin, Texas.   She was 88 years old.

While I didn’t know Dean well, I worked for her husband, Harvey, at KLRN-TV/KUT-FM in Austin back in the 1970’s.  I knew that she had spent time working overseas as a young woman, but I had no idea just how varied and remarkable her career was until I read her obituary.

Born in Houston, Dean Finley grew up in Austin and graduated with a degree in Journalism from the University of Texas in 1944.  She moved to New York City and worked in the publicity department of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 

After her father died in 1946, she returned to Texas and went to work for the Austin American-Statesman newspaper.  But the position “of her dreams” was offered to her in 1951 when she took an assignment with the State Department as an Assistant Information Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

According to her obituary, Dean was the only ranking woman in the Kabul diplomatic corps.  “She established a school and library for women.  At the request of the Queen of Afghanistan, she offered an informal seminar for wives of Afghan diplomats who were going to serve in foreign embassies.“

By 1955, Dean had returned to the American-Statesman and renewed her acquaintance with Harvey Herbst, who worked for one of the local television stations.  They were married in August 1955 and had two children: Frederick Lawrence and Marian Alice.  As a stay-at-home mom, she wrote a novel entitled “Flight to Afghanistan."  She became deeply involved with the Theta Sigma Phi women’s honorary journalism fraternity and played a key role in establishing Women in Communication.

Dean Herbst conducted investigative research into Texas medical education as requested by the Texas Legislature.  She was later tapped to serve as Assistant Commissioner for Health Affairs for the Texas Coordinating Board of Higher Education and held that job until her retirement.

 

You’ll find more about this remarkable woman -- including some fascinating stories about her adventures as a journalist, a mother, and administrator -- on our Black Hills Monitor web site.

Our condolences to Harvey and the entire Herbst family.  Dean was quite a lady.

America at a Crossroads

(Originally posted April 5, 2007)

Public broadcasting has always had a slight tilt to the left, but it remains the best U.S. broadcast news service available. While the BBC has lost ground, its international coverage is second to none. I spend most of my broadcast listening time with National Public Radio, but I'm about to invest a significant block of time watching "America at a Crossroads" on PBS later this month.

Not surprisingly, the New York Times dedicated most of its Television page on April Fools Day to PBS. And this time it's worth the ink. Reporter Elizabeth Jensen outlined the forthcoming bloc of independent documentaries that will likely range from the far left to the "neo-conservative" right. PBS has dubbed the twelver hours of diverse views "America at a Crossroads," and just which way she will go we can't be certain.

We can, however, take solace in the fact that this series of programs will be tied together by the thoughtful introductions of Robert MacNeil, long-time journalist with PBS and the BBC. It's hard to believe that MacNeil would risk his well-earned credibility becoming associated with a project without merit. His participation -- for many of us -- is a testament to the quality of the project.

Not that we'll all like everything we see and hear. More likely, it will offend those with extreme views on both sides, who will then try to enliven the perennial question regarding federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). Jensen reports that the concept of "Crossroads" emanated at CPB, which plowed $20 million into helping make the concept a meaningful reality.

Viewers with strong opinions on the war in Iraq will find much fodder for debate in this six-day series. Let's hope they find merit in diverse examinations of the war, Islam, and the sharpening conflict between national security and personal liberties.

And let's hope they're more tolerant than John Schidlovsky, an outside adviser to the "Crossroads" project. Founding director of the International Reporting Project at Johns Hopkins University, Schidlovsky resigned as an adviser, apparently because a "neo-conservative" film featuring former Bush advisor Richard Perle was given the green light for broadcast on "Crossroads." Never mind that it's just one of numerous perspectives to be aired.

The anticipated diverse content of "America at a Crossroads" is the kind of thing that we seldom find anywhere on television.....except at PBS. The first broadcast will be Sunday evening, April 15th. Kudos to CPB and PBS for taking on what will undoubtedly cause a stir along the Potomac.