Immigrant of the Day: Morley Safer

Morley Safer (born November 8, 1931) is a reporter and correspondent for CBS News. Safer was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He graduated from the University of Western Ontario.

Safer began his journalism career as a reporter for various newspapers in Canada and England. Later, he joined the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a correspondent and producer. In 1964, Safer joined CBS News as a London-based correspondent. In 1965, he opened the CBS News bureau in Saigon. That year he followed a group of United States Marines to the village of Cam Ne, for a “search and destroy” mission. Safer’s report on this event was broadcast on CBS News on August 5 and was among the first reports to paint a bleak picture of the Vietnam War. President Lyndon Johnson reportedly reacted to this report angrily. It later ws reported that, certain that Safer was a communist, Johnson lso ordered a security check; upon being told that Safer “wasn’t a communist, just a Canadian.” LBJ responded “Well, I knew he wasn’t an American.”

In 1967, Safer was named the London bureau chief. In 1970, he left London to join the CBS News program, 60 Minutes. Safer has been a 60 Minutes correspondent for over 35 years. Safer is also the author of the bestselling book, Flashbacks: On Returning to Vietnam.

Safer and his wife, the former Jane Fearer, live in New York City. They have a daughter, Sarah, who is a graduate of Brown University.

KJ