Journalist Merrill Mueller, son of the well-known artist Karl Mueller, was born in 1916 in New York City and educated in Connecticut public schools. He studied at Springfield (Massachusetts) University for one year but then dropped out to pursue a career in journalism and broadcasting. Mueller, or “Red” as he was known, began his career as a reporter at the Buffalo Times but soon took a position as clerk and copy boy with the King Features Syndicate in New York. Three years later he joined the staff of the Independent News Service in Washington, D.C., where he covered various New Deal agencies. Also during this time, Mueller worked as a specialist on labor and aviation news before briefly covering the Spanish Civil War. In 1938 Mueller was sent to Paris. From this base, he was dispatched on special assignments covering the major capitals of Europe. He thus became one of the youngest American foreign correspondents.
In 1938 NBC Radio made an arrangement with INS for Mueller to alternate with Paul Archinard on its Red and Blue Networks. On a trip to Warsaw Mueller learned of Hitler's planned invasion of Poland and quickly returned to Paris to file his important scoop. Later in 1939 he cabled an eyewitness account of the fall of France.
During 1941 and 1942 Mueller served as European director for Newsweek with occasional bylines in the magazine. During that period he was also a roving reporter for NBC, covering Europe, Africa, India, Asia, and the Pacific. In 1942 Mueller returned to the United States, resigned from INS, and officially became a reporter for NBC, for whom he would cover some of his biggest war stories: D-Day, the Normandy Invasion, and the Battle of the Bulge. At this time he was the official voice of the World Radio Pool, covering General Eisenhower's headquarters for the four major radio networks.
During the following year Mueller was transferred to the Pacific theater from which post he observed the remainder of the war. In this capacity he filed reports on the destruction of Hiroshima and covered the Japanese surrender on the Missouri .
For the four years after the war Mueller directed NBC's London bureau. From this desk he covered the takeover of Czechoslovakia, the Palestinian crisis, the Klaus Fuchs spy trial, the Korean truce talks, the food crisis in India, and other stories of international importance. By 1951 Mueller had received thirteen decorations (including the Purple Heart) and numerous professional awards including the Overseas Press Club Award and the Polk Award.
Returning to the United States, Mueller was assigned to cover the 1952 presidential conventions. He thus began building his reputation as a political correspondent. In 1956 he personally developed a computerized statistical model to improve reporters' ability to predict election results. Mueller continued to serve as floor reporter and co-anchor for all presidential elections and as co-anchor for all inaugurations through 1976.
In 1953 Mueller produced, directed, and served as commentator for NBC's innovative Weekend radio program. He also briefly anchored Today and regularly substituted for John Cameron Swayze on the Camel News Caravan. In addition, he anchored numerous news specials, covered Queen Elizabeth's coronation, and reported on the death of Pope Pius XII and the election of John XXIII.
Drawing on his interest in aviation and his experience during World War II, NBC assigned him to cover all NASA spaceflights. In 1964 he travelled with Nelson Rockefeller during the presidential campaign. In 1968 he switched to ABC and was briefly managing editor in Denver of KOA-TV. Later he returned to the New York/Washington and Los Angeles circuits. In 1972, his final campaign assignment, Mueller covered George McGovern.
In 1975 Mueller joined the staff of the Federal Energy Administration's Communications and Public Affairs staff in Washington, D.C., and as official historian of the agency he drafted The Continuing Crisis. Other publications by Mueller include the booklet Escape from Belgium (1940), American Air Power (1941), and Space Benefits (1960). In addition, he was a contributing editor of U.S. Foreign Policy in 1947.
Merrill Mueller retired in 1979 and died in 1980. He was survived by his wife Jane and sons, Kenneth and Kevin.
