His father was a well-known reporter for the Central News Agency in mainland China in the 1930s and 40s, who also, together with a number of other important first-generation reporters, founded the well-known journal Newsdom.
出身新聞世家的劉恕，父親劉竹舟是大陸時代中央通訊社名記者，曾與卜少夫、毛樹清、邱楠、樂恕人、陸鏗幾位大牌記者合創名噪一時的「新聞天地」，家中往來的都是新聞界名人。