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'''Edward R. Murrow''' (April 25, 1908 - April 27, 1965) was a journalist, who took a stand and risked losing his job openly criticizing Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]].
'''Edward R. "Ed" Murrow''' (April 25 1908 - April 27 1965) was a [[Left-wing]] [[United States|American]] [[journalism|journalist]] and television figure. He first came to prominence with a series of [[radio]] news broadcasts during [[World War II]], which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada. Liberal media historians consider him among journalism's greatest figures being considered one of the first journalists who would editorialize the news instead of just reporting the news. Murrow produced a series of TV news reports that lead up to the censure of Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]].
==Murrow's ''See It Now'' attack on Senator McCarthy==
One of the most prominent attacks on Senator McCarthy was an episode of the TV documentary series ''See It Now'', hosted by [[Edward R. Murrow]], which was broadcast on March 9, 1954. By the time Murrow produced his "See It Now" assault on Senator McCarthy in 1954, the senator had been under almost constant vicious attack for four years. According to McCarthy biographer Arthur Herman, Murrow and his staff had spent two months carefully editing film clips to portray McCarthy in the worst possible light. There were no clips showing McCarthy in a professional manner. Despite Murrow's claims, this "was not a report at all but instead a full-scale assault, employing exactly the same techniques of 'partial truth and innuendo' that critics accused McCarthy of using."<ref>
{{cite book
| last = Herman
| first = Arthur
| title = Joseph McCarthy: Reexamining the Life and Legacy of America's Most Hated Senator
| publisher = Free Press
| date = 1999
| pages = page 253
| id = ISBN 0-684-83625-4 }}
</ref>
The episode consisted largely of clips of McCarthy in the most unflattering context, including "belching and picking his nose".<ref>
{{cite book
| last = Herman
| first = Arthur
| title = Joseph McCarthy: Reexamining the Life and Legacy of America's Most Hated Senator
| publisher = Free Press
| date = 1999
| pages = page 253
| id = ISBN 0-684-83625-4 }}
</ref>
In these clips, McCarthy accuses the [[Democratic Party]] of "twenty years of treason" because of the Democratic Party's concessions to the [[Soviet Union]] at the [[Yalta conference]] and [[Potsdam conference]], describes the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] as "listed as 'a front for, and doing the work of,' the Communist Party," and berates General Zwicker for Zwicker's claim that he would protect any other general who promotes Communist's within the military. Murrow also portrays a Pentagon coding room employee, [[Annie Lee Moss]] as an innocent victim of McCarthy even though it was later established that the F.B.I. had warned the Army and the Civil Service Commission about her [[Communist Party]] connection.<ref>
{{cite book
| last = Herman
| first = Arthur
| title = Joseph McCarthy: Reexamining the Life and Legacy of America's Most Hated Senator
| publisher = Free Press
| date = 1999
| pages = pages 333-337
| id = ISBN 0-684-83625-4}}</ref>
However, even some McCarthy critics were outraged by this one-sided presentation. Consistent McCarthy critic, John Cogley of ''[[Commonweal]]'', "sharply attacked Murrow and his producers for their distorted summary and selected use of video clips."<ref>
{{cite book
| last = Herman
| first = Arthur
| title = Joseph McCarthy: Reexamining the Life and Legacy of America's Most Hated Senator
| publisher = Free Press
| date = 1999
| pages = page 253
| id = ISBN 0-684-83625-4}}
</ref> Cogley commented that a different selection of footage could have easily portrayed McCarthy in an extremely positive light and, then further warned against the misuse of television in this fashion. He and another McCarthy critic from the ''[[Saturday Review]]'' agreed that it "was not a proud moment for television journalism".<ref>
{{cite book
| last = Lately
| first = Thomas
| title = When Even Angels Wept
| publisher = Morrow
| date = 1973
| pages = page 466
| id = ISBN 0-688-00148-3}}</ref>
To counter the negative publicity, McCarthy appeared on ''See It Now'' on April 6, 1954, and presented his case in order to clarify the misconceptions that Murrow had televised. McCarthy countered that his committee, "has forced out of government, and out of important defense plants, Communists engaged in the Soviet conspiracy." McCarthy went on to say, "For example, 238 witnesses were examined [in] public session; 367 witnesses examined [in] executive session; 84 witnesses refused to testify as to Communist activities on the ground that, if they told the truth, they might go to jail; twenty-four witnesses with Communist backgrounds have been discharged from jobs [in] which they were handling secret, top-secret, confidential material, individuals who were exposed before our committee." McCarthy also exposed Murrow's left-wing background and previous associations with Communist organizations.<ref>Murrow, Edward R. (May 31, 2005). [http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/murrowmccarthy2.html ''The Edward R. Murrow: The McCarthy Years'']. New Video Group.</ref>
The Murrow report, together with the televised Army-McCarthy hearings of the same year, and four years of consistent anti-McCarthy media reporting were the major causes of a nationwide popular opinion backlash against McCarthy. However, well-known broadcaster Eric Sevareid said the Murrow assault "came very late in the day. The youngsters read back and they think only one person in broadcasting and the press stood up to McCarthy and this has made a lot of people feel very upset, including me, because that program came awfully late."<ref>Bates, Michael M. (November 15, 2005). [http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/bates/051115 ''Murrow, McCarthy, and the media'']. Renew America.</ref>
Even Murrow discounted his role in the decline of Senator McCarthy's popularity. Murrow stated, "My God, I didn't do anything. (Times columnist) Scotty Reston and lot of guys have been writing like this, saying the same things, for months, for years. We're bringing up the rear."<ref>
{{cite book
| last = Bayley
| first = Edwin R.
| title = Joe McCarthy and the Press
| publisher = University of Wisconsin Press
| date = 1981
| id = ISBN 0-688-00148-3}}</ref>
Nevertheless, despite the deceptive nature of the ''See It Now'' program and the late date in which it appears, anti-McCarthy historians have credited and celebrated Murrow as playing a major role in damaging Senator McCarthy's campaign to remove security risks from the U.S. government.
==Notes==
<small>{{reflist|2}}</small>
==References==
#Bates, Michael M. (November 15, 2005). [http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/bates/051115 Murrow, McCarthy, and the media]. Renew America.
#Bayley, Edwin R. (1981). ''Joe McCarthy and the Press''. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 0-688-00148-3.
#Herman, Arthur (1999). ''Joseph McCarthy: Reexamining the Life and Legacy of America's Most Hated Senator''. Free Press. ISBN 0-684-83625-4.
#Lately, Thomas (1973). ''When Even Angels Wept''. Morrow. page 466. ISBN 0-688-00148-3.
==External Links==
#Bates, Michael M. (November 15, 2005). [http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/bates/051115 Murrow, McCarthy, and the media]. Renew America.
#Murrow, Edward R. (May 31, 2005). [http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/murrowmccarthy2.html ''The Edward R. Murrow: The McCarthy Years'']. New Video Group.
==See Also==
==See Also==
[[Amy Goodman]]
[[Amy Goodman]]
[[Joseph McCarthy]]
[[Keith Olbermann]]
[[Keith Olbermann]]
[[category:journalists]]
[[category:journalists]]