Edward Murrow

Click here for over 4 hours  of McCarthy Era Recordings Joseph McCarthy was the junior senator from Wisconsin for 10 years from 1947 until his death in 1957. McCarthy was born in 1908 on a dairy farm, went to college and earned a law degree from Marquette in 1935. In 1939 he became the youngest elected judge in state history, clearing a massive backlog of cases. When war began, McCarthy left his judgeship and joined the Marines, working mostly in intelligence though he did earn the nickname Tail-Gunner Joe for flying 12 observer missions in the tail-gunner position. After the war, McCarthy ran for senate against Robert M. La Follette, Jr, and won, mostly using innuendo and half-truths to defeat his opponent. He started his senate career in 1947. The first three years were pretty unremarkable. In 1950, however, at a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, McCarthy started making his mark as an anti-Communist crusader. He claimed to have a list of Communists working in the State Dep

Using partial truths, distortions, and some flat out lies in speeches and in hearings, McCarthy was a poster child for people who saw Communist conspiracies everywhere. On the March 9, 1954 episode of See It Now, Murrow systematically countered the charges McCarthy made in public. During the show, Murrow played clips of McCarthy making charges and then answered him using McCarthy’s own words. Public opinion was starting to turn and seemed to turn faster after the show. McCarthy was not happy. Because of the Fairness Doctrine, CBS was required to provide a half hour to McCarthy so he could provide a rebuttal. Murrow was a newsman who was confident and had his facts together. In contrast, McCarthy was uncomfortable and, as he tended to do in many situations, made wild accusations. McCarthy’s appearance on the show did him no favors. In the final public salvo between the newsman and the senator, Murrow responded to the specific accusations made against him. Again, McCarthy used par

McCarthy had his supporters, and he still does. One of Murrow’s issues with McCarthy is that he did not try to engage in true investigation and he tried to silence his critics with accusations. He did not participate in debate and dialog to find the truth. Had he sat down with Murrow, he would have found another person who believed that communism was a threat. As a result of his behavior, Joseph McCarthy was censured by the Senate on December 2, 1954. He died in office in 1957 without ever regaining his reputation.

The Cold War was all-consuming during the 1950s. It started just after World War 2 when the Russians developed the atomic bomb and tensions increased between the Western world and the Communist Eastern Bloc. The tension between the two blocs increased with the Korean War to the point that people were truly and seriously scared. There were bomb drills all over the United States. As with most anything, good or bad, there is someone who will take advantage of the situation for personal gain. Enter Senator Joseph McCarthy .

Immediately after World War 2, Murrow had several different job offers from academia to government. He eventually decided to stay at CBS as Vice President of CBS, Director of News and Public Affairs. This was in 1946, but by 1947, he discovered that pushing a pencil was not for him so he went back to what he loved...news. From 1947 until 1961, Murrow worked as a news man. In addition to See It Now and This I Believe, he was a news analyst for CBS News, Person to Person , CBS Reports, Small World, and more. As with everything else in the world, nothing stays the same. Murrow had his ideas about how the news should run. It should be free from influence, from the network or sponsors, and you must always, always tell the truth. CBS corporate and sponsors chaffed at Murrow’s independence. He had no qualms about criticizing sponsors or his industry. As the television industry grew, the news divisions gave way to entertainment. The entertainment side of the business brought in the m

Milo Radulovich was discharged from the Air Force Reserve presumably because some members of his family had Communist sympathies. He was given the opportunity to resign but refused and requested a hearing. During the hearing, the prosecution waved around a sealed manila envelope claiming there was evidence in it but it was never opened. Though Radulovich was severed from the Air Force, the lieutenant’s loyalty was never questioned. The case came to the attention of Murrow’s producer, Fred Friendly, and Murrow through an article in the Detroit Press. The duo searched for a story to illustrate the dangers of McCarthyism. Not only were the witch hunts affecting the military, Hollywood, government, and academia, this case proved that the average guy can be targeted. The entire case was based on Radulovich’s father and sister. Emigrants from Serbia, his father subscribed to several Serbian newspapers, one of which was classified as Communist by the US government. In addition his sister was

By 1961, the news industry changed so much, and it was so different that it was almost unrecognizable to Edward R. Murrow. This was the man who practically wrote the book on the news business in both radio and television. Now it wasn’t just about the news, it was about sponsors, money, executives, personalities, then the news. It seemed that there was no place for men like Murrow. It was fortuitous timing that Murrow’s decision to leave network news coincided with a presidential election. In 1960, John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States. Murrow knew the Kennedy family beginning with Joseph Kennedy, Sr. in London before the war started and was not overly impressed. During the McCarthy era , Robert Kennedy worked for the Senator, and John Kennedy, said nothing furthering the impression. After Kennedy was elected, he asked CBS president, Frank Stanton, to take over as director of the United States Information Agency (USIA). Stanton declined but suggested Murrow. Kenn