It was an time of fear…a time of whispers in the halls of Congress and the boardrooms of Hollywood…a time of friend turning against friend, hoping by “ratting out” others you might be spared scrutiny…a time of fear that soon, very soon, they may come for you and there would be no one left to speak in your favor…

It was the era of Joseph McCarthy, bound and determined to root out the “Communist Threat” he was certain was looming to destroy the great nation of the United States of America.

It was the era that brought “Under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance, in the “knowledge” that only atheistic Communists would refuse to utter those two words.

It was the era of “loyalty oaths”, and “blacklists”.

And it was the era of Edward R. Murrow, who dared to stand up to McCarthy’s grandstanding “witch hunt”.
Photo of Edward R. Murrow:

Photo of David Strathairn as Edward R. Murrow:

Keith Olbermann is an unabashed fan of Murrow’s. His last words on each show are a tribute to the late journalist: “Good night, and good luck.” That was the signoff Murrow used on his telecasts.

And now, appropriately in this era of “talking heads”, George Clooney has written and produced a movie about Murrow’s battle with McCarthy. [Check out the Yahoo Movies page here; make sure you watch the movie trailer.] Keith devoted his final segment Tuesday night to Murrow and the upcoming movie, opening in limited release this coming Friday, October 7.

From Wikipedia:

Edward R. Murrow (born Egbert Roscoe Murrow), (April 25, 1908 – April 27, 1965) was an American journalist, whose radio news broadcasts during World War II were eagerly followed by millions of listeners. Mainstream historians consider him among journalism’s greatest figures; Murrow hired a top-flight cadre of war correspondents and was noted for honesty and integrity in delivering the news. A pioneer of television news broadcasting, Murrow produced a series of TV news reports that countered the Cold War hysteria of the 1950s, and led to the censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Though seen as a controversial figure by many, Murrow left a legacy that stands as one of the cornerstones of broadcast journalism.

In 1964 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was made an honorary knight of Great Britain and received similar honors from the governments of Belgium, France, and Sweden.

Edward R. Murrow first made his mark in radio, with broadcasts from the London blitz during WWII. After the war, he had his doubts about a rising media called “television”, yet he made the move relatively seamlessly. (A quote from Murrow about television: “This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire, but it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box.”)

Murrow wasn’t all serious journalism. He did the celebrity puff pieces — and reportedly hated them. He had his warts as well; he was frequently seen on screen with a lit cigarette, not uncommon in that day and age, but that most likely contributed to his death of lung cancer when he was only 57.

In an era when missing white women in Aruba and sinking boats in New York make national news, when news media is deferential to the Washington “powers that be” and avoid the tough questions in a futile search for “national unity”, and when McCarthy’s Communist railings have their echo in those who refer to people with honest disagreements as “traitors”, perhaps this movie will be a wake-up call to our own “talking heads”, recalling them to actual journalism.

From Keith Olbermann’s signoff Tuesday night:

Would that Murrows populated our landscape now or that the original one might still be with us to say this, instead of me.  Good night and good luck.

[The film, appropriately entitled “Good Night And Good Luck”, opens in limited release on Friday. One of the theaters showing it is the Embarcadero Cinema in San Francisco; I’m hoping to see it opening day, and will post a review over the weekend.]

Crossposted on Booman Tribune and My Left Wing