Edward R. Murrow

Early Days

• Born in 1908
• Attended Washington State College
• 1935: Joined the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) as director of talks
• 1937: Sent to London to arrange concerts for the radio network
• Murrow was still in England at the outbreak of the Second World War.

World War II

• 1939: Radio: This is London
• 1945: Moved to mainland Europe, first reporting the war from France and later in Germany
• Entered the extermination camp at Buchenwald

Television

• Convinced to move from radio to television
• 1951: See It Now and Person to Person
• Murrow vs. McCarthy: Became increasingly concerned about the impact that Joe McCarthy was having on America
• Murrow was accused of being part of the "Moscow conspiracy," and it was suggested that as "an anti-anti-Communist was as dangerous as a Communist."

McCarthy

• 1954: Murrow and his producer, Fred Friendly, decided to devote an edition of See It Now to McCarthyism.
• CBS was unhappy with the idea and refused to publicize the proposed McCarthy program
• Murrow and Friendly decided to use $1,500 of their own money to pay for ads in the newspapers.

McCarthy

• March 9, 1954: Murrow's See It Now program dealt with McCarthyism.
• During the broadcast, Murrow commented: "The line between investigating and persecuting is a very fine one and the junior Senator from Wisconsin has stepped over it repeatedly….This is no time for men who oppose Senator McCarthy's methods to keep silent. We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result."

Final Days

• In the late 1950s, Murrow became disillusioned with television broadcasting.
• Disagreed with the emphasis being placed on producing entertainment-based programs
• Murrow left broadcasting in 1961 and joined the United States Information Agency.
• Suffering from lung cancer, he was forced him to resign in 1964
• Died in 1965