Marvin Kalb is not only a living legend, but everything he’s saying about Murrow’s commitment to the defense of democracy is spot on.
(I just wish CNN had gotten to him earlier…) #GNGL
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Posts tagged #GNGL
The CNN post-show could have done with a lot less panel and a lot more Scott Pelley, who truly understands Murrow’s example.
If you haven’t read or seen his recent speech at Wake Forest, rectify that now: commencement.news.wfu.edu/2020s/c2025/... #GNGL
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Or, as Murrow said in 1941:
“…we have tried to prevent our own prejudices and loyalties from coming between you and the information… We may not always have succeeded. An individual who can entirely avoid being influenced by the atmosphere in which he works might not even be a good reporter.” #GNGL
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Unlike CNN’s post-GOOD NIGNT AND GOOD LUCK panel, Ed Murrow understood that “both sides” reporting is a poor excuse for journalism.
As he often said (quoting Winston Churchill), you wouldn’t give equal time to Jesus Christ and Judas Iscariot. #GNGL
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Exactly. Murrow’s genius was following the strictures of objectivity (as CBS defined it), while embedding an editorial message within the structure of his report.
SEE IT NOW claims they show McCarthy (or Radulovich) in his own words, but the editing guides you toward an editorial conclusion. #GNGL
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@abbyphillip.bsky.social, on the other hand, is quite right that Murrow’s ability to articulate pro-democracy values is what made him such a significant figure.
*That’s* what we need from our news media today. #GNGL
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Hearing Bret Stephens defend an imagined ideal of inhumanly unbiased journalism is painful, yet also captures so much that is wrong with today’s news media.
Murrow was an effective communicator *precisely because* the audience knew his opinions, biases—in a word, his personality. #GNGL
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Just finished watching #goodnightandgoodluck on @cnn.com . Absolutely fabulous and I am so glad they showed it. I read Murrow's biography several years ago and admired him since. I grew up a newspaper baby. I've always believed in the watchdog role of journalism. So many things to think about. #gngl
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It’s acceptable dramatic license. The get the important stuff right. #GNGL
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Very glad I managed to stay up for this and watch in Scotland.
Actually incredible to watch in this format at this moment in time. The convergence of art and journalism on so many levels.
Moved to tears several times.
Well done to all involved.
Tell the truth. AND take a stand. #GNGL
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A lot of discussion on @cnn.com right now about the decline in America’s trust in the news media since Murrow’s day.
Trust in the news (especially newspapers) was very low coming out of the Depression. Murrow helped rebuild it, in large part through his openly personal reporting. #GNGL
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Seeing GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK (and meeting Clooney!), right before defending my dissertation about Murrow, brought this whole thing full circle for me.
I can honestly say I wouldn’t be writing on this subject if I hadn’t seen Clooney’s film 20 years ago. #GNGL
bsky.app/profile/abra...
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While LA is once again burning, George Clooney showed today the power of art, of truth, and how to speak up. The question is, as Murrow said, is not what unchecked power would do, the question is what you are going to do about it. #GNGL
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The final bit, where Clooney is asking the audience what they intend to do, is neither in the real speech nor the original film.
Murrow’s RTNDA address is very much a structural critique of American broadcasting, not about the individual.
Clooney directs his message at the audience. #GNGL
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We’re back to the RTNDA speech, but the final lines (about unchecked power) aren’t Murrow’s—they’re Clooney’s direct message to the audience. #GNGL
bsky.app/profile/abra...
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The original film ended, not with Joe Welch’s demolition of McCarthy, but with this quote from Pres. Eisenhower—a commentary on Guantanamo Bay in 2005 that seems even more applicable now. #GNGL
bsky.app/profile/abra...
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CBS moved Murrow’s program to Sunday afternoons because that’s where networks used to dump public service programming—until they figured out how much money they could make broadcasting football. #GNGL
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After some time at the New York Daily News, Joe Wershba would eventually return to CBS and join 60 MINUTES (created by his fellow CBS alum, Don Hewitt). #GNGL
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Partly this was because far more McCarthy supporters tuned in to his response than the original broadcast.
But, as I wrote last year, “McCarthy’s reply, like Murrow’s original report, had been a Rorschach test; viewers believed whom they were predisposed to believe.” #GNGL
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In its first few seasons, SEE IT NOW depended on the work of newsreel cameramen employed by Hearst.
After Don Hollenbeck’s death, Murrow and Friendly severed that professional relationship. #GNGL
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We just heard a reference to an opinion poll showing 33% of households thought McCarthy proved Murrow a Communist.
As I noted in this @newrepublic.com piece last year, when you include the people who thought McCarthy raised doubts, the number was closer to 50% #GNGL
newrepublic.com/article/1795...
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The play skips over *a lot* of drama between McCarthy’s April 6 broadcast and Murrow’s response the following week.
(I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for my Murrow biography to read all the gory details…) #GNGL
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Though I don’t think it’s included in the play (or film), McCarthy used his CBS airtime to make a veiled accusation against J. Robert Oppenheimer.
Of course, Lewis Strauss took over from there… #GNGL
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The film and play skirt over the fact that the SEE IT NOW staff got advance notice of the content of McCarthy’s response (violating their agreement with the senator).
This allowed Murrow and CBS to immediately issue point-by-point refutations, which blunted the impact of McCarthy’s attack. #GNGL
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Although Fred Friendly is portrayed as surprised that McCarthy will make the reply instead of William F. Buckley, in actuality Murrow rejected Buckley and insisted McCarthy respond himself.
(Buckley was about to publish his second book, defending McCarthy). #GNGL
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I might have assumed Hollenbeck’s line about reasonable people flying away to Europe was added to comment on our current moment, but it’s in the original shooting script from 20 years ago. #GNGL
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