Editing Edward R. Murrow (section)

===United States Information Agency (USIA) Director===
{{external media | width = 210px | float = right
 | audio1 = [https://www.loc.gov/rr/record/pressclub/murrow.html National Press Club Luncheon Speakers], Edward R. Murrow, May 24, 1961, 1:04:00, Murrow speaks starting at 7:25 about USIA, [[Library of Congress]]<ref name="loc">{{cite web | title =National Press Club Luncheon Speakers, Edward R. Murrow, May 24, 1961 | publisher =[[Library of Congress]] | url =https://www.loc.gov/rr/record/pressclub/murrow.html | access-date =October 20, 2016 }}</ref> }} 
Murrow resigned from CBS to accept a position as head of the [[United States Information Agency]], parent of the [[Voice of America]], in January 1961. President [[John F. Kennedy]] offered Murrow the position, which he viewed as "a timely gift." CBS president [[Frank Stanton (executive)|Frank Stanton]] had reportedly been offered the job but declined, suggesting that Murrow be offered the job.

His appointment as head of the [[United States Information Agency]] was seen as a vote of confidence in the agency, which provided the official views of the government to the public in other nations. The USIA had been under fire during the McCarthy era, and Murrow reappointed at least one of McCarthy's targets, [[Reed Harris]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Reed Harris Dies. Did Battle With Sen. Joseph McCarthy. |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/125587462.html |work=The New York Times |date=October 21, 1982 |access-date=March 22, 2008 }}{{dead link|date=July 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Murrow insisted on a high level of presidential access, telling Kennedy, "If you want me in on the landings, I'd better be there for the takeoffs." However, the early effects of cancer kept him from taking an active role in the [[Bay of Pigs Invasion]] planning. He did advise the president during the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] but was ill at the time the president was assassinated. Murrow was drawn into Vietnam because the USIA was assigned to convince reporters in Saigon that the government of [[Ngo Dinh Diem]] embodied the hopes and dreams of the Vietnamese people. Murrow knew the Diem government did no such thing.<ref>Edwards, Bob. ''Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism''. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2004. Print.</ref> Asked to stay on by President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], Murrow did so but resigned in early 1964, citing illness. Before his departure, his last recommendation was of [[Barry Zorthian]] to be chief spokesman for the U.S. government in [[Saigon]], Vietnam.<ref name="FT01">{{cite news| author=Jurek Martin| url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5915b0f0-201b-11e0-a6fb-00144feab49a.html#axzz1BVSm2Get| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210221202/https://www.ft.com/content/5915b0f0-201b-11e0-a6fb-00144feab49a#axzz1BVSm2Get| archive-date=December 10, 2022| url-access=subscription| url-status=live| title=US spokesman who fronted Saigon's theatre of war| work=[[Financial Times]]| date=January 15, 2011| publisher=ft.com| access-date=August 10, 2011}}</ref>

Murrow's celebrity gave the agency a higher profile, which may have helped it earn more funds from Congress. His transfer to a governmental position—Murrow was a member of the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]], led to an embarrassing incident shortly after taking the job; he asked the [[BBC]] not to show his documentary "Harvest of Shame," in order not to damage the European view of the USA; however, the BBC refused as it had bought the program in good faith.<ref name="NYTobit">{{cite news |title=Edward R. Murrow, Broadcaster And Ex-Chief of U.S.I.A., Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0425.html |format=obituary |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 28, 1965 |access-date=August 10, 2016}}</ref> British newspapers delighted in the irony of the situation, with one ''[[Daily Sketch]]'' writer saying: "if Murrow builds up America as skillfully as he tore it to pieces last night, the propaganda war is as good as won."<ref>{{cite news|title=Murrow Tries to Halt Controversial TV Film|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=19610324&id=ZeVHAAAAIBAJ&pg=1223,767770|access-date=August 10, 2016|work=The Victoria Advocate|agency=Associated Press|date=March 24, 1961|page=9}}</ref>