Editing Edward R. Murrow (section)

==Postwar broadcasting career==
[[File:Murrow and Truman.jpg|thumb|left|[[Harry S. Truman]] and Edward R. Murrow, ''[[This I Believe]]'' series, 1951–1955]]

===Radio===
In December 1945 Murrow reluctantly accepted [[William S. Paley]]'s offer to become a vice president of the network and head of CBS News, and made his last news report from London in March 1946.<ref name="sperber1998"/>{{rp|259,261}} His presence and personality shaped the newsroom. After the war, he maintained close friendships with his previous hires, including members of the Murrow Boys. Younger colleagues at CBS became resentful toward this, viewing it as preferential treatment, and formed the "Murrow Isn't God Club." The club disbanded when Murrow asked if he could join.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cuthbertson|first1=Keith|title=A Complex Fate: William L. Shirer and the American Century|date=May 1, 2015|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press|isbn=978-0773597242|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jZwHCAAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref name="Wertenbaker"/>

During Murrow's tenure as vice president, his relationship with Shirer ended in 1947 in one of the great confrontations of American broadcast journalism, when Shirer was fired by CBS. He said he resigned in the heat of an interview at the time, but was actually terminated.<ref name=native>{{cite book|title=20th Century Journey: A Native's Return |publisher=Little Brown |year=1990 |author=William L. Shirer}}</ref> The dispute began when J. B. Williams, maker of shaving soap, withdrew its sponsorship of Shirer's Sunday news show. CBS, of which Murrow was then vice president for public affairs, decided to "move in a new direction," hired a new host, and let Shirer go. There are different versions of these events; Shirer's was not made public until 1990.

Shirer contended that the root of his troubles was the network and sponsor not standing by him because of his comments critical of the [[Truman Doctrine]], as well as other comments that were considered outside of the mainstream. Shirer and his supporters felt he was being muzzled because of his views. Meanwhile, Murrow, and even some of Murrow's Boys, felt that Shirer was coasting on his high reputation and not working hard enough to bolster his analyses with his own research.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}} Murrow and Shirer never regained their close friendship.

The episode hastened Murrow's desire to give up his network vice presidency and return to newscasting, and it foreshadowed his own problems to come with his friend Paley, boss of CBS.

Murrow and Paley had become close when the network chief himself joined the war effort, setting up [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] radio outlets in Italy and North Africa. After the war, he would often go to Paley directly to settle any problems he had. "Ed Murrow was Bill Paley's one genuine friend in CBS," noted Murrow biographer [[Joseph Persico]].

Murrow returned to the air in September 1947, taking over the nightly 7:45&nbsp;p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|ET]] newscast sponsored by [[Campbell's Soup]] and anchored by his old friend and announcing coach Bob Trout. For the next several years Murrow focused on radio, and in addition to news reports he produced special presentations for CBS News Radio. In 1950, he narrated a half-hour radio documentary called ''The Case of the Flying Saucer''. It offered a balanced look at [[unidentified flying object|UFOs]], a subject of widespread interest at the time. Murrow interviewed both [[Kenneth Arnold]] and astronomer [[Donald Menzel]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Crucial Decade: Voices of the Postwar Era, 1945-1954|url=https://www.archives.gov/research/foreign-policy/voices-of-postwar.html|website=National Archives|access-date=August 10, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite episode|title=The Case of the Flying Saucer|series=Special News Report|url=https://archive.org/download/1950-1959RadioNews/1950-04-07-CBS-Edward-R-Murrow-Case-Of-The-Flying-Saucer.mp3|credits=Edward R. Murrow|network=CBS Radio News|air-date=April 7, 1950}}</ref>

From 1951 to 1955, Murrow was the host of ''[[This I Believe]]'', which offered ordinary people the opportunity to speak for five minutes on radio. He continued to present daily radio news reports on the CBS Radio Network until 1959. He also recorded a series of narrated "historical albums" for [[Columbia Records]] called ''I Can Hear It Now'', which inaugurated his partnership with producer [[Fred W. Friendly]]. In 1950 the records evolved into a weekly CBS Radio show, ''[[Hear It Now]]'', hosted by Murrow and co-produced by Murrow and Friendly.

===Television and films===
As the 1950s began, Murrow began his television career by appearing in editorial "tailpieces" on the ''[[CBS Evening News]]'' and in the coverage of special events. This came despite his own misgivings about the new medium and its emphasis on image rather than ideas.

On November 18, 1951, ''Hear It Now'' moved to television and was re-christened ''See It Now''. In the first episode, Murrow explained: "This is an old team, trying to learn a new trade."<ref name="sperber1998"/>{{rp|354}}

In 1952, Murrow narrated the political documentary ''Alliance for Peace'', an information vehicle for the newly formed [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe|SHAPE]] detailing the effects of the [[Marshall Plan]] upon a war-torn Europe. It was written by [[William Templeton (screenwriter)|William Templeton]] and produced by [[Samuel Goldwyn Jr.]]

In 1953, Murrow launched a second weekly TV show, a series of celebrity interviews entitled ''[[Person to Person]]''.

====Criticism of McCarthyism====
''See It Now'' focused on a number of controversial issues in the 1950s, but it is best remembered as the show that criticized [[McCarthyism]] and the [[Second Red Scare|Red Scare]], contributing, if not leading, to the political downfall of Senator Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy had previously commended Murrow for his fairness in reporting.<ref name="Wertenbaker"/>

On June 15, 1953, Murrow hosted ''[[The Ford 50th Anniversary Show]]'', broadcast simultaneously on NBC and CBS and seen by 60 million viewers. The broadcast closed with Murrow's commentary covering a variety of topics, including the danger of nuclear war against the backdrop of a mushroom cloud. Murrow also offered indirect criticism of [[McCarthyism]], saying: "Nations have lost their freedom while preparing to defend it, and if we in this country confuse dissent with disloyalty, we deny the right to be wrong." Forty years after the broadcast, television critic [[Tom Shales]] recalled the broadcast as both "a landmark in television" and "a milestone in the cultural life of the '50s".<ref name=Shales>{{cite news|title=Ford's 50th anniversary show was milestone of '50s culture|newspaper=Palm Beach Daily News|date=December 26, 1993|page=B3|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59934494/fords-50th-anniversary-show-was/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

On March 9, 1954, Murrow, Friendly, and their news team produced a half-hour ''See It Now'' special titled "A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy".<ref name="seenow540309">{{cite web|url=http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/murrowmccarthy.html|title=A Report on Senator Joseph R. McCarthy|work=[[See It Now]]|publisher=CBS|date=March 9, 1954|access-date=November 23, 2008}}</ref> Murrow had considered making such a broadcast since ''See It Now'' debuted, and was encouraged to do so by multiple colleagues, including Bill Downs. However, Friendly wanted to wait for the right time to do so.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sperber|title=Murrow, His Life and Times|year=1998|publisher=Fordham University Press|location=New York|isbn=|pages=403–404}}</ref> Murrow used excerpts from McCarthy's own speeches and proclamations to criticize the senator and point out episodes where he had contradicted himself. Murrow and Friendly paid for their own newspaper advertisement for the program; they were not allowed to use CBS's money for the publicity campaign or even use the CBS logo.

The broadcast contributed to a nationwide backlash against McCarthy and is seen as a turning point in the history of television. It provoked tens of thousands of letters, telegrams, and phone calls to CBS headquarters, running 15 to 1 in favor.<ref>{{cite news |last=Adams |first=Val |title=PRAISE POURS IN ON MURROW SHOW |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 11, 1954 |page=19 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B05EEDE1738E23BBC4952DFB566838F649EDE }}</ref> In a retrospective produced for ''[[Biography (TV program)|Biography]]'', Friendly noted how truck drivers pulled up to Murrow on the street in subsequent days and shouted "Good show, Ed."

Murrow offered McCarthy the chance to respond to the criticism with a full half-hour on ''See It Now''. McCarthy accepted the invitation and appeared on April 6, 1954. In his response, McCarthy rejected Murrow's criticism and accused him of being a communist sympathizer [McCarthy also accused Murrow of being a member of the [[Industrial Workers of the World]] which Murrow denied.<ref name="seenow540413">{{Cite web|title = Response to Senator Joe McCarthy on CBS' ''See It Now'' |url = http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/edwardrmurrowtomccarthy.htm|date=April 13, 1954|access-date = 2016-02-09}}</ref>]. McCarthy also made an appeal to the public by attacking his detractors, stating:

{{blockquote|Ordinarily, I would not take time out from the important work at hand to answer Murrow. However, in this case I feel justified in doing so because Murrow is a symbol, a leader, and the cleverest of the jackal pack which is always found at the throat of anyone who dares to expose individual Communists and traitors.<ref name="seenow540406">{{cite web|url=http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/josephmccarthycbsseeitnow.htm|title=Prosecution of E. R. Murrow on CBS' "See It Now"|work=[[See It Now]]|publisher=CBS|date=April 6, 1954|access-date=August 10, 2016}}</ref>}}

Ultimately, McCarthy's rebuttal served only to further decrease his already fading popularity.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/murrow_e.html "Edward R. Murrow"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917064644/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/murrow_e.html |date=September 17, 2008 }}, ''[[American Masters]]'', [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]. Retrieved March 28, 2008.</ref> In the program following McCarthy's appearance, Murrow commented that the senator had "made no reference to any statements of fact that we made".<ref name="seenow540413" />
[[File:Murrow57.jpg|thumb|left|Edward R. Murrow at work with CBS, 1957]]

====Later television career====
Murrow's hard-hitting approach to the news cost him influence in the world of television. ''See It Now'' occasionally scored high ratings (usually when it was tackling a particularly controversial subject), but in general, it did not score well on prime-time television.

When a quiz show phenomenon began and took TV by storm in the mid-1950s, Murrow realized the days of ''See It Now'' as a weekly show were numbered. (Biographer Joseph Persico notes that Murrow, watching an early episode of ''[[The $64,000 Question]]'' air just before his own ''See It Now'', is said to have turned to Friendly and asked how long they expected to keep their time slot).

''See It Now'' was knocked out of its weekly slot in 1955 after sponsor [[Alcoa]] withdrew its advertising, but the show remained as a series of occasional TV special news reports that defined television documentary news coverage. Despite the show's prestige, CBS had difficulty finding a regular sponsor, since it aired intermittently in its new time slot (Sunday afternoons at 5 p.m. ET by the end of 1956) and could not develop a regular audience.

In 1956, Murrow took time to appear as the on-screen narrator of a special prologue for [[Mike Todd|Michael Todd]]'s epic production, ''[[Around the World in 80 Days (1956 film)|Around the World in 80 Days]]''. Although the prologue was generally omitted on telecasts of the film, it was included in home video releases.

Beginning in 1958, Murrow hosted a talk show entitled ''Small World'' that brought together political figures for one-to-one debates. In January 1959, he appeared on [[WGBH-TV|WGBH]]'s ''The Press and the People'' with [[Louis Lyons]], discussing the responsibilities of television journalism.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Press and the People: The Responsibilities of Television, Part II|date=January 24, 1959|url=http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_30960AC28BBF43E3AF25923B13B5FEBD|website=Open Vault from WGBH|publisher=WGBH Media Library and Archives|access-date=August 10, 2016}}</ref>

Murrow appeared as himself in a cameo in the British film production of ''[[Sink the Bismarck!]]'' in 1960, recreating some of the wartime broadcasts he did from London for CBS.<ref name="bismark">{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054310/ |title=Sink the Bismarck! |publisher=[[IMDb]] }}.</ref>

On September 16, 1962, he introduced educational television to New York City via the maiden broadcast of WNDT, which became [[WNET]].

====Fall from favor====
Murrow's reporting brought him into repeated conflicts with CBS, especially its chairman William Paley, which Friendly summarized in his book ''Due to Circumstances Beyond our Control''. ''See It Now'' ended entirely in the summer of 1958 after a clash in Paley's office. Murrow had complained to Paley he could not continue doing the show if the network repeatedly provided (without consulting Murrow) [[equal-time rule|equal time]] to subjects who felt wronged by the program.

According to Friendly, Murrow asked Paley if he was going to destroy ''See It Now'', into which the CBS chief executive had invested so much. Paley replied that he did not want a constant stomach ache every time Murrow covered a controversial subject.<ref>{{cite book | last = Smith | first = Sally Bedell | author-link = Sally Bedell Smith | title = In All His Glory: The Life of William S. Paley : The Legendary Tycoon and His Brilliant Circle | url = https://archive.org/details/inallhisglorylif00smit | url-access = registration | publisher = Simon & Schuster | date = November 1990 | isbn = 978-0-671-61735-6 }}</ref>

''See It Now''{{'}}s final broadcast, "Watch on the [[Ruhr]]" (covering postwar Germany), aired July 7, 1958. Three months later, on October 15, 1958, in a speech before the [[Radio Television Digital News Association|Radio and Television News Directors Association]] in Chicago, Murrow blasted TV's emphasis on entertainment and commercialism at the expense of [[public interest]] in his "wires and lights" speech:

{{blockquote|During the daily peak viewing periods, television in the main insulates us from the realities of the world in which we live. If this state of affairs continues, we may alter an advertising slogan to read: ''Look now, pay later''.<ref name="rtnda58">{{cite web|url=http://www.rtdna.org/content/edward_r_murrow_s_1958_wires_lights_in_a_box_speech|title=Edward R. Murrow Speech|publisher=Radio-Television News Directors Association|date=October 15, 1958|access-date=August 10, 2016}}</ref>}}

The harsh tone of the Chicago speech seriously damaged Murrow's friendship with Paley, who felt Murrow was biting the hand that fed him. Before his death, Friendly said that the RTNDA (now Radio Television Digital News Association) address did more than the McCarthy show to break the relationship between the CBS boss and his most respected journalist.

Another contributing element to Murrow's career decline was the rise of a new crop of television journalists. Walter Cronkite's arrival at CBS in 1950 marked the beginning of a major rivalry which continued until Murrow resigned from the network in 1961. Murrow held a grudge dating back to 1944, when Cronkite turned down his offer to head the CBS Moscow bureau.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gay|first=Timothy M|title=Assignment to Hell: The War Against Nazi Germany with Correspondents Walter Cronkite, Andy Rooney, A.J. Liebling, Homer Bigart, and Hal Boyle|year=2013|publisher=NAL Caliber Trade|pages=528|isbn=978-0451417152}}</ref> With the Murrow Boys dominating the newsroom, Cronkite felt like an outsider soon after joining the network. Over time, as Murrow's career seemed on the decline and Cronkite's on the rise, the two found it increasingly difficult to work together. Cronkite's demeanor was similar to reporters Murrow had hired; the difference being that Murrow viewed the Murrow Boys as satellites rather than potential rivals, as Cronkite seemed to be.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Persico|first1=Joseph E.|title=Edward R. Murrow: An American Original|url=https://archive.org/details/edwardrmurrowame00pers|url-access=registration|date=November 1988|publisher=McGraw-Hill|isbn=0070494800|pages=[https://archive.org/details/edwardrmurrowame00pers/page/314 314–315]}}</ref>

Throughout the 1950s the two got into heated arguments stoked in part by their professional rivalry. At a dinner party hosted by Bill Downs at his home in [[Bethesda, Maryland|Bethesda]], Cronkite and Murrow argued over the role of sponsors, which Cronkite accepted as necessary and said "paid the rent." Murrow, who had long despised sponsors despite also relying on them, responded angrily. In another instance, an argument devolved into a "duel" in which the two drunkenly took a pair of antique dueling pistols and pretended to shoot at each other.<ref name="sperber1998"/>{{rp|527}} Despite this, Cronkite went on to have a long career as an anchor at CBS.

After the end of ''See It Now,'' Murrow was invited by New York's Democratic Party to run for the Senate. Paley was enthusiastic and encouraged him to do it. Harry Truman advised Murrow that his choice was between being the junior senator from New York or being Edward R. Murrow, beloved broadcast journalist, and hero to millions. He took Truman's statement as a suggestion to decline the nomination, which he did.<ref name="Edward R 2004"/>

After contributing to the first episode of the documentary series ''[[CBS Reports]]'', Murrow, increasingly under physical stress due to his conflicts and frustration with CBS, took a sabbatical from summer 1959 to mid-1960, though he continued to work on ''CBS Reports'' and ''Small World'' during this period. Friendly, executive producer of ''CBS Reports'', wanted the network to allow Murrow to again be his co-producer after the sabbatical, but he was eventually turned down.

Murrow's last major TV milestone was reporting and narrating the ''CBS Reports'' installment ''[[Harvest of Shame]]'', a report on the plight of migrant farmworkers in the United States. Directed by Friendly and produced by David Lowe, it ran in November 1960, just after [[Thanksgiving]].

===Summary of television work===
* 1951–1958 – ''[[See It Now]]'' (host)
* 1953–1959 – ''[[Person to Person]]'' (host)
* 1958–1960 – ''Small World'' (moderator and producer)

===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>