What Would Murrow Do?

Alex Moning
am203705@ohio.edu

While watching the film "Good Night, and Good Luck" in class today, I couldn't help but marvel at all of the incredibly difficult decisions that come with being a journalist. Every action has a serious consequence, and it takes courage and conviction to pull it off.

The film follows broadcaster Edward R. Murrow during the 1950’s “witch-hunts” that Senator McCarthy was inspiring by invoking a fear of communism taking over America. In that time there were few who would stand up to Sen. McCarthy in fear that they too would be accused of involving themselves in communist activities.

The risks that Murrow and CBS took in investigating Sen. McCarthy’s accusations and fear tactics were phenomenal. Edward Murrow was a model journalist. He had no interest in reporting lies to attract a bigger audience; his prime concern was getting the facts out to the public.

From what I could tell in the movie, he thought it was impossible not to editorialize when reporting, but he did try to refrain from it. He never claimed anything without proof. He made his points clear by showing clips of McCarthy’s actual speeches so no one could deny what was going on. He never backed down from his story even when McCarthy fought back with claims that Murrow showed interest in the communist party.

I don’t think that there was anything unethical about the way Murrow reported this news. He did so with professionalism, and fully aware of the personal risks involved in the story. The public needed to know this information, and Murrow delivered it with style.