Reliving The Legacy Of Edward R. Murrow

(CBS)  By CBSNews.com's Stephen Smith.

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Forty-three years after Edward R. Murrow's death, there is still a plaque of the legendary newsman in the lobby of the CBS Broadcast Center in New York. Beneath his earnest stare and trademark cigarette is an inscription: "His imprint on broadcasting will be felt for all time to come."

Today, Murrow would have celebrated his 100th birthday. The correspondent's storied career still evokes some of the most unforgettable moments in American journalism. From heroically chronicling the reality of World War II to fearlessly exposing Sen. Joseph McCarthy, Murrow reinvented the scope and power of broadcast reporting.

Starting his career at CBS in 1935, Murrow emerged as a seminal radio voice in the early days of the war. In 1938, he reported on the growing tensions in Europe (listen) on World News Roundup, the first modern newscast. Eventually, millions of Americans would listen to Murrow's radio dispatches from London, including a report on the Allies' invasion of Normandy (listen) to liberate Europe from the Nazis. Earlier this month, his war correspondent uniform was put on display at the newly opened Newseum in Washington, D.C.

By the 1950s, Murrow established himself as the most distinguished and respected figure in television journalism. His show "See It Now" never shied away from controversial issues. Most notably, Murrow's broadcast launched an attack on Sen. Joseph McCarthy's anti-communism crusade - reporting that ultimately toppled the senator's political career. In 2005, the film "Good Night, and Good Luck" brought the famous episode - and the newsman - back in the spotlight.

In 1964, a year before Murrow died, the legendary reporter and CBS News anchor Robert Trout sat down to reminisce about their shared experiences (listen). As they listened, it became apparent that Murrow had never heard some of the reports for which he was the most famous.

Murrow created new standards of integrity and bravery in broadcast reporting. Today, his legacy remains as strong as ever. As David Halberstam wrote in his 2000 book "The Powers That Be," Murrow was "one of those rare legendary figures who was as good as his myth."

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Reporting from the flight deck of a plane landing in Berlin in 1958, Murrow took CBS News viewers to the German capital during one episode of "See It Now."

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Murrow talks to U.S. servicemen in Korea on Christmas Day, 1953.

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On January 22, 1954, former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt is a guest on Murrow's show "Person to Person."

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On March 9, 1954, Murrow introduces a rebuttal by Sen. Joseph McCarthy after CBS reports revealed the excesses of hearings into alleged Communists infiltration of the U.S.

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Quotes About Legendary CBS Newsman Edward R. Murrow

"Edward R. Murrow was my last hero. When this nation was drowning in cowardice and demagoguery, it was Murrow who hurled the spear at the terror. The spear was his 'See It Now' television broadcast on Senator Joe McCarthy."
- From an essay by CBS News veteran Joseph Wershba

"If you ask what does Murrow mean to me, I'll tell you. Whenever I'm not sure about something, the ethics of something, the question I ask myself is what would Murrow have done? What would Murrow say? It seems strange after all these years that I still have him as a kind of symbol and an emblem to live by, but I do."
- Journalist Daniel Schorr, the last of Murrow's colleagues who is still a working journalist. (He's a senior news analyst for National Public Radio)

"It was like Moses and the parting of the Red Sea when (Murrow) walked through the office. We all stepped aside. He walked slowly, with his head down. He was deep in thought."
- Former CBS News correspondent Marvin Kalb in the Orlando Sentinel


By Stephen Smith

[jn122736]

Re. Post by studio41 at 11:43 AM : Apr 25, 2008
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today%u2019s monopolized economy (including the media), accomplished mainly through mergers and/or hostile buyouts/takeovers, affects and/or controls every aspect of our lives.

There no longer is anything %u201C%u201Dfree%u201D%u201D or %u201C%u201Dcompetitive%u201D%u201D about our market system. Prices are controlled by major companies, which allow them to charge whatever they wish for their products an/or services.

The same thing applies to the news media and what the general public is allowed to see or hear.

After the great depression, monopolies were broken up and anti-monopoly laws and regulations, including the use of our airwaves, were instituted to guard against another such occurrence. And they worked pretty well until, beginning with the Reagan administration, these laws have steadily been ignored or changed or simply eliminated.

Is it any wonder we are almost back where we started in the 1930%u2019s?

[cheroke3]

Dan Rather is the last of the really great investigative news reporters.

A shame CBS didn''t attack the White House "proof" typewritten documents with the same veracity when discovering the -same- typewriter was used to -disprove- Rather''s.

If CBS returned Rather they''d find a return of the more literate audience.

[harrydoghiny]

So when is CBS going to honor the legacy of Edward R. Murrow, by reporting the real news again? When will you stop being an arm of the George W. Bush Propaganda machine and start reporting the true picture of what is going on in America and around the world. I weep for what has become of our American News media, I weep for the future of our county. If Edward R. Murrow were alive today I wonder what he would say about his beloved network, and the state of journalism in our country.

Posted by AtlantaDave3

Couldn''t have said it any better myself. Shame on you CBS, Murrow is spinning in his grave. How dare you tarnish the memory of a REAL journalist.

[cheroke3]

Dan Rather is the last of the really great investigative news reporters.

A shame CBS didn''t attack the White House "proof" typewritten documents with the same veracity when discovering the -same- typewriter was used to -disprove- Rather''s.

If CBS returned Rather they''d find a return of the more literate audience.

[rushlimpdrug]

"No matter how much you hate George Bush you can''''t concone a "news organization" using blantantly fake documents."
Posted by mjvw2 at 03:57 PM

Sure little boy.
Whatever you say.

[mjvw2]

"...the forced retirement of Dan Rather.... These decisions were not made by the leadership of CBS News"

No matter how much you hate George Bush you can''t concone a "news organization" using blantantly fake documents.

[hbevis]

TO: ObamasLady

That is what we do also.

[obamaslady]

When Murrow and Cronkite died, so did JOURNALISM. There is only ILLUSION, PROPOGANDA, TRASH and PERSONAL OPINION spouted in today''s world of so called news. The talking SNAKES only want to spoon feed the public what they want us to know or hear so they can CONTROL us. In our home, we don''t watch tv news of any description and we don''t purchase any newspapers - they are simply not worth the time or money. We either find our news of TRUTH AND FACT on-line, or we can live without being robots to the MSM. If the entire public would do the same, perhaps these SNAKES would be put out of business and go back to their respective caves. We refuse to support them!

[hbevis]

I still remember Edward R. Murrow just like it was yesterday. In about 1951 or 1952 he came to my high school and gave a talk to our entire school. He talked about Communism and I have never forgotten what he said. That was at least 55 years ago. We were really lucky that he came to our school there in North Florida. Our Band director was a friend of his and so he came to our school when was on a trip and stopped off at our school. I agree with other Post about Mr. Murrow, CBS nor any other news group don''t even come close to doing the kind of reporting he did. You could compare it to maybe an Airplane and a grain of sand. That is the difference that I feel about him and the news people of today.

[rushlimpdrug]

". . . there is still a plaque of the legendary newsman in the lobby of the CBS Broadcast Center in New York. "


You can take the plaque down now.

CBS and the other "news" media is fooling no one.

What we get today is watered down censored news.

Please do the honorable thing and take the plaque to
a museum so the public can see what once was.