The real words

McKenna Snow
Class of 2024

(10/2021) Edward R. Murrow, a concerned man, was a CBS news-documentary host in the 1950’s. What was he concerned about? What did he do and what was his concern that left such a legacy behind and has influenced journalism forever after?

Murrow was a man who constantly pursued rare but crucial themes for his show; that is, integrity, education, and real information. He was concerned about the decline of public interest in current political affairs, and of topics that the average American should be educated on, but rarely were. There was a growing complacency in the escapism that TV shows offered to the viewer, and notable desensitization of all who were happy to live without any substantial content coming through their screens. Entertainment, while not a terrible thing in and of itself, can be problematic in distracting from the real issues of the world, which so many turned a blind eye to in television, whether they realized they were doing so or not.

As a host of a television show who realized this, Murrow felt a particular responsibility to use his platform not merely to entertain with superficial stories, interviews, and jokes, but to discuss current events using the most real words he could choose.

Thus, in his news-documentary show called "See it Now," Murrow actively brought these topics to the limelight. The show aired from 1951 to 1958, during which Murrow went after giants that no other nighttime TV show would dare discuss. Among other things, perhaps the largest giant Murrow is known for reporting on with blatant honesty and fierce courage was the "McCarthyism" that blazed through the United States like wildfire.

It was 1954; Post-World War II America was getting back on its feet, but not without lingering concerns of the Communist party still quietly harboring in the shadows of the world. Some were concerned that America had been infiltrated by Communists, and, because of a senator from Wisconsin, association with the Communist party became not-so-wild a claim to make against one’s friends, only if rumor should ever get around to proposing it.

Senator Joseph McCarthy was not merely in staunch opposition to Communism and an active hunter of those involved. He took this hunt a step further than a fair man would allow: he targeted anyone in America whom rumor may suggest to have any ties whatsoever to the Communist party. This could’ve been a distant familial tie, or even a tie through a newspaper they may have read years ago. He operated on the grounds of the fear that simmered still among American people, those unsure of who to trust, and he preyed on it.

Senator McCarthy exploited a situation that was genuine, and using fear and intimidation tactics, would target anyone at all who could be thought of as having ties to the Communist party. These tactics, which caused many people to lose their jobs, were a threat to genuine investigation of a suspect, and a distraction from the real effort that needed to be made in search of those in the Communist party who had infiltrated America. But McCarthy was targeting average Americans and had the fierce ability to win these arguments by bullying and accusatory name-calling; thus, no one dared to call him out, for fear of being accused as a Communist themselves.

Murrow heard a particular story of one such American targeted by McCarthy and decided to use that to face him head-on in his show. Milo Radulovich, a Serbian American Air Force lieutenant, was targeted by McCarthy because Milo’s sister and father both allegedly had ties to the Communist party. Senator Joseph McCarthy gave no fair trial or investigation to Radulovich but succeeded in having him forcibly removed from his job in the Air Force without question. Murrow reported on this story in his show and called McCarthy out for the blatant disregard for genuine trial.

Murrow also offered for McCarthy to appear on the show if he should like to make a rebuttal about Murrow’s claims against him, to which McCarthy obliged. Not to Murrow’s surprise, McCarthy made little comment on his dangerous and dishonest behavior, and instead openly accused Murrow of being in association with the Communist party himself as the main structure of his rebuttal.

Before the days of hosting "See it Now," Murrow was a World War II correspondent, who stayed in Austria, and later London, reporting to the U.S. as an eyewitness on the events of the German invasion of Austria and the bombing of London. These narrative experiences proved hearty formation as a radio show host, and later as a television host. His dedication to the American people during that time gave him substantial grounds of trust to stand on when he returned home and later began his news-documentary show. McCarthy’s ad hominem rebuttal to Murrow only further displayed the problem that McCarthy was creating: name-calling, serious accusations of the everyday American citizen, and no use of real words by which to defend his accusations.

Murrow’s response to McCarthy’s rebuttal was a simple debunking of McCarthy’s accusations against him. Murrow noted that McCarthy made no effort to reject or deny the accusations against him of aiding the real Communist party in its survival because of how heavily he went after normal American citizens. Shortly after this episode aired, a federal investigation of Senator McCarthy was opened, and Milo Radulovich was reinstated in his job in the Air Force. McCarthyism had been tackled; its ad hominem tactics were brought to light.

This story illustrates how much influence a show, and a man’s words, can have on those to whom he broadcasts. Contrary to CBS’s concern that viewers would not want this political involvement in their show, the viewers’ response was overwhelmingly positive. People responded heartily to the incorporation of education and genuine news content in their daily television shows.

Because of the example of Murrow, we can see the power that media platforms have. Our communities are not connected by mere reports of the latest Hollywood scandals, which tend to make the front page. I argue that instead, we are connected by matters that concern all people, like those that concerned Murrow: that of our history, our heritage as Americans, our ideas, our town’s growth, struggles and triumphs, our sciences, our faith, and our hope.

Murrow gave a brilliant speech to the Radio and Television News Directors’ Association in 1958, arguing back against those who sneered at television that it was a medium to not escape reality, but to understand it better. "This instrument can teach," Murrow said. "It can illuminate and, yes, it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it toward these ends. Otherwise, it is merely wires and lights in a box." The same, too, for newspapers, that would be printing mere black and white ink, if the words are not given any real quality to them.

"Just once in a while," Murrow said in his speech, "let us exult the importance of ideas and information." That is what the Emmitsburg News-Journal aims to emulate in its monthly issues: publicizing topics worth talking about, printing real words worth reading.