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A Rhetorical/Interpretive Analysis of Edward R A RHETORICAL/INTERPRETIVE ANALYSIS OF EDWARD R. MURROW’S CRITICISM OF BROADCAST JOURNALISM: IMPLICATIONS FOR BROADCAST JOURNALISM EDUCATORS A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Science By Aaron Dale Quanbeck In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major Department: Communication November 2012 Fargo, North Dakota North Dakota State University Graduate School Title A RHETORICAL/INTERPRETIVE ANALYSIS OF EDWARD R. MURROW’S CRITICISM OF BROADCAST JOURNALISM: IMPLICATIONS FOR BROADCAST JOURNALISM EDUCATORS By Aaron Dale Quanbeck The Supervisory Committee certifies that this disquisition complies with North Dakota State University’s regulations and meets the accepted standards for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: Mark Meister, Ph.D. Chair Zoltan Majdik, Ph.D. Paul Nelson, Ph.D. Abby Gold, Ph.D. Kevin Brooks, Ph.D. Approved: Nov. 2, 2012 Mark Meister, Ph.D. Date Department Chair ABSTRACT Corporate influence has been an ongoing concern for working journalists. Even in the early days of television, Edward R. Murrow saw a bleak future for society if broadcasters succumbed to corporate greed and failed in their responsibility to inform the public. This rhetorical study of Murrow's 1958 speech to the Radio-Television News Directors Association, guided by Perelman's theory of the universal audience and presence, argues that Murrow’s speech prioritized broadcast journalism’s obligation to a democratic society and warned that commercial intrusion was impacting the profession’s moral obligations. At the same time, in appealing to a particular audience, Murrow deemphasized the role of individuals in the process, including both working journalists and the viewing audience. I apply the findings of my rhetorical analysis to a qualitative case study analysis of three collegiate broadcasting textbooks to examine how closely Murrow’s vision for the industry is being passed on to the next generation of broadcast journalists. My findings suggest that tensions exist between the two, including Murrow advocating a more proactive rather than a reactive approach to broadcast journalism. I conclude by offering recommendations to broadcast educators in helping young journalists balance the obligations Murrow envisioned for the industry and the corporate realities of broadcasting. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to thank my wonderful wife and children, who showed unending patience and support throughout my graduate studies. I never would have made it without your love, encouragement, and understanding. I also want to thank my advisor, Mark Meister, whose guidance and advice every step of the way made this possible. Lastly, I want to thank the Mass Communications Department at Minnesota State University Moorhead for its ongoing support. The faculty members there were always encouraging, gave me great advice, and did whatever they could to help me along the way. I’m so glad to be working with such a great group of dedicated professors who were so supportive of me completing my degree. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................................. iv CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND RATIONALE ............................................................ 1 Previous Murrow Research ......................................................................................................... 8 Rhetorical Criticism as Research Perspective ........................................................................... 12 CHAPTER TWO: TEXT AND CONTEXT ................................................................................. 15 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 15 Murrow’s Early Years ............................................................................................................... 16 Advent of Broadcast Journalism ................................................................................................ 19 Murrow’s Radio Broadcasts ...................................................................................................... 25 The Birth of Television News ................................................................................................... 35 See It Now and Murrow vs. McCarthy ...................................................................................... 37 The “Lower Murrow” and Person to Person ............................................................................ 52 Murrow's Fall at CBS ................................................................................................................ 57 Murrow's RTNDA Speech ........................................................................................................ 64 CHAPTER THREE: RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF MURROW'S RTNDA ADDRESS ........ 69 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 69 Rhetorical Criticism of Murrow's RTNDA Speech ................................................................... 73 Descriptive Analysis .................................................................................................................. 74 Perelman's Universal and Particular Audience .......................................................................... 79 Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca’s Theory of Presence .............................................................. 84 v Murrow's Appeal to the Universal ............................................................................................. 88 Distraction is dangerous ........................................................................................................ 88 Controversy can be constructive ............................................................................................ 93 Greed should not supersede societal responsibility ............................................................... 97 Murrow's Appeal to the Particular Using Presence ................................................................. 106 Broadcasting is a moral endeavor ........................................................................................ 107 The moral struggle lies at the top ........................................................................................ 115 Viewing audience responsibility is diminished ................................................................... 121 The struggle of the individual broadcaster is diminished .................................................... 126 CHAPTER FOUR: CASE STUDY OF BROADCASTING TEXTBOOKS ............................. 132 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 132 Modern Implications ................................................................................................................ 133 Applied Communication Research .......................................................................................... 134 Qualitative Case Study ............................................................................................................ 138 Artifacts ................................................................................................................................... 141 Procedure ................................................................................................................................. 143 Analysis ................................................................................................................................... 144 Findings ................................................................................................................................... 146 Television Field Production and Reporting: A Guide to Visual Storytelling ...................... 146 Broadcast News Handbook: Writing, Reporting and Producing in a Converging Media World ................................................................................................................................... 155 Advancing the Story: Broadcast Journalism in a Multimedia World ................................. 163 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 172 CHAPTER FIVE: IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS .................................................... 177 vi Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 177 Implications ............................................................................................................................. 178 Proactive versus reactive journalism ................................................................................... 178 Cogs versus catalysts ........................................................................................................... 182 Recommendations ................................................................................................................... 185 Be bold in teaching balance ................................................................................................
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