Edward R. Murrow: His Life, Legacy and Ethical Influence
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University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Theses from the College of Journalism and Journalism and Mass Communications, College Mass Communications of 5-2010 Edward R. Murrow: His Life, Legacy and Ethical Influence Howard Lester Rose University of Nebraska at Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/journalismdiss Part of the Journalism Studies Commons Rose, Howard Lester, "Edward R. Murrow: His Life, Legacy and Ethical Influence" (2010). Theses from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications. 2. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/journalismdiss/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journalism and Mass Communications, College of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. EDWARD R. MURROW: HIS LIFE, LEGACY AND ETHICAL INFLUENCE by Howard Lester Rose A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirement For the Degree of Master of Arts Major: Journalism and Mass Communications Under the Supervision of Professor Nancy Mitchell Lincoln, Nebraska May, 2010 EDWARD R. MURROW: LIFE, LEGACY AND BROADCAST ETHICS TODAY Howard Lester Rose, M.A. University of Nebraska, 2010 Adviser: Nancy Mitchell This study researched the life and legacy of Edward R. Murrow and examined broadcast ethics today. Murrow invented radio news, as we know it and was the standard-bearer of journalism, ethics, and reporting. Many consider him the father of broadcast journalism. This study covers ethics in broadcast journalism today, with remarks by veteran journalists (and one student) and journalism educators. These experts comment on where TV news stands today based on the ethical standards that Murrow set five decades ago. They speak about the importance of getting the story right, what is wrong ethically with journalism, and how to stay on the journalistic high road at a time when many journalists have take a low road detour. With the paper’s objectives in mind, surveys and questions were sent to student, active, and retired journalists, as well as academics involved in journalism. The findings of these surveys are presented as edited conversational responses, email responses and telephone interviews. Complete verbatim responses of each person interviewed are included for closer analysis in this paper’s appendixes. The interviews with the journalists indicate that Murrow’s ethical influence is still present, even though many journalists do not know where or when the standard was set. Journalists may not think of Murrow daily, but virtually all consider him the standard- bearer of good reporting and ethical decision-making. It should be noted, that even Murrow was not perfect ethically and made some egregious errors in his decision- making. Overall, the findings in this paper show that there is a pronounced difference between local news and network news ethics in the United States. Internationally, many foreign news entities have decidedly different approaches to ethics. Some, in fact, are, unethical. Among the journalist surveyed, there was a noted difference between cable news and network news ethics. They said that cable and network news have standards and practices as gatekeepers, while most local and foreign news providers do not. iv DEDICATION This Thesis is dedicated first to my wife Michele, and to my family and friends who have supported and encouraged me in all my studies and research. Live, Love, Laugh, Luck, Learn. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my major professor, Dr. Nancy Mitchell, for all her encouragement, support and assistance while I was working on this Thesis. I would also like to thank the other members of my graduate committee, Mr. Barney McCoy and Dr. John Bender, for all their aid and guidance. I would also like to thank the following for their help and tremendous support of my research: my wife Mrs. Michele Rose, Dr. Julia-Marie Halderman, Mr. Tim O’Brien, Mrs. Stacy Bagley, Mrs. Jessica Milligan-Keif and all the individuals I interviewed. Additionally I would like to acknowledge Eleanore Vega, Bruce Rheins, Frank Governale, and the staff of CBS News for all of their support and help. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS PROLOGUE……………………………………………………………….. ……... 1 PART I: HIS LIFE…………………………………………………………. ……... 6 A Turn of the Century Tarheel……………………………………………....……... 6 Director of Talks…………………………………………………………………… 10 The Rise of German Propaganda…………………………………………............... 13 Goodnight Vienna………………………………………………………….............. 15 This is … London………………………………………………………………….. 19 The Korean War, Murrow, and the Birth of See It Now…………………………….23 Senator Joseph McCarthy, Demagogue……………………………………………. 26 Paranoia and the Fifties…………………………………………………….. ………28 U.S. Interracial Progress…and Tensions…………………………………............... 39 The Economy………………………………………………………………………. 32 Home at Last……………………………………………………………………….. 32 Not so Healthy Times……………………………………………………………… 33 Education and the Educated………………………………………………………... 34 Einstein, the Bomb, and Senator McCarthy………………………………...............36 Scary Times Make for Scary Movies………………………………………. ……... 38 The Fifties (Not so Fabulous)……………………………………………………… 39 Beginnings of a Battle: McCarthyism, Radulovich, and the Times……….............. 41 March 9, 1954: Murrow, McCarthy and a Moment in Time……………................. 45 Technology, Small World, and “Lights in a Box”…………………………..……... 53 Pride in “Harvest of Shame”……………………………………………………….. 57 Farewell……………………………………………………………………………..61 PART II: HIS LEGACY: JOURNALISTS (AND THE PRESIDENT) ON MURROW, ETHICS, AND THE FUTURE JOURNALISM…………………………………... 63 Kenny Irby…………………………………………………………………………. 66 Miles Doran………………………………………………………………………....69 Ron Olsen…………………………………………………………………………...70 Linda Mason………………………………………………………………………...71 Keith Woods……………………………………………………………………….. 76 Crocker Snow Jr……………………………………………………………………. 80 Terry McCarthy……………………………………………………………………. 82 Steve Hartman………………………………………………………………………87 Robert M. Steele, PhD……………………………………………………………... 92 Bob Dotson………………………………………………………………………….94 President Barack Obama…………………………………………………………… 96 REFLECTION AND RECOMMENDATIONS…………………………………… 99 vii APPENDIX A (Kenny Irby)……………………………………………………….. 102 APPENDIX B (Miles Doran)……………………………………………………… 107 APPENDIX C (Ron Olsen)………………………………………………………... 109 APPENDIX D (Linda Mason)…………………………………………………….. 111 APPENDIX E (Keith Woods)……………………………………………………... 120 APPENDIX F (Crocker Snow)…………………………………………………….. 142 APPENDIX G (Terry McCarthy)………………………………………………….. 144 APPENDIX H (Steve Hartman)…………………………………………………… 151 APPENDIX I (Robert Steele)……………………………………………………… 162 APPENDIX J (Bob Dotson)……………………………………………………….. 165 APPENDIX K (President Barrack Obama)………………………………………... 168 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………...172 1 PROLOGUE The 1950s are remembered as a simple time in American culture: malt shops, penny loafers, and the birth of rock and roll. It was also during this decade that TV news, even in its infancy, had perhaps its greatest moments and milestones. Many ethical standards for TV news were established courtesy of Edward R. Murrow and his staff. Dan Rather, in an interview with Brian Lamb (Lamb, 1999), described it this way: “... the making of the Murrow legend; basically the Battle of Britain, the McCarthy broadcast and ‘Harvest of Shame.’ Now, he had a lot of other accomplishments, but those are the three pillars on which the justified Murrow legend is built. There’s—no one else in electronic journalism that has had anything close to it.” Murrow won nine national Emmys for his broadcasting achievements. He also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, America’s highest civilian honor. Great Britain made him an honorary knight and Sweden, Belgium, and France granted him similar honors (Berta, 2006). Murrow had terrific timing: he was the right person at exactly the right time. Gary Edgerton, chair of the communications and theatre arts department at Old Dominion University (Norfolk, Virginia) noted that; “The creation of the Murrow legacy and tradition speaks both to the sterling talent of the man himself and the enormous growth and power of radio during the war years” (Edgerton, 2008). Many felt that Murrow, “…almost singlehandedly created broadcast journalism” (Betka, 2008). Murrow virtually invented radio and television news and set a standard for decades to come. In fact, one of the highest honors a journalist can receive is the Edward R. Murrow award. “RTNDA has honored outstanding achievements in electronic journalism 2 with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. Murrow's pursuit of excellence in journalism embodies the spirit of the awards that carry his name” (RTNDA, 2008). This was proper recognition for a man known for his journalistic courage and integrity, but still had his share of human flaws. At times, his opinions would get in the way of his news coverage and analysis and he was accused of being liberal, according to Murrow biographer Ann M. Sperber, “Of course, if you insisted on the question, did Murrow’s opinions underlie his treatment of news analysis, the answer must be yes” (Sperber, 1986). Recorded sound was not allowed on CBS Radio until Murrow changed that. Radio at the time was something for live events: concerts, major speeches, and hearings. Murrow also changed American