View source for Edward R. Murrow

{{short description|American broadcast journalist (1908–1965)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| birthname          = Egbert Roscoe Murrow
| name               = Edward R. Murrow
| image              = Edward_R._Murrow.jpg
| image_size         = 
| caption            = Murrow in 1962
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1908|4|25|mf=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Guilford County, North Carolina]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1965|4|27|1908|4|25|mf=y}}
| death_place        = [[Pawling (town), New York|Pawling, New York]], U.S.
| resting_place      = Glen Arden Farm, New York
| resting_place_coordinates = {{Coord|41|34|15.7|N|73|36|33.6|W|region:US-NY_type:landmark|name=Edward R. Murrow Burial Site}}
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Janet Huntington Brewster]]|1935}}
| children           = 1
| occupation         = {{hlist|Journalist|radio broadcaster}}
| alma_mater         = [[Washington State University]]
| years_active       = 1935–1964
| known_for          = {{unbulleted list|On-the-spot [[Radio news|radio reports]] from London and other locations in Europe during World War II.|Series of [[Television news|television news reports]] that led to the [[censure]] of U.S. Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]].}}
| signature          = EdwardRMurrow.svg
}}

'''Edward Roscoe Murrow''' (born '''Egbert Roscoe Murrow'''; April 25, 1908 – April 27, 1965)<ref>{{cite web|title=Edward R. Murrow|url=http://ncpedia.org/biography/murrow-edward|website=NCPedia|publisher=[[State Library of North Carolina]]|access-date=August 10, 2016}}</ref> was an American [[Broadcast journalism|broadcast journalist]] and [[war correspondent]]. He first gained prominence during [[World War II]] with a series of live radio broadcasts from Europe for the [[CBS News|news division]] of [[CBS]]. During the war he recruited and worked closely with a team of war correspondents who came to be known as the [[Murrow Boys]].

A pioneer of radio and television news broadcasting, Murrow produced a series of reports on his television program ''[[See It Now]]'' which helped lead to the [[Censure in the United States|censure]] of Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]]. Fellow journalists [[Eric Sevareid]], [[Ed Bliss]], [[Bill Downs]], [[Dan Rather]], and [[Alexander Kendrick]] consider Murrow one of journalism's greatest figures. Murrow's life has been dramatized in several films, including ''[[Good Night, and Good Luck]]'', which takes its name from the signature sign-off phrase Murrow used to end many of his wartime broadcasts.

==Early life==
Murrow was born Egbert Roscoe Murrow at Polecat Creek, near [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]],<ref name=Baker>Baker, Anne Pimlott (2004), [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/47830 "Murrow, Edward Roscoe (1908–1965)"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed December 7, 2010</ref> in [[Guilford County, North Carolina]], to Roscoe Conklin Murrow and Ethel F. (née Lamb) Murrow. His parents were [[Quakers]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/01/28/famous.quakers/ |title= What Richard Nixon and James Dean had in common |access-date=January 31, 2008 |last=Hattikudur |first=Mangesh |date=January 28, 2008 |publisher=CNN}}</ref> He was the youngest of four brothers and was a "mixture of Scottish, Irish, English and German" descent.<ref>{{cite news |title=Edward R. Murrow, Broadcaster And Ex-Chief of U.S.I.A., Dies|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/04/28/archives/edward-r-murrow-broadcaster-and-exchief-of-usia-dies-war-reporter.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 28, 1965|access-date=August 10, 2016}}</ref> The firstborn, Roscoe Jr., lived only a few hours. His other two brothers, Lacey Van Buren and Dewey Joshua, were four and two years old respectively when Murrow was born.<ref name="Edward R 2004">Edwards, B. 2004, ''Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism''.</ref> His home was a log cabin without electricity or plumbing, on a farm bringing in only a few hundred dollars a year from corn and hay.

When Murrow was six years old, his family moved across the country to [[Skagit County, Washington|Skagit County]] in [[western Washington]], to [[Homestead principle|homestead]] near [[Blanchard, Washington|Blanchard]], {{convert|30|mi|-1}} south of the [[Canada–United States border]]. He attended high school in nearby [[Edison, Washington|Edison]], and was president of the student body in his senior year and excelled on the debate team. He was also a member of the basketball team which won the Skagit County championship.

After graduation from high school in 1926, Murrow enrolled at [[Washington State University|Washington State College]] (now Washington State University) across the state in [[Pullman, Washington|Pullman]], and eventually majored in speech. A member of [[Kappa Sigma]] [[Fraternities and sororities|fraternity]], he was also active in college politics. By his teen years, Murrow went by the nickname "Ed" and during his second year of college, he changed his name from Egbert to Edward. In 1929, while attending the annual convention of the [[National Student Federation of America]], Murrow gave a speech urging college students to become more interested in national and world affairs; this led to his election as president of the federation. After earning his bachelor's degree in 1930, he moved back east to New York.

Murrow was assistant director of the [[Institute of International Education]] from 1932 to 1935 and served as assistant secretary of the [[Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced Foreign Scholars]], which helped prominent German scholars who had been dismissed from academic positions. He married [[Janet Huntington Brewster]] on March 12, 1935. Their son, Charles Casey Murrow, was born in the west of London on November 6, 1945.

==Career at CBS==
Murrow joined CBS as director of talks and education in 1935 and remained with the network for his entire career.<ref name=Baker /> CBS did not have news staff when Murrow joined, save for announcer [[Robert Trout|Bob Trout]]. Murrow's job was to line up newsmakers who would appear on the network to talk about the issues of the day. But the onetime Washington State speech major was intrigued by Trout's on-air delivery, and Trout gave Murrow tips on how to communicate effectively on radio.

Murrow went to London in 1937 to serve as the director of CBS's European operations. The position did not involve on-air reporting; his job was persuading European figures to broadcast over the CBS network, which was in direct competition with [[NBC]]'s two radio networks. During this time, he made frequent trips around Europe.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Russell|first1=Norton|title=They Also Serve: Edward R. Murrow|url=http://www.otrr.org/FILES/Magz_pdf/Radio%20TV%20Mirror/Radio%20and%20Television%20Mirror%204010.pdf|access-date=August 10, 2016|work=Radio and Television Mirror|issue=6|date=October 1940|volume=14|pages=19, 68–69}}</ref> In 1937, Murrow hired journalist [[William L. Shirer]], and assigned him to a similar post on the continent. This marked the beginning of the "Murrow Boys" team of war reporters.<ref name="Wertenbaker">{{cite magazine|last1=Wertenbaker|first1=Charles|title=The World On His Back|magazine=The New Yorker|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1953/12/26/the-world-on-his-back|date=December 26, 1953|access-date=July 28, 2017}}</ref>

===Radio===
Murrow gained his first glimpse of fame during the March 1938 ''[[Anschluss]],'' in which [[Adolf Hitler]] engineered the annexation of [[Austria]] by [[Nazi Germany]]. While Murrow was in [[Poland]] arranging a broadcast of children's choruses, he got word from Shirer of the annexation—and the fact that Shirer could not get the story out through Austrian state radio facilities. Murrow immediately sent Shirer to London.  Shirer wrote in his diary:

{{poemquote|I was at the Aspern airport at 7a.m.  The [[Gestapo]] had taken over.  At first they said no planes would be allowed to take off.  Then they cleared the London plane.  But I could not get on.  I offered fantastic sums to several passengers for their places.  Most of them were Jews and I could not blame them for turning me down.  Next was the plane to Berlin.  I got on that.<ref>William L. Shirer, ''Berlin Diary'', ©1941 reprenited 2011 by Rosetta books, entry for March 12, 1938</ref>}}

Shirer flew from Vienna to Berlin, then Amsterdam, and finally to London, where he delivered an uncensored eyewitness account of the Anschluss. Murrow then chartered the only transportation available, a 23-passenger plane, to fly from [[Warsaw]] to [[Vienna]] so he could take over from Shirer.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Russell|first1=Norton|title=They Also Serve: Edward R. Murrow|url=http://www.otrr.org/FILES/Magz_pdf/Radio%20TV%20Mirror/Radio%20and%20Television%20Mirror%204010.pdf|access-date=August 10, 2016|work=Radio and Television Mirror|issue=6|date=October 1940|volume=14|page=68}}</ref>

At the request of CBS management in New York, Murrow and Shirer put together a ''[[CBS World News Roundup|European News Roundup]]'' of reaction to the Anschluss, which brought correspondents from various European cities together for a single broadcast. On March 13, 1938, the special was broadcast, hosted by Bob Trout in New York, including Shirer in London (with [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] MP [[Ellen Wilkinson]]), reporter [[Edgar Ansel Mowrer]] of the ''Chicago Daily News'' in Paris, reporter [[Pierre J. Huss]] of the [[International News Service]] in Berlin, and Senator [[Lewis B. Schwellenbach]] in Washington, D.C. Reporter [[Frank Gervasi]], in Rome, was unable to find a transmitter to broadcast reaction from the Italian capital but phoned his script to Shirer in London, who read it on the air.<ref name="sperber1998"/>{{rp|116–120}} Murrow reported live from Vienna, in the first on-the-scene news report of his career: "This is Edward Murrow speaking from Vienna.... It's now nearly 2:30 in the morning, and Herr Hitler has not yet arrived."

The broadcast was considered revolutionary at the time. Featuring multipoint, live reports transmitted by shortwave in the days before modern technology (and without each of the parties necessarily being able to hear one another), it came off almost flawlessly. The special became the basis for ''[[CBS World News Roundup|World News Roundup]]''—broadcasting's oldest news series, which still runs each weekday morning and evening on the [[CBS News Radio|CBS Radio Network]].

On March 19, Shirer returned from London, and Murrow met his plane at Vienna's Aspern airport.  Returning to Shirer's apartment, they encountered SS troops looting the Vienna mansion of the [[Rothschild family]].  "We found a quiet bar off the Kärntnerstrasse for a talk," Shirer wrote.

{{poemquote|Ed was a little nervous.
"Let's go to another place," he suggested.
"Why?"
"I was here last night about this time," he said.  "A Jewish-looking fellow was standing at that bar.  After a while he took an old-fashioned razor from his pocket and slashed his throat."<ref>Shirer, ''Berlin Diary'', entry for March 19, 1938</ref>}}

In September 1938, Murrow and Shirer were regular participants in CBS's coverage of the [[Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945)|crisis over the Sudetenland]] in [[Czechoslovakia]], which Hitler coveted for Germany and eventually won in the [[Munich Agreement]]. Their incisive reporting heightened the American appetite for radio news, with listeners regularly waiting for Murrow's [[shortwave]] broadcasts, introduced by analyst [[H. V. Kaltenborn]] in New York saying, "Calling Ed Murrow ... come in Ed Murrow."

During the following year, leading up to the outbreak of [[World War II]], Murrow continued to be based in London. William Shirer's reporting from Berlin brought him national acclaim and a commentator's position with CBS News upon his return to the United States in December 1940. Shirer would describe his [[Berlin]] experiences in his best-selling 1941 book ''[[Berlin Diary]]''. When the war broke out in September 1939, Murrow stayed in London, and later provided live radio broadcasts during the height of [[the Blitz]] in ''[[London After Dark]]''. These live, shortwave broadcasts relayed on CBS electrified radio audiences as news programming never had: previous war coverage had mostly been provided by newspaper reports, along with [[newsreel]]s seen in movie theaters; earlier radio news programs had simply featured an announcer in a studio reading [[wire service]] reports.

==World War II==
[[File:Edward R. Murrow - Weymouth House 84-94 Hallam Street Fitzrovia W1W 5HF.jpg|thumb|Murrow lived in a flat on Hallam Street, near [[Great Portland Street]], in London during the War]]
Murrow's reports, especially during the Blitz, began with what became his signature opening, "''This'' is London," delivered with his vocal emphasis on the word ''this'', followed by the hint of a pause before the rest of the phrase. His former speech teacher, [[Ida Lou Anderson]], suggested the opening as a more concise alternative to the one he had inherited from his predecessor at CBS Europe, [[César Saerchinger]]: "Hello, America. This is London calling." Murrow's phrase became synonymous with the newscaster and his network.<ref name="link">{{cite web| title=Edward R. Murrow graduates from Washington State College on June 2, 1930| url=http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=7526| author=Kit Oldham| date=October 26, 2005| publisher=HistoryLink.org| access-date=August 11, 2012}}</ref>

Murrow achieved celebrity status as a result of his war reports. They led to his second famous catchphrase, at the end of 1940, with every night's German bombing raid, Londoners who might not necessarily see each other the next morning often closed their conversations with "good night, and good luck." The future British monarch, [[Elizabeth II|Princess Elizabeth]], said as much to the Western world in a live radio address at the end of the year, when she said "good night, and good luck to you all". So, at the end of one 1940 broadcast, Murrow ended his segment with "Good night, and good luck." Speech teacher Anderson insisted he stick with it, and another Murrow catchphrase was born.

When Murrow returned to the U.S. in 1941, CBS hosted a dinner in his honor on December 2 at the [[Waldorf Astoria New York|Waldorf-Astoria Hotel]]. 1,100 guests attended the dinner, which the network broadcast. [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] sent a welcome-back telegram, which was read at the dinner, and [[Librarian of Congress]] [[Archibald MacLeish]] gave an [[encomium]] that commented on the power and intimacy of Murrow's wartime dispatches.<ref name="sperber1998">{{cite book | title=Murrow, His Life and Times | publisher=Fordham University Press | author=Sperber, A. M. | year=1998 | isbn=0-8232-1881-3}}</ref>{{rp|203–204}} "You burned the city of London in our houses and we felt the flames that burned it," MacLeish said. "You laid the dead of London at our doors and we knew that the dead were our dead, were mankind's dead. You have destroyed the superstition that what is done beyond 3,000 miles of water is not really done at all."<ref>{{cite web|title=This — is London1|url= https://www.theattic.space/home-page-blogs/2018/10/19/this-is-london |website=The Attic|date= October 5, 2018 |access-date=October 19, 2018}}</ref>

The Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] occurred less than a week after this speech, and the U.S. entered the war as a combatant on the Allied side. Murrow flew on 25 Allied combat missions in Europe during the war,<ref name="sperber1998" />{{rp|233}} providing additional reports from the planes as they droned on over Europe (recorded for delayed broadcast). Murrow's skill at improvising vivid descriptions of what was going on around or below him, derived in part from his college training in speech, aided the effectiveness of his radio broadcasts.

As hostilities expanded, Murrow expanded CBS News in London into what [[Harrison Salisbury]] described as "the finest news staff anybody had ever put together in Europe".<ref name="sperber1998"/>{{rp|230}} The result was a group of reporters acclaimed for their intellect and descriptive power, including Eric Sevareid, [[Charles Collingwood (journalist)|Charles Collingwood]], [[Howard K. Smith]], [[Mary Marvin Breckinridge]], [[Cecil Brown (journalist)|Cecil Brown]], [[Richard C. Hottelet]], [[Bill Downs]], [[Winston Burdett]], [[Charles Shaw (journalist)|Charles Shaw]], [[Ned Calmer]], and [[Larry LeSueur]]. Many of them, Shirer included, were later dubbed "[[Murrow Boys|Murrow's Boys]]"—despite Breckinridge being a woman. In 1944, Murrow sought [[Walter Cronkite]] to take over for Bill Downs at the CBS Moscow bureau. Cronkite initially accepted, but after receiving a better offer from his then-current employer, [[United Press International|United Press]], he turned down the offer.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Persico|first1=Joseph|title=Edward R. Murrow: An American Original|url=https://archive.org/details/edwardrmurrowame00pers|url-access=registration|date=November 1988|publisher=McGraw-Hill|isbn=0070494800|pages=[https://archive.org/details/edwardrmurrowame00pers/page/314 314–315]}}</ref>

Murrow so closely cooperated with the British that in 1943 [[Winston Churchill]] offered to make him joint [[Director-General of the BBC]] in charge of programming. Although he declined the job, during the war Murrow did fall in love with Churchill's daughter-in-law, [[Pamela Harriman|Pamela]],<ref name="sperber1998"/>{{rp|221–223,244}}<ref>{{cite book | title=Selling War: The British Propaganda Campaign against American "Neutrality" in World War II | url=https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_u8p5 | url-access=registration | author=Cull, Nicholas John | year=1995 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_u8p5/page/192 192] | publisher=Oxford University Press | isbn=0-19-508566-3}}</ref> whose other American lovers included [[W. Averell Harriman|Averell Harriman]], whom she married many years later. Pamela wanted Murrow to marry her, and he considered it; however, after his wife gave birth to their only child, Casey, he ended the affair.

After the war, Murrow recruited journalists such as [[Alexander Kendrick]], [[David Schoenbrun]], [[Daniel Schorr]]<ref>{{cite news| last = Hershey| first = Robert D. Jr.| title = Daniel Schorr, Journalist, Dies at 93| work = The New York Times| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/24/business/media/24schorr.html| access-date = July 23, 2010| date=July 23, 2010}}</ref> and [[Robert Pierpoint (journalist)|Robert Pierpoint]] into the circle of the Boys as a virtual "second generation", though the track record of the original wartime crew set it apart.

On April 12, 1945, Murrow and [[Bill Shadel]] were the first reporters at the [[Buchenwald]] concentration camp in Germany. He met emaciated survivors including [[Petr Zenkl]], children with [[Identification in Nazi camps#Numbers|identification tattoos]], and "bodies stacked up like cordwood" in the crematorium. In his report three days later, Murrow said:<ref name="sperber1998"/>{{rp|248–252}}

{{blockquote|I pray you to believe what I have said about Buchenwald. I have reported what I saw and heard, but only part of it. For most of it I ''have'' no words.... If I've offended you by this rather mild account of Buchenwald, I'm not in the least sorry.|Extract from Murrow's Buchenwald report.<ref>{{cite web|title=Buchenwald: Report from Edward R. Murrow|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/report-from-edward-r-murrow-on-buchenwald|website=Jewish Virtual Library|access-date=28 July 2017}}</ref> April 15, 1945.}}

==Postwar broadcasting career==
[[File:Murrow and Truman.jpg|thumb|left|[[Harry S. Truman]] and Edward R. Murrow, ''[[This I Believe]]'' series, 1951–1955]]

===Radio===
In December 1945 Murrow reluctantly accepted [[William S. Paley]]'s offer to become a vice president of the network and head of CBS News, and made his last news report from London in March 1946.<ref name="sperber1998"/>{{rp|259,261}} His presence and personality shaped the newsroom. After the war, he maintained close friendships with his previous hires, including members of the Murrow Boys. Younger colleagues at CBS became resentful toward this, viewing it as preferential treatment, and formed the "Murrow Isn't God Club." The club disbanded when Murrow asked if he could join.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cuthbertson|first1=Keith|title=A Complex Fate: William L. Shirer and the American Century|date=May 1, 2015|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press|isbn=978-0773597242|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jZwHCAAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref name="Wertenbaker"/>

During Murrow's tenure as vice president, his relationship with Shirer ended in 1947 in one of the great confrontations of American broadcast journalism, when Shirer was fired by CBS. He said he resigned in the heat of an interview at the time, but was actually terminated.<ref name=native>{{cite book|title=20th Century Journey: A Native's Return |publisher=Little Brown |year=1990 |author=William L. Shirer}}</ref> The dispute began when J. B. Williams, maker of shaving soap, withdrew its sponsorship of Shirer's Sunday news show. CBS, of which Murrow was then vice president for public affairs, decided to "move in a new direction," hired a new host, and let Shirer go. There are different versions of these events; Shirer's was not made public until 1990.

Shirer contended that the root of his troubles was the network and sponsor not standing by him because of his comments critical of the [[Truman Doctrine]], as well as other comments that were considered outside of the mainstream. Shirer and his supporters felt he was being muzzled because of his views. Meanwhile, Murrow, and even some of Murrow's Boys, felt that Shirer was coasting on his high reputation and not working hard enough to bolster his analyses with his own research.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}} Murrow and Shirer never regained their close friendship.

The episode hastened Murrow's desire to give up his network vice presidency and return to newscasting, and it foreshadowed his own problems to come with his friend Paley, boss of CBS.

Murrow and Paley had become close when the network chief himself joined the war effort, setting up [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] radio outlets in Italy and North Africa. After the war, he would often go to Paley directly to settle any problems he had. "Ed Murrow was Bill Paley's one genuine friend in CBS," noted Murrow biographer [[Joseph Persico]].

Murrow returned to the air in September 1947, taking over the nightly 7:45&nbsp;p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|ET]] newscast sponsored by [[Campbell's Soup]] and anchored by his old friend and announcing coach Bob Trout. For the next several years Murrow focused on radio, and in addition to news reports he produced special presentations for CBS News Radio. In 1950, he narrated a half-hour radio documentary called ''The Case of the Flying Saucer''. It offered a balanced look at [[unidentified flying object|UFOs]], a subject of widespread interest at the time. Murrow interviewed both [[Kenneth Arnold]] and astronomer [[Donald Menzel]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Crucial Decade: Voices of the Postwar Era, 1945-1954|url=https://www.archives.gov/research/foreign-policy/voices-of-postwar.html|website=National Archives|access-date=August 10, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite episode|title=The Case of the Flying Saucer|series=Special News Report|url=https://archive.org/download/1950-1959RadioNews/1950-04-07-CBS-Edward-R-Murrow-Case-Of-The-Flying-Saucer.mp3|credits=Edward R. Murrow|network=CBS Radio News|air-date=April 7, 1950}}</ref>

From 1951 to 1955, Murrow was the host of ''[[This I Believe]]'', which offered ordinary people the opportunity to speak for five minutes on radio. He continued to present daily radio news reports on the CBS Radio Network until 1959. He also recorded a series of narrated "historical albums" for [[Columbia Records]] called ''I Can Hear It Now'', which inaugurated his partnership with producer [[Fred W. Friendly]]. ''I Can Hear It Now'' quickly reached No. 3 on the [[Billboard 200|US albums chart]].<ref name="Whitburn">{{cite book | last = Whitburn | first = Joel | title = Top LPs, 1955–1972 | year = 1973 | publisher = Record Research | page = 106 | url = https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstoplp00whit/page/106/mode/2up | access-date = October 26, 2025}}</ref> In 1950 the records evolved into a weekly CBS Radio show, ''[[Hear It Now]]'', hosted by Murrow and co-produced by Murrow and Friendly.

===Television and films===
As the 1950s began, Murrow began his television career by appearing in editorial "tailpieces" on the ''[[CBS Evening News]]'' and in the coverage of special events. This came despite his own misgivings about the new medium and its emphasis on image rather than ideas.

On November 18, 1951, ''Hear It Now'' moved to television and was re-christened ''[[See It Now]]''. In the first episode, Murrow explained: "This is an old team, trying to learn a new trade."<ref name="sperber1998"/>{{rp|354}}

In 1952, Murrow narrated the political documentary ''Alliance for Peace'', an information vehicle for the newly formed [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe|SHAPE]] detailing the effects of the [[Marshall Plan]] upon a war-torn Europe. It was written by [[William Templeton (screenwriter)|William Templeton]] and produced by [[Samuel Goldwyn Jr.]]

In 1953, Murrow launched a second weekly TV show, a series of celebrity interviews entitled ''[[Person to Person]]''.

====Criticism of McCarthyism====
''See It Now'' focused on a number of controversial issues in the 1950s, but it is best remembered as the show that criticized [[McCarthyism]] and the [[Second Red Scare|Red Scare]], contributing, if not leading, to the political downfall of Senator Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy had previously commended Murrow for his fairness in reporting.<ref name="Wertenbaker"/>

On June 15, 1953, Murrow hosted ''[[The Ford 50th Anniversary Show]]'', broadcast simultaneously on NBC and CBS and seen by 60 million viewers. The broadcast closed with Murrow's commentary covering a variety of topics, including the danger of nuclear war against the backdrop of a mushroom cloud. Murrow also offered indirect criticism of [[McCarthyism]], saying: "Nations have lost their freedom while preparing to defend it, and if we in this country confuse dissent with disloyalty, we deny the right to be wrong." Forty years after the broadcast, television critic [[Tom Shales]] recalled the broadcast as both "a landmark in television" and "a milestone in the cultural life of the '50s".<ref name=Shales>{{cite news|title=Ford's 50th anniversary show was milestone of '50s culture|newspaper=Palm Beach Daily News|date=December 26, 1993|page=B3|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59934494/fords-50th-anniversary-show-was/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

On March 9, 1954, Murrow, Friendly, and their news team produced a half-hour ''See It Now'' special titled "A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy".<ref name="seenow540309">{{cite web|url=http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/murrowmccarthy.html|title=A Report on Senator Joseph R. McCarthy|work=[[See It Now]]|publisher=CBS|date=March 9, 1954|access-date=November 23, 2008}}</ref> Murrow had considered making such a broadcast since ''See It Now'' debuted, and was encouraged to do so by multiple colleagues, including Bill Downs. However, Friendly wanted to wait for the right time to do so.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sperber|title=Murrow, His Life and Times|year=1998|publisher=Fordham University Press|location=New York|isbn=|pages=403–404}}</ref> Murrow used excerpts from McCarthy's own speeches and proclamations to criticize the senator and point out episodes where he had contradicted himself. Murrow and Friendly paid for their own newspaper advertisement for the program; they were not allowed to use CBS's money for the publicity campaign or even use the CBS logo.

The broadcast contributed to a nationwide backlash against McCarthy and is seen as a turning point in the history of television. It provoked tens of thousands of letters, telegrams, and phone calls to CBS headquarters, running 15 to 1 in favor.<ref>{{cite news |last=Adams |first=Val |title=PRAISE POURS IN ON MURROW SHOW |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 11, 1954 |page=19 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B05EEDE1738E23BBC4952DFB566838F649EDE }}</ref> In a retrospective produced for ''[[Biography (TV program)|Biography]]'', Friendly noted how truck drivers pulled up to Murrow on the street in subsequent days and shouted "Good show, Ed."

Murrow offered McCarthy the chance to respond to the criticism with a full half-hour on ''See It Now''. McCarthy accepted the invitation and appeared on April 6, 1954. In his response, McCarthy rejected Murrow's criticism and accused him of being a communist sympathizer [McCarthy also accused Murrow of being a member of the [[Industrial Workers of the World]] which Murrow denied.<ref name="seenow540413">{{Cite web|title = Response to Senator Joe McCarthy on CBS' ''See It Now'' |url = http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/edwardrmurrowtomccarthy.htm|date=April 13, 1954|access-date = 2016-02-09}}</ref>]. McCarthy also made an appeal to the public by attacking his detractors, stating:

{{blockquote|Ordinarily, I would not take time out from the important work at hand to answer Murrow. However, in this case I feel justified in doing so because Murrow is a symbol, a leader, and the cleverest of the jackal pack which is always found at the throat of anyone who dares to expose individual Communists and traitors.<ref name="seenow540406">{{cite web|url=http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/josephmccarthycbsseeitnow.htm|title=Prosecution of E. R. Murrow on CBS' "See It Now"|work=[[See It Now]]|publisher=CBS|date=April 6, 1954|access-date=August 10, 2016}}</ref>}}

Ultimately, McCarthy's rebuttal served only to further decrease his already fading popularity.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/murrow_e.html "Edward R. Murrow"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917064644/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/murrow_e.html |date=September 17, 2008 }}, ''[[American Masters]]'', [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]. Retrieved March 28, 2008.</ref> In the program following McCarthy's appearance, Murrow commented that the senator had "made no reference to any statements of fact that we made".<ref name="seenow540413" />
[[File:Murrow57.jpg|thumb|left|Edward R. Murrow at work with CBS, 1957]]

====Later television career====
Murrow's hard-hitting approach to the news cost him influence in the world of television. ''See It Now'' occasionally scored high ratings (usually when it was tackling a particularly controversial subject), but in general, it did not score well on prime-time television.

When a quiz show phenomenon began and took TV by storm in the mid-1950s, Murrow realized the days of ''See It Now'' as a weekly show were numbered. (Biographer Joseph Persico notes that Murrow, watching an early episode of ''[[The $64,000 Question]]'' air just before his own ''See It Now'', is said to have turned to Friendly and asked how long they expected to keep their time slot).

''See It Now'' was knocked out of its weekly slot in 1955 after sponsor [[Alcoa]] withdrew its advertising, but the show remained as a series of occasional TV special news reports that defined television documentary news coverage. Despite the show's prestige, CBS had difficulty finding a regular sponsor, since it aired intermittently in its new time slot (Sunday afternoons at 5 p.m. ET by the end of 1956) and could not develop a regular audience.

In 1956, Murrow took time to appear as the on-screen narrator of a special prologue for [[Mike Todd|Michael Todd]]'s epic production, ''[[Around the World in 80 Days (1956 film)|Around the World in 80 Days]]''. Although the prologue was generally omitted on telecasts of the film, it was included in home video releases.

Beginning in 1958, Murrow hosted a talk show entitled ''Small World'' that brought together political figures for one-to-one debates. In January 1959, he appeared on [[WGBH-TV|WGBH]]'s ''The Press and the People'' with [[Louis Lyons]], discussing the responsibilities of television journalism.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Press and the People: The Responsibilities of Television, Part II|date=January 24, 1959|url=http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_30960AC28BBF43E3AF25923B13B5FEBD|website=Open Vault from WGBH|publisher=WGBH Media Library and Archives|access-date=August 10, 2016}}</ref>

Murrow appeared as himself in a cameo in the British film production of ''[[Sink the Bismarck!]]'' in 1960, recreating some of the wartime broadcasts he did from London for CBS.<ref name="bismark">{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054310/ |title=Sink the Bismarck! |publisher=[[IMDb]] }}.</ref>

On September 16, 1962, he introduced educational television to New York City via the maiden broadcast of WNDT, which became [[WNET]].

====Fall from favor====
Murrow's reporting brought him into repeated conflicts with CBS, especially its chairman William Paley, which Friendly summarized in his book ''Due to Circumstances Beyond our Control''. ''See It Now'' ended entirely in the summer of 1958 after a clash in Paley's office. Murrow had complained to Paley he could not continue doing the show if the network repeatedly provided (without consulting Murrow) [[equal-time rule|equal time]] to subjects who felt wronged by the program.

According to Friendly, Murrow asked Paley if he was going to destroy ''See It Now'', into which the CBS chief executive had invested so much. Paley replied that he did not want a constant stomach ache every time Murrow covered a controversial subject.<ref>{{cite book | last = Smith | first = Sally Bedell | author-link = Sally Bedell Smith | title = In All His Glory: The Life of William S. Paley : The Legendary Tycoon and His Brilliant Circle | url = https://archive.org/details/inallhisglorylif00smit | url-access = registration | publisher = Simon & Schuster | date = November 1990 | isbn = 978-0-671-61735-6 }}</ref>

''See It Now''{{'}}s final broadcast, "Watch on the [[Ruhr]]" (covering postwar Germany), aired July 7, 1958. Three months later, on October 15, 1958, in a speech before the [[Radio Television Digital News Association|Radio and Television News Directors Association]] in Chicago, Murrow blasted TV's emphasis on entertainment and commercialism at the expense of [[public interest]] in his "wires and lights" speech:

{{blockquote|During the daily peak viewing periods, television in the main insulates us from the realities of the world in which we live. If this state of affairs continues, we may alter an advertising slogan to read: ''Look now, pay later''.<ref name="rtnda58">{{cite web|url=http://www.rtdna.org/content/edward_r_murrow_s_1958_wires_lights_in_a_box_speech|title=Edward R. Murrow Speech|publisher=Radio-Television News Directors Association|date=October 15, 1958|access-date=August 10, 2016}}</ref>}}

The harsh tone of the Chicago speech seriously damaged Murrow's friendship with Paley, who felt Murrow was biting the hand that fed him. Before his death, Friendly said that the RTDNA (now Radio Television Digital News Association) address did more than the McCarthy show to break the relationship between the CBS boss and his most respected journalist.

Another contributing element to Murrow's career decline was the rise of a new crop of television journalists. Walter Cronkite's arrival at CBS in 1950 marked the beginning of a major rivalry which continued until Murrow resigned from the network in 1961. Murrow held a grudge dating back to 1944, when Cronkite turned down his offer to head the CBS Moscow bureau.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gay|first=Timothy M|title=Assignment to Hell: The War Against Nazi Germany with Correspondents Walter Cronkite, Andy Rooney, A.J. Liebling, Homer Bigart, and Hal Boyle|year=2013|publisher=NAL Caliber Trade|pages=528|isbn=978-0451417152}}</ref> With the Murrow Boys dominating the newsroom, Cronkite felt like an outsider soon after joining the network. Over time, as Murrow's career seemed on the decline and Cronkite's on the rise, the two found it increasingly difficult to work together. Cronkite's demeanor was similar to reporters Murrow had hired; the difference being that Murrow viewed the Murrow Boys as satellites rather than potential rivals, as Cronkite seemed to be.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Persico|first1=Joseph E.|title=Edward R. Murrow: An American Original|url=https://archive.org/details/edwardrmurrowame00pers|url-access=registration|date=November 1988|publisher=McGraw-Hill|isbn=0070494800|pages=[https://archive.org/details/edwardrmurrowame00pers/page/314 314–315]}}</ref>

Throughout the 1950s the two got into heated arguments stoked in part by their professional rivalry. At a dinner party hosted by Bill Downs at his home in [[Bethesda, Maryland|Bethesda]], Cronkite and Murrow argued over the role of sponsors, which Cronkite accepted as necessary and said "paid the rent." Murrow, who had long despised sponsors despite also relying on them, responded angrily. In another instance, an argument devolved into a "duel" in which the two drunkenly took a pair of antique dueling pistols and pretended to shoot at each other.<ref name="sperber1998"/>{{rp|527}} Despite this, Cronkite went on to have a long career as an anchor at CBS.

After the end of ''See It Now,'' Murrow was invited by New York's Democratic Party to run for the Senate. Paley was enthusiastic and encouraged him to do it. Harry Truman advised Murrow that his choice was between being the junior senator from New York or being Edward R. Murrow, beloved broadcast journalist, and hero to millions. He took Truman's statement as a suggestion to decline the nomination, which he did.<ref name="Edward R 2004"/>

After contributing to the first episode of the documentary series ''[[CBS Reports]]'', Murrow, increasingly under physical stress due to his conflicts and frustration with CBS, took a sabbatical from summer 1959 to mid-1960, though he continued to work on ''CBS Reports'' and ''Small World'' during this period. Friendly, executive producer of ''CBS Reports'', wanted the network to allow Murrow to again be his co-producer after the sabbatical, but he was eventually turned down.

Murrow's last major TV milestone was reporting and narrating the ''CBS Reports'' installment ''[[Harvest of Shame]]'', a report on the plight of migrant farmworkers in the United States. Directed by Friendly and produced by David Lowe, it ran in November 1960, just after [[Thanksgiving]].

===Summary of television work===
* 1951–1958 – ''[[See It Now]]'' (host)
* 1953–1959 – ''[[Person to Person]]'' (host)
* 1958–1960 – ''Small World'' (moderator and producer)

===United States Information Agency (USIA) Director===
{{external media | width = 210px | float = right
 | audio1 = [https://www.loc.gov/rr/record/pressclub/murrow.html National Press Club Luncheon Speakers], Edward R. Murrow, May 24, 1961, 1:04:00, Murrow speaks starting at 7:25 about USIA, [[Library of Congress]]<ref name="loc">{{cite web | title =National Press Club Luncheon Speakers, Edward R. Murrow, May 24, 1961 | publisher =[[Library of Congress]] | url =https://www.loc.gov/rr/record/pressclub/murrow.html | access-date =October 20, 2016 }}</ref> }} 
Murrow resigned from CBS to accept a position as head of the [[United States Information Agency]], parent of the [[Voice of America]], in January 1961. President [[John F. Kennedy]] offered Murrow the position, which he viewed as "a timely gift." CBS president [[Frank Stanton (executive)|Frank Stanton]] had reportedly been offered the job but declined, suggesting that Murrow be offered the job.

His appointment as head of the [[United States Information Agency]] was seen as a vote of confidence in the agency, which provided the official views of the government to the public in other nations. The USIA had been under fire during the McCarthy era, and Murrow reappointed at least one of McCarthy's targets, [[Reed Harris]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Reed Harris Dies. Did Battle With Sen. Joseph McCarthy. |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/125587462.html |work=The New York Times |date=October 21, 1982 |access-date=March 22, 2008 }}{{dead link|date=July 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Murrow insisted on a high level of presidential access, telling Kennedy, "If you want me in on the landings, I'd better be there for the takeoffs." However, the early effects of cancer kept him from taking an active role in the [[Bay of Pigs Invasion]] planning. He did advise the president during the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] but was ill at the time the [[JFK assassination|president was assassinated]].

Murrow was drawn into [[Vietnam]] because the USIA was assigned to convince reporters in [[Saigon]] that the government of [[Ngo Dinh Diem]] embodied the hopes and dreams of the Vietnamese people. Murrow knew the Diem government did no such thing.<ref>Edwards, Bob. ''Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism''. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2004. Print.</ref> Asked to stay on by President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], Murrow did so but resigned in early 1964, citing illness. Before his departure, his last recommendation was of [[Barry Zorthian]] to be chief spokesman for the U.S. government in Saigon, Vietnam.<ref name="FT01">{{cite news| author=Jurek Martin| url=https://www.ft.com/content/5915b0f0-201b-11e0-a6fb-00144feab49a| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210221202/https://www.ft.com/content/5915b0f0-201b-11e0-a6fb-00144feab49a#axzz1BVSm2Get| archive-date=December 10, 2022| url-access=subscription| url-status=live| title=US spokesman who fronted Saigon's theatre of war| work=[[Financial Times]]| date=January 15, 2011| publisher=ft.com| access-date=August 10, 2011}}</ref>

Murrow's celebrity gave the agency a higher profile, which may have helped it earn more funds from Congress. His transfer to a governmental position—Murrow was a member of the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]]—led to an embarrassing incident shortly after taking the job; he asked the [[BBC]] not to show his documentary "Harvest of Shame," in order not to damage the European view of the USA.  However, the BBC refused, having bought the program in good faith.<ref name="NYTobit">{{cite news |title=Edward R. Murrow, Broadcaster And Ex-Chief of U.S.I.A., Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0425.html |format=obituary |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 28, 1965 |access-date=August 10, 2016}}</ref> British newspapers delighted in the irony of the situation, with one ''[[Daily Sketch]]'' writer saying: "if Murrow builds up America as skilfully as he tore it to pieces last night, the propaganda war is as good as won."<ref>{{cite news|title=Murrow Tries to Halt Controversial TV Film|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=19610324&id=ZeVHAAAAIBAJ&pg=1223,767770|access-date=August 10, 2016|work=The Victoria Advocate|agency=Associated Press|date=March 24, 1961|page=9}}</ref>

==Death==
Long a [[chain smoker]], Murrow was almost never seen without his trademark [[Camel (cigarette)|Camel]] cigarette. It was reported that he smoked between sixty and sixty-five cigarettes a day, equivalent to roughly three packs.<ref>{{cite book|title=The broadcast century and beyond|author=Robert L. Hilliard, Michael C. Keith|publisher=Elsevier|year=2005|isbn= 978-0-240-80570-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9YMV4BwRwTwC&pg=PA137|page=137|quote=And all the while, as he fought for social justice and understanding, he inhaled the Camel cigarettes that would kill him'}}</ref>  He developed lung cancer and lived for two years after an operation to remove his left lung.

Murrow died at his home in [[Pawling (town), New York|Pawling]], New York, on April 27, 1965.<ref name="WVobit">Obituary ''[[Variety Obituaries|Variety]]'', April 28, 1965, p. 60.</ref> His colleague and friend [[Eric Sevareid]] said of him, "He was a shooting star; and we will live in his afterglow a very long time." CBS carried a memorial program, which included a rare on-camera appearance by [[William S. Paley]], founder of CBS.

==Honors==
*Murrow was repeatedly honored with the [[Peabody Award]], jointly and individually.<ref name="peabody">{{cite web|title=George Foster Peabody Award Winners |url=http://www.peabody.uga.edu/winners/PeabodyWinnersBook.pdf |publisher=[[University of Georgia]] |access-date=August 11, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726163315/http://www.peabody.uga.edu/winners/PeabodyWinnersBook.pdf |archive-date=July 26, 2011 }}</ref>
* In 1947 Murrow received the [[Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award|Alfred I. duPont Award]].<ref>[http://www.journalism.columbia.edu/page/412-past-dupont-award-winners/594 All duPont–Columbia Award Winners] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814182043/http://www.journalism.columbia.edu/page/412-past-dupont-award-winners/594 |date=August 14, 2012 }}, [[Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism|Columbia Journalism School]]. Retrieved August 6, 2013.</ref>
*In 1964, Murrow was awarded the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
* 1964: [[Paul White (journalist)|Paul White]] Award, Radio Television Digital News Association<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rtdna.org/content/paul_white_award |title=Paul White Award |publisher=Radio Television Digital News Association |access-date=May 27, 2014 |archive-date=February 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225052416/http://rtdna.org/content/paul_white_award |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*He was made an [[List of honorary British knights and dames|honorary]] Knight Commander of the [[Order of the British Empire]] by Queen [[Elizabeth II]] on March 5, 1965,<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{cite book
| first= Joseph
| last= Murrells
| year= 1978
| title= The Book of Golden Discs
| edition= 2nd
| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd
| location= London
| page= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/45 45]
| isbn= 0-214-20512-6
| url-access= registration
| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/45}}</ref> and received similar honors from the governments of [[Order of the Crown (Belgium)|Belgium]], [[Croix de Guerre|France]], and [[Orders, decorations, and medals of Sweden|Sweden]].{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}
*He received "Special" [[George Polk Award]]s in 1951 and 1952.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
*In 1967, he was awarded the [[Grammy Award]] for [[Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album|Best Spoken Word Album]] for his ''Edward R. Murrow – A Reporter Remembers, Vol. I The War Years''.<ref>"[https://www.grammy.com/awards/9th-annual-grammy-awards 1966 Grammy Winners: 9th Annual Grammy Awards]". Grammy Awards. Recording Academy. grammy.com. Retrieved April 16, 2022.</ref><ref>"[https://books.google.com/books?id=LCgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA16 Grammy Award Highlights]". ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''. March 13, 1967. p. 16. Retrieved April 16, 2022.</ref>
*The [[Edward R. Murrow Award (Radio Television Digital News Association)|Edward R. Murrow Award]], given annually by the Radio Television Digital News Association is named in his honor; it is presented for "outstanding achievement in electronic journalism"
*The [[Edward R. Murrow College of Communication]] at Washington State University is named in his honor.
*The [[Edward R. Murrow Park]] in Washington, D.C. is named in his memory.
*[[Edward R. Murrow High School]] in [[Brooklyn]], New York is named after him.
*Murrow Boulevard, a large thoroughfare in the heart of [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]], North Carolina, is named after Murrow.<ref>Thorner, James (January 26, 2015). "[https://greensboro.com/murrow-building-renamed-by-owner/article_9b1c9225-0d4c-59fb-81d7-1e8ea1ed7641.html Murrow Building Renamed by Owner]". ''[[News & Record]]''. Retrieved April 16, 2022.</ref>
*The last remaining [[Voice of America]] broadcast transmitting site in the United States, the [[International Broadcasting Bureau Greenville Transmitting Station|Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station]], is named after him.
*A statue of native Edward R. Murrow stands on the grounds of the Greensboro Historical Museum.<ref name="greensboro">{{cite web| title=Edward R. Murrow| url=http://www.greensborodailyphoto.com/2009/04/edward-murrow.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090724171543/http://www.greensborodailyphoto.com/2009/04/edward-murrow.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=July 24, 2009| date=April 2, 2009| publisher=Greensboro Daily Photo| access-date=August 11, 2012}}</ref>
*In 1984, Murrow was posthumously inducted into the [[Television Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=1984-02-27 |title=HALL OF FAME FOR TELEVISION |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/27/arts/hall-of-fame-for-television.html |access-date= |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
*In 1996, Murrow was ranked No. 22 on ''[[TV Guide]]''{{'}}s "50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time" list.<ref>{{cite book|title=TV Guide Book of Lists|url=https://archive.org/details/tvguidebookoflis0000unse|url-access=registration|year=2007|publisher=Running Press|isbn=978-0-7624-3007-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/tvguidebookoflis0000unse/page/188 188]}}</ref>
*The Edward R. Murrow Park in [[Pawling (town), New York|Pawling, New York]] was named for him.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

==Legacy==
[[File:IBA Radio Kol Israel Romema Jerusalem 2016 38.jpg|thumb|Murrow's record at the radio studios of [[Kol Yisrael]] in Jerusalem, 2016]]
After Murrow's death, the Edward R. Murrow Center of Public Diplomacy was established at [[Tufts University]]'s [[Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy]]. Murrow's library and selected artifacts are housed in the Murrow Memorial Reading Room that also serves as a special seminar classroom and meeting room for Fletcher activities. Murrow's papers are available for research at the [http://dca.tufts.edu Digital Collections and Archives] at Tufts, which has a [https://wikis.uit.tufts.edu/confluence/display/MurrowCollection/Home website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618080410/http://wikis.uit.tufts.edu/confluence/display/MurrowCollection/Home |date=June 18, 2010 }} for the collection and makes many of the digitized papers available through the Tufts Digital Library.

The center awards Murrow [[Fellow#Graduate school fellowships|fellowships]] to mid-career professionals who engage in research at Fletcher, ranging from the impact of the [[New World Information Order]] debate in the international media during the 1970s and 1980s to current telecommunications policies and regulations. Many distinguished journalists, diplomats, and policymakers have spent time at the center, among them [[David Halberstam]], who worked on his [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning 1972 book, ''[[The Best and the Brightest]]'', as a writer-in-residence.

Veteran journalist [[Crocker Snow Jr.]] was named director of the Murrow Center in 2005.

In 1971 the RTNDA (Now Radio Television Digital News Association) established the [[Edward R. Murrow Award (Radio Television Digital News Association)|Edward R. Murrow Awards]], honoring outstanding achievement in the field of electronic journalism. There are four other awards also known as the "[[Edward R. Murrow Award (disambiguation)|Edward R. Murrow Award]]", including [[Edward R. Murrow Award (Washington State University)|the one]] at Washington State University.

In 1973, Murrow's alma mater, [[Washington State University]], dedicated its expanded communication facilities the Edward R. Murrow Communications Center and established the annual Edward R. Murrow Symposium.<ref name="wsu1">{{cite web| url=http://communication.wsu.edu/overview/history/history2.htm| title=Murrow College History 1973–1980| publisher=Washington State University| author=Ryan Thomas| access-date=August 11, 2012| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308045750/http://communication.wsu.edu/overview/history/history2.htm| archive-date=March 8, 2012}}</ref> In 1990, the WSU Department of Communications became the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication,<ref name="wsu2">{{cite web| url=http://communication.wsu.edu/overview/history/history3.htm| title=Murrow College History 1980–1990| author=Ryan Thomas| publisher=Washington State University| access-date=August 11, 2012| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308045804/http://communication.wsu.edu/overview/history/history3.htm| archive-date=March 8, 2012}}</ref> followed on July 1, 2008, with the school becoming the [[Edward R. Murrow College of Communication]].<ref name="wsunews">{{cite press release| url=http://wsunews.wsu.edu/pages/publications.asp?Action=Detail&PublicationID=12435| title=Austen Named to Lead Murrow College of Communication| date=June 30, 2008| publisher=Washington State University| access-date=August 11, 2012| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001132954/http://wsunews.wsu.edu/pages/publications.asp?Action=Detail&PublicationID=12435| archive-date=October 1, 2011}}</ref> Veteran international journalist Lawrence Pintak is the college's founding dean.

Several movies were filmed, either completely or partly about Murrow. In 1986, [[HBO]] broadcast the made-for-cable biographical movie, ''[[Murrow (film)|Murrow]]'', with [[Daniel J. Travanti]] in the title role, and [[Robert Vaughn]] in a supporting role. In the 1999 film ''[[The Insider (film)|The Insider]]'', [[Lowell Bergman]], a television producer for the CBS news magazine ''[[60 Minutes]]'', played by [[Al Pacino]], is confronted by [[Mike Wallace]], played by [[Christopher Plummer]], after an exposé of the tobacco industry is edited down to suit CBS management and then, itself, gets exposed in the press for the self-censorship. Wallace passes Bergman an editorial printed in ''[[The New York Times]]'', which accuses CBS of betraying the legacy of Edward R. Murrow. ''[[Good Night, and Good Luck]]'' is a 2005 [[Academy Award|Oscar]]-nominated film directed, co-starring and co-written by [[George Clooney]] about the conflict between Murrow and Joseph McCarthy on ''See It Now''. Murrow is portrayed by actor [[David Strathairn]], who received an [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] nomination. In the film, Murrow's conflict with CBS boss William Paley occurs immediately after his skirmish with McCarthy.

In 2003, [[Fleetwood Mac]] released their album ''[[Say You Will (album)|Say You Will]]'', featuring the track "[[Murrow Turning Over in His Grave]]". On the track, [[Lindsey Buckingham]] reflects on current news media and claims "Ed Murrow" would be shocked at the bias and sensationalism displayed by reporters in the new century if he was alive.

In 2023, a historical novel ''The War Begins in Paris''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wheeler |first=Theodore |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JQKyEAAAQBAJ&q=murrow |title=The War Begins in Paris |date=2023-11-14 |publisher=Little, Brown |isbn=978-0-316-56369-7 |language=en}}</ref> featured several scenes with fictionalized versions of Murrow and Shirer among a group of American journalists who gathered in Paris following the Munich Accord.

From March 12 to June 8, 2025,  a [[Good Night, and Good Luck (play)|stage adaptation]] of the film ''Good Night, and Good Luck'' co-written and starring George Clooney and directed by [[David Cromer]] was performed on Broadway.<ref>{{cite web|magazine=[[Playbill]]|url=https://playbill.com/article/george-clooney-will-star-in-broadway-adaptation-of-good-night-and-good-luck|title=George Clooney Will Star in Broadway Adaptation of Good Night, and Good Luck|author=Culwell-Block, Logan|date=May 13, 2024}}</ref>

==Works==

===Filmography===
*''[[Around the World in Eighty Days (1956 film)|Around the World in 80 Days]]'' (1956) as Prologue Narrator
*''The Lost Class of '59'' (1959) as himself
*''Montgomery Speaks His Mind'' (1959) as himself
*''[[Sink the Bismarck!]]'' (1960) as himself (final film role)
*''[[Murrow (film)|Murrow]]'' (1986) made-for-cable biographical movie, starring [[Daniel J. Travanti]] in the title role and directed by Jack Gold, originally broadcast by [[HBO]]
*''[[Good Night, and Good Luck]]'', 2005 historical drama portraying the conflict between Murrow and U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy, especially relating to the anti-Communist Senator's actions with the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, starring [[David Strathairn]], and directed by [[George Clooney]]

===Books===
* ''Rise of the Vice Presidency'' by [[Irving G. Williams]], introduced by Edward R. Murrow (Washington: [[Public Affairs Press]], 1956)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links and references==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons}}

*{{C-SPAN|63137}}
* [http://dca.lib.tufts.edu/features/murrow/exhibit/index.html The Life and Work of Edward R. Murrow: an archives exhibit] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922223747/http://dca.lib.tufts.edu/features/murrow/exhibit/index.html |date=September 22, 2018 }}, Digital Collections and Archives, Tufts University
*[http://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/mountholyoke/mshm242_main.html Murrow Papers at Mount Holyoke College] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202232359/http://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/mountholyoke/mshm242_main.html |date=December 2, 2013 }}

===Biographies and articles===
* [http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/murrow.html Edward R. Murrow bibliography] via UC Berkeley library
* [https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0425.html ''New York Times'' obituary], April 28, 1965
* [http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/murrowedwar/murrowedwar.htm Museum of Broadcast Communications] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007213400/http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/murrowedwar/murrowedwar.htm |date=October 7, 2013 }}, biography
* [http://www.evesmag.com/murrow.htm Edward R. Murrow and the Time of His Time] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050323231221/http://evesmag.com/murrow.htm |date=March 23, 2005 }} by [[Joseph Wershba]], CBS News writer, editor and correspondent, beginning in 1944; producer of ''60 Minutes'' (1968–1988)
* [http://ncpedia.org/biography/murrow-edward State Library of North Carolina], biography
* {{cite book |first1=Maxine |last1=Block |first2=E. Mary |last2=Trow |chapter=Murrow, Edward R. |title=Current Biography: Who's News and Why, 1942 |publisher=H.W. Wilson |year=1970 |isbn=0824204794 |url=https://archive.org/details/currentbiography0000bloc }} <!-- Please confirm -->
* {{cite book|last1=Cloud|first1=Stanley|last2=Olson|first2=Lynne|title=The Murrow Boys: Pioneers on the Front Lines of Broadcast Journalism|date=1996|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|isbn=0395680840|url=https://archive.org/details/murrowboyspionee00clou}}
* {{cite book |first=Bob |last=Edwards |author-link=Bob Edwards |title=Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ICP8SPTUy6kC |year=2010 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-118-03999-1 |series=Turning Points in History |volume=12 |orig-year=2004}}
* {{cite book |last=Kendrick |first=Alexander |title=Prime Time: The Life of Edward R. Murrow |publisher=J. M. Dent & Sons |isbn=046003958X |year=1969 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Lichello|first1=Robert|title=Edward R. Murrow: Broadcaster of Courage|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cdmyAAAACAAJ|date=1971|location=Charlottesville, N.Y.|publisher=Samhar Press|isbn=978-0-87157-504-3}}
* {{cite book |last1=Murrow |first1=Edward R. |first2=Edward |last2=Bliss |title=In search of light; the broadcasts of Edward R. Murrow, 1938–1961 |url=https://archive.org/details/insearchoflightb00murr |url-access=registration |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |location=New York |year=1967 |oclc=743433}}
* {{cite book |chapter=Murrow, Edward R. |title=American National Biography: Mosler–Parish |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1999 |isbn=0195206355 |volume=16}}
* {{cite book |first=Lynne |last=Olson |title=Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NZklzBjquukC |year=2010 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-1-58836-982-6}}
* {{cite book |first=A. M. |last=Sperber |title=Murrow, His Life and Times |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ma--NDKJkk0C&pg=PR9 |year=1998 |publisher=Fordham University Press |isbn=978-0-8232-1882-0 |orig-year=1986}}

===Programs===
* {{rhof|id=240|name=Edward R. Murrow}}
* [http://thisibelieve.org/dsp_ShowEssay.php?uid=16844 Original ''This I Believe''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606163127/http://thisibelieve.org/dsp_ShowEssay.php?uid=16844 |date=June 6, 2009 }} transcript, 1951.
* [http://www.earthstation1.com/Edward_R._Murrow_WWII.html Murrow radio broadcasts on Earthstation 1], Selected World War II broadcasts from London and Germany

{{Edward R. Murrow|state=expanded}}
{{Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album 1960s|state=collapsed}}
{{1984 Television Hall of Fame}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murrow, Edward R.}}
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