McCarthy vs. Murrow

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McCarthy vs. Murrow

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vaNq8LoYjG2E

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• In the age of McCarthyism, intellectuals and
  artists were most commonly targetted, as seen on
  the trailer fo the movie good night and good
  luck.
• Lets piece together the story
• The Players

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Senator Joe McCarthy (R-WI)

• American politician who served as a Republican
  U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from
  1947 until his death in 1957.
• After losing popularity, question of reelection,
  needed BIG cause

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Edward Murrow

• A pioneer of television news broadcasting,
• As the 1950s began, 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 pictures
  rather than ideas.

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Fred Friendly

• Producer born in New York in 1915
• Worked for NBC, then moved to CBS with Murrow to
  produce show See it now

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So-

• American Communist party rises in 1930s agains
  Hitler / Facism
• Many poor / out of work / young people join,
  attend meetings to check it out
• Keep lists, records of attendance
• After the war, these records become public
• McCarthy looking for a cause goes on witchhunt
  for communists

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See it Now

• Beginning in 1950, McCarthy had gone after
  Hollywood Ten among other television/movie
  directors and writers, exposing them as
  communists
• Murrow and Friendly decide to expose McCarthy on
  National Television

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• On March 9, 1954, Murrow, Friendly, and their
  news team produced a half-hour See It Now special
  entitled "A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy".
• 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' money for the publicity
  campaign or even use the CBS logo.

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• The broadcast contributed to a nationwide
  backlash against McCarthy and is seen as a
  turning point in the history of television.
• provoked tens of thousands of letters, telegrams
  and phone calls to CBS headquarters, running 15
  to 1 in favor.
• offered McCarthy a chance to appear on See It Now
  to respond to the criticism
• McCarthy accepted the invitation and made his
  appearance three weeks later,but rebuttal only
  served to further decrease his already fading
  popularity

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Script- Characters
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The Majestic

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vQwSk2vW1po0