Fifty-four years after famed broadcaster Edward R. Murrow’s stirring remarks about the future of TV news, the Los Angeles Times’s Joe Flint wonders if anything has changed for the better.
Sadly, the answer Flint gives is “no.”
“Unfortunately for Murrow, when it comes to broadcast TV, little has changed since those remarks were delivered,” writes Flint. “While the evening news format still exists, coverage of the world has diminished. If a story cannot be summed up in a minute or two, odds are it won’t make the news. The more complex the issue, the less likely it will be explored.
“The morning shows are, for the most part, about gossip, celebrities and cooking. Take a look at some old clips of a network morning show from even as recently as the 1980s and compare it to what is on today. The old shows look like serious news programs while the current versions are a notch or two above “Entertainment Tonight.”‘
Murrow’s controversial remarks in 1954 to the Radio and TV News Directors Conference all but ended his career, according to TV Newser.
Below are Murrow’s remarks performed by David Strathairn from the movie “Good Night and Good Luck.” (LINK TO ENTIRE SPEECH)
VIEWERS HAVE SUFFERED GREATLY
Great piece! I think there were some serious news programs in America for another quarter of a century after Mr. Murrow made his remarks, but by 1980, or about the time we were seeing cable television programming in addition to the Big Three (ABC, CBS and NBC), the shift to the mostly superficial was clearly on. The news-minded viewer has suffered greatly since.
MURROW ON DVD
Thank the Lord that some of Murrow’s best work is available on DVD. “Harvest of Shame” and “The McCarthy Years” are Murrow at his finest. Try to imagine Larry Moore or Kelly Eckerman vs. Sen. Joseph McCarthy.