Murrow's Fears About Journalism, Expressed in Famous Speech 60 Years Ago, Were Justified: Prof. Jeff McCall '76

October 16, 2018

Sixty years ago this week, "The godfather of broadcast journalism, Edward R. Murrow, stunned the media establishment in a speech," writes Jeffrey M. McCall in a column for The Hill. His speech to the Radio Television News Directors Association in 1958 blasted media executives for turning broadcast news into "an incompatible combination of show business, advertising and news." He said the public interest could not be served when news was merely 'a commodity' to sell to advertisers. Real journalism, he pointed out, was the loser in this commodification." (at right: Murrow in 1961)

McCall, professor of communication and author of Viewer Discretion Advised: Taking Control of Mass Media Influences, adds, "His wise insights were true then and even more so today."

Dr. McCall opines, "The 1958 Murrow address is worth revisiting in 2018, as media credibility craters and journalists struggle to understand their missions. 'I am seized with an abiding fear regarding what these two instruments (radio and TV) are doing to our society, our culture, our heritage,' Murrow worried, 'Television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse and insulate us.' Today, with around the clock deadlines, cable news provocateurs, social media chaos, and fringe 'news' websites, the potential for mediated cultural and information harm is far greater than when Murrow spoke."

The professor asserts, "Murrow would decry today’s news arena in which television anchors are heavily promoted as high profile celebrities who often mix commentary into their news reports. Murrow once warned his journalistic colleagues, 'Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn’t mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar.'"

You'll find the complete essay at the newspaper's website.

A 1976 graduate of DePauw and a former journalist, Jeffrey M. McCall returned to the University in 1985 as a faculty member.  He is regularly quoted in stories on media matters and recently authored another column for The Hill on televised awards shows.

Source: The Hill

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