Original subtitles

Okay, you want to just lay this down?

Ready when you are.

I'm ready.

Are you recording?

I am now.

♪ When I fall in love. ♪

♪ It will be forever. ♪

♪ Or I'll never fall in love. ♪

♪ In a restless world like this is ♪

♪ Love is ended before it's begun. ♪

♪ And too many ♪

♪ moonlight kisses ♪

♪ seem to cool in the warmth of the sun. ♪

♪ When I give my heart ♪

♪ it will be completely ♪

♪ or I'll never give my heart ♪

♪ and the momement I can feel that ♪

♪ you feel that way too ♪

♪ is when I fall in love with you.

♪ or I'll never fall in love ♪

♪ and the moment I can feel that ♪

♪ you feel that way too ♪

♪ is when I fall in love with you. ♪

This just might do nobody any good.

At the end of this discourse, a few people may accuse

this reporter of fouling his own comfortable nest.

And you all may be accused of giving hospitality to heretical and even dangerous thoughts.

It is my desire, if not my duty, to try to speak to you with some candor.

about what is happening in our mass media.

You should know at the outset that I appear here voluntarily, by invitation.

And that these remarks are strictly of a do-it-yourself nature.

If what I have to say is responsible, I alone am responsible for the saying of it.

I've decided to express my concern on the manner in which we inform ourselves.

I am seized by an abiding fear of what these instruments

are doing to our society, our culture, our heritage.

Our history will be what we make of it.

And if any historians 50 to 100 years from now were to look, they would in there find

evidence of decadence, escapism, and insulation from the realities of the world in which we live.

And surely we will pay a price.

We are currently fat, comfortable, and complacent.

We have a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information.

But unless we get up off our fat assets and recognize that media in the main is

being used to distract, delude, amuse, and insulate us, then those who

finance it, those who profit from it, those who work at it, and those who

consume it, may see a totally different picture too late.

Good evening.

Earlier tonight, Adlai E.

Stevenson urged the United States to take the initiative in peace talks with the Soviet Union.

The talks are aimed toward worldwide disarmament and assurances of

non-aggression for the Russians as well as for the free world.

In a broadcast from his globe-circling tour, Stevenson warned the Eisenhower

administration against shutting the door on conferences

with the Soviet leaders and putting too much pressure...

I'll be right down.

...on the uncommitted bloc of nations, not linked...

Milli, this is the Annie Lee Moss footage from yesterday.

Okay, I'll give it to Leo.

Wait, it's only two cans?

What? Oh ya, that's all it is, but there's some notes with it that go for Fred.

Fred's in with the guys.

Okay, I'll give the film to Leo.

You can go ahead and give the notes to Fred.

[Speaking over each other] He's in the writer's room.

Ya, thank you, Milli/Palmer.

Hi, Joe.

Shirley, what's going on in here?

Hey, Palmer.

Hello, Palmer.

Uh, making some copies for the... Nothing.

Just making sure.

Two attractive people alone in a copy room.

Ho ho ho'K, Palmer.

I mean, I, ah, certainly won't say anything.

Well, don't tell Fred.

He'll fire me.

Well, I mean, both of us.

Shirley, it's the nepotism rule.

The nepotism rule.

You know, I think Joe would get the ax.

Oh.

Well, uh, rules would make to be broken.

You can afford to say that.

Oh, please.

Actually, Shirley, I think he's right.

What do you say?

You want to, uh, get a drink tonight?

Yeah, you're just a couple of guys trying to help.

The day I need dating advice from you two knuckleheads is, uh...

Ouch.

Let me see this.

I don't know.

It's simply a loyalty oath.

I mean, there's nothing in there about...

To CBS?

To America.

- You promised to be a loyal... - All the reporters have it.

Who are you promising?

Fred signed it.

- CBS, Haley... - And Murrow.

Murrow signed it?

Murrow signed it.

Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of these organizations...

I've been at it for a while now.

I just thought this was a joke at first.

...that appeared on the Attorney General's list of subversive groups?

It's a lot of pressure.

I don't know.

All right. Let's think about this.

What is it really saying?

Is it a civil liberties issue?

Is it censorship?

I don't know.

I mean, is it simply stating to CBS that I'm not a communist?

Murrow signed it.

and Fred.

Maybe you should talk to Fred.

Well, I talked to Fred.

He told me to sign it.

If you don't sign it, are you and I a target?

If I don't sign it, they will fire me.

Well, at least then we can tell everyone the truth.

Okay. All right.

Hey, they got the film?

Uh, yeah.

It's all queued up and ready to go.

Oh, uh, Eddie.

You're right.

Went through that DC phone book.

More than one Annie Lee Moss in there, right?

Oh, yeah.

A lot more.

See, I told you.

All right.

Here they are.

Hey, Joe.

We got it queued up.

Okay.

Hey, Fred.

Do you want a cigarette?

No.

I'll just breathe the air.

All right.

Okay.

Sounds good.

All right.

Ready?

Yeah.

All right.

All right.

On this reel, this woman, Annie Lee Moss.

This is the person McCarthy has spent two weeks claiming was a spy in the Pentagon.

Yeah, well, she was a clerk in the communications office.

So, after all this buildup, she finally comes in.

McCarthy only asks her four questions, and he gets up and he leaves.

Wait, wait, wait.

He just left?

Well, he realized he had nothing.

So, uh, Leo, hit it.

I'm sorry.

And, uh, you say you personally did not know Robert Hall.

No, sir.

That you were not there when he came to the house.

That's right.

Uh, do you know what business Robert Hall had with your

husband besides merely delivering the copy of the Daily Work?

No, sir.

I do know.

Uh, I'm afraid I'm going to have to excuse myself.

I've got, uh, a rather important appointment tonight, which I've got to

work on right now, and I wonder if some of the others ...

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

All right, look, and Charlie gets a shot of the empty chair.

Chairman, uh... Right there.

I have no further questions of this witness at this time.

To say that we have the testimony of Mrs. Mosler, the undercover agent of the FBI,

stating that Annie Lee Mosler was a member, a douche-painter of the Communist

Party, uh, the Northeast Public Communist Party... Leo, that's enough.

Turn it off.

Oh, that Roy Cohn's a real charmer.

Ed, Ed, did you see that?

He just walked out.

She is... not a spy.

You don't know that.

Oh, I'll take the odds on it, Fred.

What do you think, Ed?

You haven't made your case.

He's lying.

What's your proof?

I think it's pretty obvious.

Is that our standard now, what you think?

McCarthy told the whole country he found the spy in the Pentagon, and it was her.

Meaning what?

I mean, Ed, does she look like a spy to you?

What does a spy look like, Palmer?

He got up and left his own hearing.

If she's not a spy and you have a story, until then you haven't made your case.

File it.

Okay, fellas, let's save it with the rest of the Senate footage.

Thanks.

Fred, uh, did you guys look at the Secretary Stevens stuff yet?

No, not yet, John.

Not yet.

Just watch it to the end.

Well, John.

All the way to the end.

Thank you, John.

That's what it's worth.

Thanks.

Thanks.

That's pretty good stuff, Ed.

We spent any time in Detroit, Fred.

We got 20 or so of these pieces filed.

There's a story here in the Detroit Free Press.

Dexter, Michigan.

Kid named Milo Radulovic.

Italian?

Irish.

Air Force kicked him out because his dad read some Serbian newspaper.

They called Milo a security risk.

Is his dad a communist?

I don't know.

Who brought the charges?

The Air Force.

The charges were in a sealed envelope.

Nobody saw them.

Not even at the hearing?

He was declared guilty without a trial and told that if he wants to keep his job,

he has to denounce his father and his sister, so he told them to take a hike.

His sister, huh?

Let's send Joe and Charlie down there, see if he's any good on camera.

Is he being brought before the committee?

No.

So, it's not McCarthy, isn't it?

Milo Radulovic.

Lieutenant Radulovic.

Milo.

Let me ask you this.

What happens now to your two children, that is, your

five-year-old and your five-month-old in terms of you?

Yes. If I am being judged on my relatives, are my children going to be asked to denounce me?

Are they going to be judged on what their father was labeled?

Are they going to have to explain to their friends, etc., why their father was a security risk?

I see absolutely that this is a chain reaction.

If the thing is let's stand, as the first recommendation was sent out by the board,

I see a chain reaction that has no end to anybody, for anybody.

Well, that's new.

And I don't think you can call this a neutral piece.

Well, I think each other's side has been represented pretty well.

Hey, so you just want to forego the standards you've

stuck to for over 15 years, both sides, no commentary.

We all editorialize.

It's just a one thing.

Hey, hey, hey. Blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah.

I'm just making sure we identify what it is you're both doing.

I can't find any justification for this.

I can't accept that on every story there are two equal and logical sides.

You want to call that editorializing?

We'll give them equal time.

It is editorializing.

Period.

Look, you understand the position you're putting us in.

We're all in it together.

- If the Senate or the Air Force ask for it... - Fred, do me this favor.

Avoid any speeches about how we're all in a big boat together.

Please don't insult me.

Look, I have to go back to Alcoa, who sponsors your show and also has

military contracts, and I got to tell them they might get caught

in a tough bind because you had a beef with Joe McCartney.

I'm not going at Joe McCartney.

Well, you're starting a goddamn fire.

I know what this is, Ed.

You guaranteed me.

This goes back to here and now.

You guaranteed that corporate would have no influence over news content.

What I am saying is, please don't try to con me into thinking this will be good for me.

Just do me that courtesy.

I'm sorry, Mr. Paley, Mr. Murrow.

Fred, there's a Colonel Anderson here to see you.

- Okay, Shirley, where is he? - He's in your office.

Sorry, gentlemen.

Maybe this guy loves the transcript and is here to congratulate me.

Go after Joe Kennedy.

We'll pay for it.

I got a great story about Hoover.

Do you know how many person-to-persons you'll have to do to make this up?

Oh, Judy and her daughter Liza next week.

No chance.

You will be interviewing Lassie and then Mr. Ed back-to-back.

We probably won't either.

Nobody will stop you.

How much are the ads?

3,000.

I'll split it with Fred.

He just won't have Christmas presents for his kid this year.

He's a Jew.

Well...

Don't tell Fred he loves Christmas.

Colonel.

Mr. Friendly.

Please.

I trust you've had a chance to review the transcript?

We have.

But we've not been allowed to see the footage.

We're still shooting it.

Charlie Mack is on a plane from Dexter with the last of the interviews.

We'll be going right down to the wire.

Your show airs tomorrow.

How can we possibly comment on what we're being accused of?

You haven't given us the foot... Colonel.

With all due respect, you have been invited to comment on this piece not to approve this piece.

We're going with the story that says that the U.S.

Air Force tried Milo Radulovich without one shred of evidence and found him guilty

of being a security risk without the constitutional right...

And you have also not seen the evidence claim he's not.

Wouldn't you guess that the people that have seen the contents of that envelope

might know a little more about what makes a person...

- ...a danger to tihs country? - Who are these people?

Are they elected?

Should it just be you that decides?

Appointed?

Do they have an axe to grind?

Is it you, sir?

Mr. Friendly... Do you even know the contents of that sealed envelope?

We have been a friend and ally of Mr. Murrow and CBS News.

The story you intend to air is without merit.

Now, before you take steps that cannot be undone, I urge you to reconsider your stand.

These are very dangerous waters you are attempting to navigate.

Two minutes to air.

Damn it, Milli, unload that thing before I crack.

A couple more seconds.

Right.

Okay, is Don ready for this?

I don't know.

Tell him I front-loaded the opening with about five seconds extra.

Front-loaded five seconds.

Thank you, Milli.

Oh, Milli, tell Joe he's going to have to do the voiceover.

Joe's on set.

You tell him.

We need a live mic on the floor.

I'll get the mic set.

Hi, Don.

It's front-loaded.

How much?

By about five seconds.

I said that's too much!

Okay, which piece is Joe going to do live?

His questions.

Why don't we try to sync it up with the whole show on air?

Yeah, Joe can do it live.

I hate this.

You love it.

Fred?

Fred, did you time Ed's intro?

I think we're going to be long.

Long is good, Don.

Remember, no commercial break.

Great.

Great.

I got to add two minutes.

Don, they're doing a commercial in the booth.

What commercial?

We didn't have any commercial.

Okay, now, Eddie, set up a mic.

I got it, Don.

I got it.

Idiot out of the booth.

Natalie.

Natalie.

Joe, it's too loud in here.

One minute.

Three.

Okay.

Thank you.

We got the film.

Will it be ready?

Yep.

Funny thing, Freddy.

Every time you light a cigarette for me, I know you're lying.

We'll have it.

We'll have it.

What did the Colonel tell you yesterday?

He wasn't too pleased.

He wasn't too pleased.

You're going to get audited this year.

Not me.

You.

I told him I didn't want to do the piece.

You always were yellow.

Better than red.

20 seconds.

You know, it occurs to me we might not get away with this one.

10 seconds.

In 5, 4, 3, 2....

Stand by now for See It Now with Edward R. Murrow.

Alcoa, Aluminum Company of America, in cooperation with CBS Television,

presents the distinguished reporter and news analyst Edward R. Murrow

in See It Now, edited and produced by Mr. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly.

A weekly presentation of Aluminum Company of America, the nation's leading producer of aluminum.

Now speaking to you from the control room of Studio 41 is the editor of See It Now, Edward R. Murrow

Good evening.

A few weeks ago there appeared a few obscure notices in the newspapers about a

Lieutenant Milo Radulovich, a lieutenant in the Air Force Reserves, and also

something about Air Force Regulation 35-62.

That is a regulation which states that a person may be regarded as a security risk

if he has close and continuing association with communists,

or people believed to have communist sympathies.

The lieutenant was asked to resign in August.

He declined.

A board was called and his case was heard.

At the end it was recommended that he be severed from the Air Force, although it

was also stated that there was no question whatsoever as to the lieutenant's loyalty.

We propose to examine insofar as we can the case of Milo Radulovich.

Our reporter, Joe Worspa.

Cameraman, Charlie Mack.

This is the town of Dexter, Michigan.

Population, 1,500.

This is the story of Milo Radulovich.

No special hero, no martyr.

He came to Dexter one year ago after ten years in the Air Force.

The Air Force does not question my loyalty in the least.

They have reiterated that on several occasions.

They have presented me with allegations against my sister.

My sister and father, that they have, to the effect that my sister and dad have

taken, have read what are now called subversive newspapers,

and that my sister and father's activities are questionable.

That's the specific charge or allegation, I prefer to call it, against them.

Lieutenant Radulovich was defended by attorney Charles C.

Lockwood, and this is the report on the hearing.

The Air Force did not produce a single witness.

We were not told who the accusers were.

We had no right to confront them or to cross-examine them.

But at the conclusion of the trial, although we had met the allegations,

the Air Force made findings at the conclusion of the hearing that every single allegation was true.

This is the sister, Margaret Radulovich Fishman.

She neither defends nor explains her political activities.

I feel that my activities, be they what they may or my political beliefs,

are my own private affair.

And I feel that the charges leveled against me, and by reason of which they

are trying to purge him from the army, are just, you know, seem to me to be a fantastic trend.

in this country.

Milo, I guess a lot of people must have asked you from time to time, wouldn't it

have been a lot easier for you if you would have,

well, just kept sort of quiet about the whole thing?

Maybe resigned and nobody would have known anything

about it, and all this trouble wouldn't have come to you?

Yes, that's right.

I could have signed a resignation form, which was titled,

a resignation in lieu of elimination from the service.

And this would have given me an honorable discharge.

However, the honorable discharge would have stipulated that I had, you know,

been discharged because the Air Force could not trust me.

In other words, because I had been discharged as a security risk.

And what happens to your two children?

That is, your five-year-old and your five-month-old in terms of you?

Yes, if I am being judged on my relatives, if are my

children going to be asked to, you know, to denounce me?

Are they going to be judged on what their father was labeled?

Are they going to have to explain to their friends, etc., why their father is a security risk?

I see absolutely that this is a chain reaction.

If the thing is let's stand as the first recommendation was sent out by the board,

I see a chain reaction.

Five, four, three, two ...

Perhaps you'll permit me to read a few sentences just at the

end because I'd like to say rather precisely what we mean.

We have told the Air Force that we will provide facilities for any corrections or

criticisms it should like to make in the case of Milo Radulovich.

We are unable to judge the charges against the lieutenant's father or sister because

neither we, nor you, nor they, nor the lawyers know

precisely what was contained in that Manila envelope.

Was it hearsay, rumor, gossip, slander, or was it hard, ascertainable

fact that can be backed by credible witnesses?

We do not know.

We believe the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father even if that

iniquity be proved, and in this case it was not.

But we also believe that this case illustrates the urgent need for the armed

forces to communicate more fully than they have so far done the regulations and

procedures to be followed in attempting to protect

national security and the rights of the individual.

In any case, whatever happens in this whole area of the relationship between the

individual and the state, we will do it ourselves.

It cannot be blamed on Malenkov, or Mao Zedong, or even our allies.

And it seems to us, that is Fred Friendly and myself, that

this is a subject that should be argued about endlessly.

Good night, and good luck.

Friday's Edward R. Murrow, person to person, on the CBS Television Network.

And we're out.

Are we in for it, Freddie?

I think we're fine.

Oh, I like the sound of this.

What's this tune?

Ah, all right.

I sure hope I remember these words. It's been a while.

Right here?

♪ I've got... ♪

♪ my eyes on you. ♪

♪ So best beware... ♪

♪ where you roam. ♪

♪ I... ♪

♪ know, don't know the words. ♪

♪ I thought I did. ♪

♪ But... I don't... ♪

Lorraine!

Incidentally.

♪ Incidentally, I... ♪

Thank you, Lorraine.

♪ ...set my spies on you. ♪

♪ I'm checking on all you do... ♪

♪ from A to Z. ♪

♪ So, darling, just be wise. ♪

♪ Keep your eyes... on... me. ♪

♪ Keep your eyes... on... ♪

♪ me. ♪

All right, let's take five. I've got to learn these words.

Well that's all the room we had on the fence for it.

Lee, how old are you?

I'm 35, Ed.

Well, at 35, looking back at all that's happened, what comes to your mind first?

Ed, I would say that...

God has been very, very good to us...

in making all of this happen to our family.

And I suppose that...

nowhere but in the United States...

could...

this happen to an ordinary American family like ours.

I'm very grateful.

Well, surely something must get under your skin once in a while, doesn't it?

Well...

about the only thing that bothers me is when people accuse me of...

of having a following only of nice old ladies.

I have nothing against the nice old ladies, but...

I like nice young ladies, too.

Well, Lee, thanks so much for letting us come and visit you,

and will you say good night to the rest of your family for us?

I certainly will.

Thanks so much.

Thanks so much.

Good night, Ed.

Good night, Lee.

Next week, we'll take you to Beverly Hills, California,

and the home of Mickey Rooney and his new bride.

Until then, good night and good luck.

And we're out.

Good show, Ed.

You saw that?

Mr. Murrow?

Uh, Mr. Murrow.

Uh, Mr. Paley was wondering if you'd meet him for a drink.

When?

Uh, uh, now.

Um, he's at the Pensacom bar.

What's he doing there?

You just call him, Shirley.

Will you please call him?

I'll let him know.

Thank you.

Hi, Don.

Hi, Shirley.

You're getting good at this, Ed.

They're gonna think you like it.

Pays the bills.

How are you, Don?

It's day to day.

Well, if she saw how good you look right now, she'd be back.

Tell her that if you see her, will ya?

So I read the O'Brien piece.

Yeah, it's pretty tough.

I'm a pinko.

I slant the news.

Just waiting for him to say my wife left me, too.

Well, nobody worth their salt reads him.

You read him.

Well, see, I rest my case.

Does Paley read him?

Bill Paley's not gonna do anything, Don.

Listen, Ed, thanks.

I just came over because I wanted to see how great the lieutenant piece was.

How's the fallout?

Mostly good.

Surprisingly.

Is this the start?

You taking sides?

Just a little poke with a stick.

See what happens.

Well, let me know if I can help.

But you're a pinko, Don.

I'll see ya, Ed.

Yeah.

May I have your attention, please, on track one.

The 830 train to New Haven has been canceled.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

Hey.

Joe.

What's all this Radwich junk you're putting out?

Oh, Don.

I got nothing to say to you now.

We just gotta get this film off to the lab.

What would you say if I told you that Murrow was on the Soviet payroll in 1934?

Uh, give us a sec, will ya, Charlie?

Sure.

I gotta use the head anyway.

Hey, Joe.

Watch yourself with this guy.

Is, uh, McCarthy going to the

Eisenhower dinner?

No idea. I don't keep the Senator's calendar for him, Joe.

Oh, really?

This is a track change announcement.

The 8:45 Northeast Corridor train to New York City will be arriving on track two.

What? You don't watch any spy films, Donald?

You can't just hand me a classified folder.

You gotta slip it in my briefcase when I'm not looking.

It's actually perfect. I didn't know who to give this information to.

Paley or Murrow.

As you can imagine, Fred and I aren't very friendly.

No pun intended.

No pun elocuted.

Elocuted.

Is that a word or did you just make that up?

You boys and your words.

Is Ed in New York right now memorizing a thesaurus?

Joe, what's another word for thesaurus?

Oh, it must be awfully quiet at the Algonquin now that you're gone.

Except for Harpo talking away.

All right, Donald.

What do you got?

In short, Ed Murrow's been a communist sympathizer since the 1930s.

Member of the Industrial Workers of the World.

Sponsor of educational trips to Moscow and on the Soviet payroll in 1934.

It's all there.

Uh, you, uh...

You wanna know why that's not possible?

Or why you gonna lose this one, Donald?

Because everybody in the country knows that if nothing else, Ed Murrow is a loyal American.

He is a patriot.

Did you know that the word gullible isn't in the dictionary, Joe?

Can I give this to Ed?

I'd like you to.

I have copies.

I think you guys go too far.

Well, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it's a terrible shame.

Murrow's brother being a general in the Air Force.

What'd I miss?

Nothing.

Ed, Donald's just leaving. He's...

got a hole to crawl back into.

Give my best to Ed.

Bill.

Hello, Ed.

How's Janet?

How's your boy?

Oh, well.

How's babe?

Fine.

She's fine.

Well, her fundraiser got rained on.

Well, that's why I don't plan anything.

Really?

You wouldn't know it.

Reading fiction?

I hope.

You tell me.

Well, we know how they're gonna come at us.

That's just the first shot.

Somebody will go down.

Now, have you checked your facts?

Are you on safe ground?

Its time ... show our cards.

They're my cards.

You lose, what happens? Five guys find themselves out of work.

I am responsible for a hell of a lot more than five goddamn reporters.

Let it go.

McCarthy will self-destruct.

Cone.

All of them.

It's not like you to run from a fight.

I'm not running from anything, Ed.

Is that so?

Hey.

I write your check.

Yeah.

I put you in that country house.

I put your son through school.

And you should have told me about this before it got so far down the road.

Is it an apology that you want?

We don't make the news, Ed.

We report the news.

Ninety-nine percent of the time he is wrong about the people he labels as being a communist.

If he goes too far, the Senate will investigate him and we will report on that.

But one hundred percent of the time he is wrong when he steps on their civil Liberty.

What are you doing, Ed?

You are trying him in the press.

No.

You have decided on this.

And you're presenting it as fact.

So where do you want to take this?

Every one of your boys has to be clean.

You understand?

No ties.

If Aaron's mother went to a group theater fundraiser in 1932, he is out.

Hewitt, too.

Everyone in that room.

Make no mistake.

I will cut them loose.

A corporate will not interfere with editorial.

But editorial will not jeopardize the hundreds of employees of the Columbia Broadcasting System.

Yes?

Mr. Paley, Senator Symington is on the phone.

And we're not?

We're not advertising it.

Hello, Stu.

Right.

Well, yes, Senator, I do have a question.

The U.S. military is said to have better nuclear capabilities with much smaller bombs.

But the Soviets have developed longer-range missiles, which pits the two

powers against each other in a race to build the first intercontinental rocket

capable of delivering a nuclear explosion.

The Soviets believe they have the upper hand.

But military experts here at home are confident the U.S.

will win the race to complete a full and functioning missile capable of carrying...

Is this about our sponsors?

Are we afraid of losing our sponsors?

Have we lost a sponsor?

Come on.

I don't understand.

Let me make it easier.

I just need to know for the good of the peace.

If any of you have any connection at all, read a communist newsletter, traveled to

St. Petersburg, was your mother dating a socialist in 1922?

You know what?

Why don't you leave my mother out of this?

I don't care.

I just need to know.

You know, I had a fling with a fascist once.

That must have been fun.

No, not after the war.

They were a little down.

Knock it off.

Maybe it was you, Eddie.

No, no.

Excuse me.

Ed, I think I should excuse myself.

Yeah, I'm going to have to excuse myself.

Excuse me, fellas.

No, really.

Come on.

Let me get out.

Now.

What?

I don't want to hurt us.

Christ.

Okay, that kills us.

Oh.

My ex was...

I wouldn't say she was a communist.

But she certainly attended meetings.

It was before we were married.

And it never came up until after we were divorced.

It didn't matter then.

We were...

We were all on the same side.

Look, I'm not telling you anything.

You don't know anything you don't already know, but the thing of it is

somebody will find out and they'll hurt us with it.

Hurt us?

We can't do the story!

I should have told you sooner.

Sorry, Fred.

Ed.

Sit down, Palmer.

Sit down.

If...

none of us ever read a book that was dangerous, or had a friend that was

different, or joined an organization that advocated change,

we would all be the exact kind of person Joe McCarthy wants.

We're going to go with the story.

Because the terror is right here, in this room.

Our next report will be about the Junior Senator

from Wisconsin.

And Fred, we use only his words.

You understand?

Okay, fellas, that's it.

All the footage we've banked.

Everything.

John, you and Joe and Charlie go through the HUAC hearings.

Eddie and Palmer, see what else we have.

Any speeches he gave or interviews.

His own words, boys.

That's what we need.

Milli, give me those notes.

♪ There may be trouble ahead ♪

♪ but while there's moonlight ♪

♪ and music and love and romance. ♪

♪ Let's face the music and dance. ♪

♪ Before the fiddlers have fled. ♪

♪ Before they ask us to pay the bill ♪

♪ and while we still got a chance. ♪

♪ Let's face the music and dance. ♪

♪ Soon ... we'll be without the moon ♪

♪ humming a different tune ♪

♪ and then ♪

♪ there may be teardrops to shed. ♪

♪ But while there's moonlight and music ♪

♪ and love and romance ♪

♪ let's face the music and dance. ♪

♪ Let's face the music ♪

♪ and dance. ♪

You gonna make it?

We lost the projector.

Yeah, we'll make it.

Excuse me, Mr. Murrow.

Uh, Mr. Paley's on the line.

Maybe he's gonna reimburse us for the ads.

Uh, that's creepy.

I wouldn't like that.

I wouldn't like that.

I already used it.

This is Ed.

Hey.

The knickerbockers are playing.

And I got front row seats.

Are you interested?

I'm a little busy bringing down the network tonight, Bill.

Oh, is that tonight?

The knickerbockers, you say?

Front row?

It's tempting.

So you know.

We're covered.

All right.

I'm with you tonight, Ed.

And I'll be with you in the morning as well.

Thanks, Bill.

What do you think, Joe?

I think we're ready.

I wish we could wait till we get more footage.

I just don't think we could take the chance.

I think that we have to hit McCarthy before he could come after Ed.

Well, they haven't gone after the Alsops or Herb Block.

Yeah, the Alsops and Herb Block didn't work for the Institute of International Education in 1934.

Then I guess it's time.

Okay.

Hi.

Hi.

Hi.

Bye.

Bye.

You worried?

I didn't think I was.

I don't know why.

I was in the office on Friday.

I answered the phone.

It was Howard calling from London.

He asked me what was going on with McCarthy.

And before I answered him, I turned and looked over my shoulder to see who was listening.

And who was listening?

Chairman Mao.

Oh, Joe.

Your ring.

Jesus Christ.

Name me another wife who reminds her husband to take

off his wedding ring before he goes to the office.

Ava Gardner.

30 seconds.

...command...

...in desperate... ...for...

...in desperate... ...for the man... ...the one and

only... ...in desperate... ...can... ...connu...

...20 seconds...

...10 seconds...

...in 5...

...4... ...3...

...2...

...Good Evening.

Because a report on senator Joseph R. McCarthy

...is by definition controversial.

We want to say exactly what we mean and request permission to read from a script

any remarks Murrow and Friendly may make.

If the Senator feels that we have done violence to his words or pictures and he

wishes to speak to answer himself, an opportunity will be afforded him on this program.

Our working thesis tonight is from this quotation.

"If this fight against communism has made a fight between America's two great

political parties, the American people know that one of those parties will be

destroyed and the republic cannot endure very long as a one-party system."

We applaud that statement.

We think Senator McCarthy should as well.

He said it 17 months ago in Milwaukee.

The American people realize that this cannot be made a fight

between America's two great political parties.

If this fight against communism has made a fight between America's two great political parties,

the American people know that one of those parties will be

destroyed and the republic can't endure very long as a one-party system.

...on one thing the Senator has been consistent.

Often acting as a one-man committee, he has traveled far, interviewed many,

terrorized some, accused civilian and military leaders of the past

administration of a great conspiracy to hand over the country to communism.

Well, may I say that I was extremely shocked when I heard that Secretary

Stephen told Miami officers that they had to take part in

the cover-up of those who promoted Ricardo's communism.

As a ready statement, I thought of that quotation "On what meat doth this our Caesar feed?"

And upon what meat does Senator McCarthy feed?

Two of the staples of his diet are the investigations, protected by immunity,

and the half-truths.

You attended Columbia University in the early 30s. Is that right?

I did, Mr. Chairman.

Will you speak a little louder, sir?

I did, Mr. Chairman.

And... Were you expelled from Columbia?

I was suspended from classes on April 1st, 1932.

I was later reinstated, and I resigned from the university.

And you resigned from the university?

Did the Civil Liberties Union provide you with an attorney at that time?

I had many offers of attorneys, and one of those was from the American Civil Liberties Union, yes.

The question is, did the Civil Liberties Union supply you with an attorney?

They did supply an attorney.

The answer is yes.

The answer is yes.

You know, the Civil Liberties Union has been listed as

a front foreign doing the work of the Communist Party.

Mr. Chairman, this was 1932.

Yeah, I know that was 1932. Do you know that they since have been listed as a

front foreign doing the work of the Communist Party?

I do not know that they have been listed so, sir.

You don't know that they have been listed?

I've read that mention.

I read that mention.

You wrote a book in 1932.

I'm going to ask you again.

At the time you wrote this book, did you feel that professors should be

given the right to teach sophomores that marriage, let me quote, "should be cast out

of our civilization as antiquated and stupid religious phenomena?"

Was that your feeling at that time?

My feeling was that professors should have the right to

express their opinions on any subject, whatever they were.

I'm going to make you answer that.

Well I, I'll answer yes.

But you put an implication on it and you feature this particular point out of a

book, which of course is quite out of context, does

not give a proper impression of a book as a whole.

The American public doesn't get an honest impression of

even that book as it is from what you're quoting from it.

Back in 5, 4, 3, 2...

The Reid-Harris hearing illustrates one of the Senator's techniques.

Twice, he said the American Civil Liberties Union was listed as a subversive front.

The Attorney General's List does not and never has listed the ACLU as subversive,

nor has the FBI or any other federal government agency.

And the ACLU holds in its files letters of commendation from President Truman,

President Eisenhower, and General MacArthur.

Earlier, the Senator asked, upon what meat does this our Caesar feed?

Had he looked three lines earlier in his speech, Shakespeare's Caesar, he would

have found this line, which is not altogether inappropriate.

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves."

No one familiar with the history of this country can deny that congressional committees are useful.

It is necessary to investigate before legislating.

But the line between investigating and persecuting is a very fine one,

and the junior senator from Wisconsin has stepped over it repeatedly.

We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty.

We must remember always that accusation is not proof, and

that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law.

We will not walk in fear one of another.

We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason if we dig deep in our history

and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men.

Not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate,

or to defend the causes that are for the moment unpopular.

We proclaim ourselves as indeed we are the defenders of

freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world.

But we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.

The actions of the junior senator from Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay

amongst our allies abroad, and given considerable comfort to our enemies.

And whose fault is that?

Not really his.

He didn't create this situation of fear, he merely exploited it.

And rather successfully.

Cassius was right.

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.

Good night, and good luck.

And we're out.

Good evening.

I don't know whether all of you have seen what I just saw,

but I want to associate myself and this program with what Ed Murrow has just said

and say that I've never been prouder of CBS.

And now the news.

Feel like a scotch?

I think everybody could use one.

Yep.

Women have moved into another male domain.

In 20 United States cities, they've proved themselves

highly efficient in parking and traffic control.

And the trends to the greater employment of traffic policemen as women is rising.

Many of the...

Fritz, what time is it?

3:30.

Early editions are out now.

Oh, I'm not worried about that.

No, of course not.

Hey, Cheryl, honey.

Run down and pick up the early editions.

All of them?

All of them.

Just get O'Brien.

All right, watch my drink.

Yeah, I'll go with you, Shirley.

I'm going to have to fire Joe so those two can date.

Cigarette?

I quit.

Good time to quit.

Yeah, but what could you do?

Well, first we want to see if we have jobs tomorrow.

And if we still have jobs tomorrow, then tail gunner Joe gets to return fire.

What's he gonna say?

He's gonna say we're a pinko organization with a leftist agenda.

We used his own words.

It's, uh...

Well, we do have a leftist agenda.

I'm a pinko.

Little too loud there, Charlie.

Been awfully quiet there, didn't it?

We've got Annie Lee Moss.

We can have that together by next week, if need be.

Is that a whole show?

It's close.

Listen, Ed.

There's not gonna be a shortage of material on him.

What we have to do now is keep up the pressure, till his rebuttal, and then move to Calcutta.

Sure do miss radio.

You've got a face for radio.

That's what my wife keeps telling me.

All right, here we go.

We've got all of them.

The Post, The Times.

Who wrote it?

Jack Gould.

Oh!

Edward R. Murrow's

television program on Senator Joseph R. McCarthy

was an exciting and provocative examination of the man and his methods.

It was crusading journalism of high responsibility and

courage for TVs so often plagued by timidity and hesitation.

The program was a milestone that reflected enlightened citizenship.

Yeah, what's this guy's beak, huh?

Oh, wait, hold on, hold on.

The program was no less an indictment of those who wished the problems posed by the

senator's tactics and theatrics would just go away and leave them alone.

That was Mr. Murrow's and television's triumph and a very great one.

Hear, hear!

Send the Brits in the New York Times a bottle of scotch.

I already did.

How do you think we got that review?

What about the Post?

Pretty good.

What about O'Brien?

The same.

Shirley, what did O'Brien say?

Oh, I don't have it.

Joe, what about you?

No, it's here somewhere.

Okay.

Hang on.

Okay.

Jack O'Brien.

We can't say we were surprised at Edward R. Murrow's

hate-McCarthy telecast last evening when his explosively one-sided

propaganda edited with deviously clever selectivity for

McCarthy's march against communism was finished last evening.

By equally Machiavellian coincidence, the following telecast featured Murrow's

PM protégé, Don Hollenbeck.

What?

In an obviously gloating mood, Hollenbeck hoped viewers had witnessed his

patron's triumph in his own right.

I am from and for the left.

And so on and so on.

Yeah, I guess O'Brien doesn't like scotch.

It's okay, Shirley, finish it.

Shirley, read the post, huh?

Yes.

That's it, Don.

It's just... Shirley, finish it.

That's it, Don.

Yeah, Don, that's it.

Shirley.

Okay.

The Columbia Broadcasting System has been in a lengthy clean house of lefties' mood.

The worst offenders on lesser levels have been quietly pushed out of the company.

Don Hollenbeck, a graduate of the demised Pinko Publication PM, attacked

conservative newspapers with sly and slanted propaganda.

He then proceeded through an equally tilted review of the day's events,

with McCarthy dominating his words, actions, attitude, and camera.

It's O'Brien.

I think I'll have that cigarette, Ed.

Yup.

I'm heading out.

Yeah.

Got a staff meeting in five hours.

Whoa!

Whoa!

It is late!

Mm.

Oh.

Do you want to share a cab?

Oh, uh, yeah.

You headed downtown?

Yes.

Well, where do you live, Shirley?

Oh, she lives downtown.

Ah.

Yes.

Hang in there, Don.

See ya, boys.

See ya.

See ya, Ed.

Thank you.

Don.

I appreciate it.

Okay.

A big day tomorrow.

Yeah, today, you mean.

Huh?

Let's drink.

We're drinking.

Come on.

Sit.

As you see.

Sorry I missed you the other night, Don.

I need to ask you something, Ed.

It's about O'Brien.

O'Brien doesn't matter.

He's killing me.

It doesn't make a bit of difference in the news.

It's not just him.

We have to let this guy have it.

- We should expose O'Brien. - We're not gonna go after O'Brien.

I'm not gonna take on McCarthy and Hearst.

I can't beat them both.

Don't read the paper, Don.

Or don't read O'Brien anyway.

No.

No, I guess not.

I wake up in the morning and I don't recognize anything.

I feel like I went to sleep three years ago and somebody hijacked.

As if all the reasonable people took a plane to Europe and left us behind.

I was always...

I was always an optimist.

Really.

I always thought things work out.

Half full.

Yeah.

I believe in the system, Don.

As disastrous as it can seem at times, I believe in it.

We designed it to fix it.

Madison built it into the Constitution, for Christ's sake.

It's a...

I was talking about my divorce.

So was I.

Well, I'm glad the forefathers understood the term dissolution of a union.

I'm sure they had their difficulties with the opposite sex.

I'm talking about McCarthy.

So was I.

Well, I thought I'd try.

Sorry, Don.

We never had this conversation, okay?

It's okay with you, Senator.

Don't laugh.

I've thought about it.

From Studio 41 in Grand Central Station, New York City, the morning show.

How long for that new copy?

Just give me an hour.

Uh, it's gonna need an hour.

But you've been here all night?

Yeah, we got a deadline.

We just got back from D.C.

Look at Lely.

Just look an axe

To McCarthy at the Pentagon hearing.

He called McCarthy evil.

Wait, who did?

Senator McClellan.

He's sitting two seats down from McCarthy.

I gotta get this to the land.

He gets up, calls him evil.

Wait, who's evil?

You get it on camera?

Yeah.

I think we do.

Wait, who is evil?

Oh, Eddie.

I can hear you.

What are they doing in there?

Uh, rewriting the Constitution.

They were there for the original.

Uh, hold on, Joe.

Palmer, can I talk to you for a minute?

Yeah, sure, Fred.

Uh, give me a second.

Fred.

Yeah.

Uh, fellas.

Uh, McCarthy's office just called.

He wants equal time.

When?

April 6th.

In studio?

He wants to film it in his office.

Who?

McCarthy.

Jesus Christ.

They, they told me Buckley wanted to respond.

No.

Um, it's McCarthy.

Yeah, but are, are they gonna let Charlie shoot?

What's he gonna say?

Why are you gonna shoot him?

You know what it's gonna be.

He's gonna come after me.

It's the only thing he can do.

He's gonna bet that, uh, Senator Trump's a newsman.

Huh.

He'll lose.

Maybe.

Okay, fellas.

Here we go.

Joe, call Stanton.

Let him know.

You got it.

John, uh, let's see all the Eisenhower footage you've got.

We, we need to prep a response.

Okay, Fred.

Yep.

Um, Palmer, Phil, in legal, wants to have a word with you.

Okay.

Okay.

Now?

Uh, yes.

Now is best.

Never very good news, is it?

Not often.

Operator.

Can you connect me with Phil in legal?

Right away.

Mr. Williams.

Guilty.

Let's hope not.

There isn't a lot of time, so I'll be brief.

This network is under a tremendous amount of pressure.

These stories aren't helping.

I, I understand.

I'm not sure you do.

There's a great deal of concern about your past positions.

My wife's past positions?

That's right.

HUAC has a file on you.

How do you know?

A file was sent to Mr. Paley yesterday.

Well, that's interesting timing.

Well, when you strike at a king.

Or a junior senator from Wisconsin.

CBS is prepared to make an offer.

Uh-oh.

If you submit your resignation, CBS will cover any legal expenses you might incur on this subject.

Well, that's awfully kind of you.

No, it isn't.

No, it isn't.

These guys don't play around.

They're relentless.

They will cost you everything you have.

I understand.

Do you?

Palmer.

Take the deal.

If these guys decide to call you in, we will cut you loose.

And then no one will be there to help. Not CBS.

Not Murrow.

No one.

Phil, you're a good guy.

And I appreciate that this is your job.

But what you're asking me to do, I could never do.

I understand.

Well, it's funny how your life can be upended just for telling the truth.

And marrying a communist.

Oh yeah, there is that.

Be careful.

Yeah.

Ed.

It's 28 minutes.

I could clip a little off the end.

I think we have to leave it alone.

Very smart.

No time for comment.

Came in 10 minutes ago.

And we put it up, saw the first couple of minutes.

You're right.

He's coming after me.

Okay. Thanks.

Charlie, have you seen the latest polls?

The most trusted man in America is Milton Berle.

Maybe he should do the story.

Hey, Fred.

Let's say we grab a little dinner after the show.

The 21 Club?

Sure.

45 seconds to air.

Look.

There's nothing fun about this one.

You just gotta put your gloves down, stick your chin out, and just take it for a whole round.

Next week's our round.

If I make it up off the mat.

You will.

30 seconds.

20 seconds.

10 seconds.

In 5...4...3...2.

Good evening.

One month ago tonight we presented our report on Senator Joseph R. McCarthy.

we labelled it as controversial.

Most of that report consisted of words and pictures of the senator.

At the time we told the senator that if he feels that we have done violence to his

words or pictures, and he wishes to speak, to answer himself,

...an opportunity would be afforded him on this program.

The senator sought that opportunity, asked for a three-week delay because he

said he was very busy and wished adequate time to prepare his reply.

We agreed.

We placed no restrictions on the method or manner of the presentation of his reply

and suggested that we would not take time for comment on this program.

Here now is Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, junior senator from Wisconsin.

Good evening.

Mr. Edward R. Murrow,

educational director of the Columbia Broadcasting System, devoted his

program to an attack on the work of the United States Senate Investigating

Committee and on me personally as its chairman.

Now ordinarily, 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.

The leader, and the cleverest of the jackal pack which is

always found at the throat of anyone who dares to expose individual communists and treacheries.

I am compelled by the fact to say to you that Mr. Edward R. Murrow,

as far back as 20 years ago, was engaged in propaganda for communist causes.

For example, the Institute of International Education.

...of which he was the acting director, was chosen to act as a representative by a

Soviet agency to do a job which would normally be done by the Russian secret police.

Now Mr. Murrow, by his own admission, was a member of the IWW, that's the

Industrial Workers of the World, a terrorist organization cited as

subversive by an Attorney General of the United States.

Now Mr. Murrow said in this program, and I quote, he said "the actions of the

junior senator from Wisconsin have given considerable comfort to the enemy."

That is the language of our statute of treason, a rather strong language.

If I am giving comfort to our enemies, I ought not to be in the Senate.

If, on the other hand, Mr. Murrow is giving comfort to our enemies,

he ought not to be brought into the homes of millions

of Americans by the Columbia Broadcasting System.

But this is a question, which can be resolved with...

I have to go to Philadelphia in the morning.

What time is your train?

Uh, eight.

Is Charlie going with you?

Mm-hmm.

I don't...

Ah ...

want to say ... what I'm about to say.

Uh-oh.

Yeah.

You want a divorce.

No.

Do you?

depends on what you're about to say.

Just keep having this nagging thought that we might be wrong.

About what?

Well ... there are communists here.

Yes.

and they don't always have our best interests at heart.

Probably not.

Yeah.

- Does McCarthy? - Well, the argument could be made.

And it's for the greater good.

That's one argument.

- Like, Alger Hiss was... - Alger Hiss had a trial.

Alger Hiss faced his accusers.

And he went to jail.

That's right.

That's how this works.

So we're not going to look back and say we protected the wrong side?

You're right, Joe.

Yeah?

I want a divorce.

Yeah, I wouldn't blame you.

When did you start smoking?

Fifteen minutes ago.

Good evening.

Last week, Senator McCarthy appeared on this program to correct any errors he

might have thought we made in our report of March 9th.

Since he made no reference to any statements of fact,

we must conclude that he found no errors of fact.

He proved once again that anyone who exposes him, anyone who does not share his

hysterical disregard to decency and human dignity and the rights guaranteed in the

Constitution must be either a communist or a fellow traveler.

I fully expected this treatment.

The senator added this reporter's name to a long list of individuals and

institutions that he has accused of serving the communist cause.

His proposition is a very simple one.

Anyone who criticizes or opposes McCarthy's methods must be a communist.

And if that be true, there are an awful lot of communists in this country.

For the record, let us consider briefly some of the senator's charges.

He claimed, but offered no proof, that I was a member of the industrial workers of the world.

That is false.

I never was a member of the IWW.

Never applied for membership.

The senator charged that Professor Harold Lasky, a British scholar and politician,

dedicated a book to me.

That is true.

He is dead.

He was a socialist.

I am not.

He was one of those civilized individuals who didn't insist upon agreement with

political principles as a precondition for friendship or conversation.

I don't agree with his political ideas.

Lasky, as he makes clear in the introduction, dedicated the book to me not

because of political agreement, but because he held my wartime broadcasts

from London in high regard.

And the dedication so reads.

I believe 20 years ago and I believe today that mature Americans can engage in

conversation, controversy, a clash of ideas with communists anywhere in the

world without becoming contaminated or converted.

I believe that our faith, our conviction, our determination are stronger than theirs.

And that we can compete.

And successfully, not only in the area of bombs, but in the area of ideas.

I have worked for CBS for 19 years.

The company has subscribed fully to my integrity as a broadcaster and as a loyal American.

I require no lectures from the junior senator from Wisconsin.

Having searched my conscience and my files, I cannot contend that I have always been right or wise.

But I have attempted to pursue the truth with some diligence.

And to report it.

Even though, as in this case, I had been warned in advance that I would be

subjected to the attentions of Senator McCarthy.

We should hope to deal with matters of more vital interest to the country next week.

Good night and good luck.

Good morning.

How are you feeling?

How am I?

How are you feeling?

What time did you leave last night?

She didn't leave last night.

I didn't leave this morning.

Oh, it's just this today.

Oh, just this?

Just this, ma'am.

♪ Somewhere there's music. ♪

♪ How faint the tune. ♪

♪ Somewhere there's heaven. ♪

♪ How high the moon. ♪

Ah. What time are we going to today?

Oh, uh, I'll get back to you in a minute.

We'll be here.

In the last analysis, the senator was perched on the television high dive and

all prepared to make a resounding splash.

He jumped beautifully, but neglected to check first where he was going to land.

It must have been something of a shock to discover

that Mr. Murrow had drained the water out of the pool.

Jack Pool.

The Times?

Yeah, the Times.

Hell of a writer.

We should hire him away from the Times.

Yeah, well, uh, CBS has got a public opinion survey here that, uh, Elmo Roper put together.

Uh-oh.

Says...

33% of all households believe McCarthy proved you're a commie.

Huh?

Only 33%?

Listen, listen, listen, listen, listen, listen.

The Senate is investigating McCarthy.

Hey!

Oh!

Got him.

Oh!

Oh, oh, you'll be all right, Palmer.

Palmer!

You'll be all right.

The Senate is investigating McCarthy.

We're up there with Howdy Doody.

Hold on, Ed.

♪ Somewhere there's music. ♪

♪ How faint the tune. ♪

♪ Somewhere there's heaven. ♪

♪ How high the moon. ♪

♪ There is no moon above. ♪

♪ When love is far away, too. ♪

♪ Until it comes true. ♪

♪ That you love me as I love you. ♪

One of the best programs I ever heard was called CBS Views the Press.

A great many people liked it, some didn't.

But no one would say it was anything but honest.

It was the work of an honest reporter, Don Hollenbeck.

He also worked occasionally on See It Now.

He did the 11 P.M. news over some of these stations.

He'd been sick lately and he died this morning.

The police said it was suicide.

Gas.

Not much of an obit.

But at least we got our facts straight and it was brief.

And that's all Don Hollenbeck would have asked.

Good night.

And good luck.

♪ Until you will. ♪

♪ How still my heart. ♪

♪ How high the moon. ♪

Son of a bitch.

See It Now.

Uh, yeah.

Circulate that memo to 41.

Yeah.

Circulate to Stanton.

Circulate to SIG.

Um, everybody gets that memo.

Got it?

Yes.

Sunday, 4.30.

Will you start in with me?

Yes.

4:30 Sunday.

Good to see you, sir.

All right.

Have a good morning today.

Yep.

Have a good at least tomorrow.

Yep.

Thank you.

How many times do you want us to see you?

It's gonna be great, Charlie.

You're just so in tune with time together.

Joe.

Shirley.

Can I talk to you both?

Let's use the editing room.

Billy, could you excuse us for a minute?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Shirley.

How are you?

Fine, Fred.

Is there a problem, Fred?

I want to ask you both a question.

But I don't want you to answer it.

Just consider it.

I know you two are married.

Everyone knows. That's not my question.

In the next few weeks, I have to lay a couple of people off.

We're making some significant cuts across the board.

I wanted you to know that because if you have any intention in the near future of

starting a family, I would say to you that you could save someone else from being fired.

I'm asking you to consider making this decision a little easier.

I don't need an answer now.

Just think about it.

Well

Mrs. Werschba.

We're really going to miss you around here, Joe.

Everybody knew.

Yeah, but the problem isn't simply that you lost your sponsor.

- Even with Alcoa, See it Now still loses money. - The fee is $50,000.

Last week's show we did for less than the fee.

We'll find another sponsor.

$64,000 question.

Brings in over $80,000 in sponsors and it costs a third of what you do.

Ed, I've got Tuesday night programming.

It's number one.

Because people just want to enjoy themselves.

They don't want a civics lecture.

What do you want, Bill?

Well, I don't want a constant stomachache every time you take on a controversial subject.

That's a price you have to be willing to pay.

Careful, Ed.

Let's walk very carefully through these next few moments.

The content of what we're doing is more important than what some sponsor in Cincinnati.

No, no no, what you're doing.

Not me.

Not CBS.

You.

CBS News. See it now.

They all belong to you.

Well, you wouldn't know it.

What, is it credit that you want?

I never censored a single program.

No, I kept our affiliates who just wanted entertainment from us.

And I fought to keep our license with the same politicians you were working to bring down.

And I never said no to you.

Not once.

I would argue that we have done well by one another.

Never!

I would argue that this network is defined by what the

NEWS department has accomplished.

I would also argue not saying no is not the same as not censoring.

Really?

You should teach journalism.

Well, let me ask you this.

Why is it that you always refer to him as the junior senator from Wisconsin?

Because he's the junior senator from Wisconsin.

Not likely.

You taunt him, Ed.

Like a cat with a ball of string.

But now you see you've opened the door.

News with a dash of commentary.

What happens when it isn't Edward R. Murrow

minding the store?

What do you want to do, Bill?

I'm going to take your show from half an hour to an hour.

But it won't be a weekly program.

And it won't be on Tuesday night.

When would it be?

Sunday afternoon.

How many episodes?

Five.

Why don't you just fire me, Bill?

I don't think it's what either of us wants.

You owe me five shows.

You won't like the subject matter?

No, probably not.

He wants me to lay a few people off.

I'm sure.

Let's do the next show about the downfall of television.

So if the Senate votes to censure McCarthy, what happens then?

He sits in the back row.

But they don't kick him out.

No, he stays.

He just loses all of his power.

He's already lost all of his power.

Right.

Now they just teach him a lesson.

Yeah.

They're moving, See It Now, to Sunday afternoon.

Uh-oh.

How many episodes?

Five.

Well ... might as well go down swinging.

We'll do the story about the migrant farm workers.

Make a couple of enemies.

The most trusted man in America is Milton Berle.

See?

Maybe you should have worn a dress.

My legs are too skinny.

Feel like a Scotch?

Scotch is good.

Did you know that Joe and Shirley were married?

Sure.

Did everyone know?

Pretty much.

Mr. Cole, I meant to do you no personal injury.

And if I did, I beg your pardon.

Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator.

But you've done enough.

Have you no sense of decency, sir?

At long last, have you left no sense of decency?

I know this hurts you, Mr. Wells.

Let's get the Scotch.

I'll say it.

Mr. Campbell, as a point of personal privilege, I'd like to finish this.

Senator, I think it hurts you too, sir.

I'd like to finish this.

Mr. McCarthy, I will not discuss this further with you.

You have sat within six feet of me and could have asked me about Fred Fisher.

You have seen fit to bring it out.

And if there is a God in heaven, it will do neither you nor your cause any good.

I will not discuss it further.

I will not ask Mr. Cole anymore.

What does he say?

You, Mr. Chairman, may, if you will, call the next witness.

Are there any questions to come from the members of the chair?

I begin by saying our history will be what we make of it.

If we go on as we are, then history will take its revenge.

And retribution will not limp in catching up with us.

Just once in a while, let us exalt the importance of ideas and information.

Let us dream to the extent of saying that on a given Sunday night, the time normally

used by Ed Sullivan is given over to a clinical survey on the state of American education.

And a week or two later, the time normally used by Steve Allen is devoted to a

thoroughgoing study of American policies in the Middle East.

Would the corporate image of their respective sponsors be damaged?

Would the stockholders rise up in their wrath and complain?

Would anything happen other than a few million people would have received a

little illumination on subjects that may well determine the future of this country?

To those who say people wouldn't look, they wouldn't be

interested, they're too complacent, indifferent, insolent.

I can only reply there is, in one reporter's opinion,

considerable evidence against that contention.

But even if they are right, what have they got to lose?

Because if they are right, and these instruments are good for nothing but to

entertain, and amuse, and insulate, then the tube is flickering now.

And we will soon see that the whole struggle is lost.

One, a two, a three, a kick.

Ladies and gentlemen, here he is. Fats Dominos.

Good evening, I'm Mike Wallace.

This is a program of fact, news, information, and observation.

Thank you very much.

Now is the time...

...to make real the promises of democracy.

Our goal is not the victory of might...

...from Dallas, Texas...

...but the vindication of right.

...the flash, apparently official, President Kennedy died at 1 P.M.

- This is one small step ... - Central Standard Time.

...for man

... one giant leap ...

Sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me.

Sock it to me?

Ladies and gentlemen, the Beatles.

What happened here at Kent State University to find a name.

The President's a crook.

Well, I'm not a crook.

- The Space Shuttle Challenger ...has exploded. - Mr. Gorbachev ...

...teared down this wall.

...it doesn't fit.

If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.

They're supposed to be married in three weeks.

What are you doing living with him?

You are not the father.

...weapons of mass destruction.

...get rolled by the Bush administration.

...he's got him, he's got him.

...New York City, this is the World Trade Center.

... a big explosion has just occured.

...what exactly happened on 9-11...

...conspiracy theories continue to saturate the Internet...

...a terrorist fist jab...

...he was wearing this tan suit...

...for all you kids watching at home... ...Santa just is white...

...the big lie...

...centers on Dominion voting system...

...companies called Dominion...

...another in a series of stolen elections...

...President Biden has a photographic memory...

...he's totally focused... very sharp in meetings...

- Forget about the evidence - ...alternative facts to that...

...FBI operatives were organizing the attack on the Capitol...

...FBI had 26 of their people on the inside...

...false flag operations...

...seeing millions of dollars...

...NBC News agreed to settle a defamation lawsuit...

...AP reporter was barred from an Oval Office event... ...also from Air Force One...

...has barred the Associated Press...

...inappropriate offenses... ...the CNN has retracted...

... a false story about a demokratic effort ... ...the Force is extremely dangerous...

...to our democracy...

...it's extremely dangerous...

...to our democracy...

...a democracy ... ...it's a crisis of democracy...

...racist...

...disaffected... ...to kill the coronavirus...

... fact checkers ... ... eating the pets ...

...please raise your right hand and repeat after me...

These instruments can teach… ...they can illuminate...

They can even inspire... but they can do so only to the

extent that humans are determined to use them to those ends.

Otherwise ... they're merely wires and lights in a box.

There is a great ... and perhaps decisive battle to be fought ... against ignorance,

intolerance,

indifference.

It's a fight for the very soul of this republic.

And so the question is a very simple one.

Not what power unchecked can do.

We have seen that answer.

No.

The question is...

what are you prepared to do?

The fault, dear Brutus ...

Good night.

And good luck.

[ Subtitles by ClassicLover ] [ @ subd l.org ]

You've been watching an exclusive live production of Broadway Play Good Night and

Good Luck starring George Clooney here on CNN.

The first time that Broadway Play has been broadcast live around the world.

You can see the cast still up on the stage, including George Clooney,

who was Tony-nominated for his performance in this production.

We're going to speak to some of them shortly.

I'm Anderson Cooper.

Welcome to our post-show special, Good Night and Good Luck, Truth and Power.

We're about a mile away from the Winter Garden Theater with a live studio audience

of journalism and communications students and

professors, all of whom watched tonight's performance.

The world of journalism and media that they are studying and may soon enter is

vastly different in many ways than Murrow's day.

But there are, of course, parallels to what Murrow has done.

Murrow faced as well.

I'm joined here by a panel of renowned journalists and

writers from the world of television, newspapers and podcasts.

I'll also talk exclusively with the former anchor of the CBS Evening News and the

longtime 60 Minutes correspondent, Scott Kelly, about why he says journalism

is under attack and about CBS's ongoing legal battle with President Trump.

With me right now, Walter Isaacson, professor of history at Tulane University,

former CEO of CNN.

He actually hired me.

He's also the author of numerous best-selling books about Leonardo da Vinci, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk.

And others.

Also here, Connie Chung, former co-anchor of the CBS Evening News.

She was also an anchor here at CNN as well as ABC and NBC News.

She's the author of the book Connie and Miriam's.