Good Night, and Good Luck.

In 1935, Ed Murrow

began his career with CBS.

When World War Two broke out...

...his voice brought

the battle of Britain home to us...

...through his "This Is London"

radio series.

He started with us all...

...many of us here tonight,

when television was in its infancy...

...with the news documentary show,

"See It Now".

He threw stones at giants.

Segregation, exploitation

of migrant workers...

...apartheid, J. Edgar Hoover...

...not the least of which, his historical

fight with Senator McCarthy.

He is the host of our enormously

popular show "Person to Person"...

...and tonight he is here

with his son, Casey...

...wife, Janet, and all of you

who he's worked with...

...inspired, lectured, and taught.

Ladies and gentlemen...

...the Radio-Television News Directors'

Association and Foundation welcomes...

...Mr. Edward R. Murrow.

This might just do nobody any good.

At the end of this discourse

a few people may accuse this reporter...

...of fouling

his own comfortable nest...

...and your organization may be

accused of having given hospitality...

...to heretical

and even dangerous ideas.

But the elaborate structure

of networks...

...advertising agencies, and sponsors

will not be shaken or altered.

It is my desire, if not my duty,

to try to talk to you journeymen...

...with some candor about what

is happening to radio and television.

And if what I say is responsible...

...I alone am responsible

for the saying of it.

Our history will be

what we make of it.

And if there are any historians

about 50 or 100 years from now...

...and there should be preserved...

...the kinescopes of one week

of all three networks...

...they will there find recorded

in black and white, and in color...

...evidence of decadence,

escapism...

...and insulation from the realities

of the world in which we live.

We are currently wealthy, fat,

comfortable, and complacent.

We have a built-in allergy to

unpleasant or disturbing information.

Our mass media reflect this.

But unless we get up off

our fat surpluses...

...and recognize

that television in the main...

...is being used to distract, delude,

amuse, and insulate us...

...then television

and those who finance it...

...those who look at it

and those who work at it...

...may see a totally

different picture too late.

Millie! Just the person

I wanted to see! Come here!

This goes at the top

of the Roy Campanella piece.

Yes! Give me a half an hour.

I may need it

a little quicker than that!

- Can I get some coffee first?

- Come on! Get me some coffee!

Morning, Johnny!

I have some new notes that go

with the Tito footage for Fred.

Fred's gonna be in

in an hour.

I already put them on his desk.

Can you just make sure that...

...he doesn't look at the film

until he reads the notes?

- Yes.

- Thank you.

Hey, Joe! Shirley!

- What's going on in here?

- What do you mean?

Two attractive people

alone in the copy room!

Don't tell Paley, he'll fire me.

He'll fire both of us, Shirley.

- Rules are made to be broken!

- You can afford to say that.

Let me see this.

- It's simply a loyalty oath.

- To CBS? - And to America.

You promise to be a loyal American?

I know. All of the reporters

have signed this.

Who are you promising this to?

CBS?

Fred signed it.

Murrow signed it.

- Murrow signed it?

- Yeah.

Are you now

or have you ever been...

I thought it was a joke,

but there's a lot of pressure.

...on the Attorney General's list

of subversive groups?

- I don't know.

- Let's think about it.

What is it really saying? Is it a civil

liberties issue or censorship?

Am I simply stating to CBS

that I'm not a Communist?

- Murrow signed this?

- And Fred and Stanton.

- Maybe you should talk to Murrow.

- Maybe I should sign it.

If you don't sign this,

are you and I a target?

If I don't sign it,

they'll fire me.

Sign it.

Finally we can tell everyone

the truth.

If I could express it

in what's in my heart now...

...I'd do it in the terms

of the poet who once said...

..."Ah, 'tis but a dainty flower

I bring to you."

"Yes, 'tis but a violet..."

"...glistening with dew."

"But still in its heart

there lie beauties concealed."

"So in our heart..."

"...our love for you..."

"...lies unrevealed."

I used to...

...pride myself on the idea

that I was a bit... tough...

...especially over the past

...kicked around,

and bullwhipped, and damned.

I didn't think that...

...I could be... touched very deeply.

Okay, that's enough.

That's enough, Leo.

- It's short.

- How long is the piece?

It's 4 minutes,

but we can cut it down.

It can't stand alone, but it might be

a nice companion piece.

Let's go through this one more time.

Palmer!

Yep, got a call from the office

of Senator Morse this morning...

...interested in setting up

a debate possibly with Senator Kerr...

...over the comments

Bentsen made on last night's show.

Secretary of Agriculture? Good idea!

Can they do it by this week?

No, it would have to be 2 weeks

at the earliest...

...depending on Morse's schedule.

But still it's a great idea.

Let's follow up on that.

"Hoover speaks on Benjamin Franklin."

We're having better luck

with Mr. Benjamin Franklin...

...than with Mr. Hoover.

It may progress better

as a "Person to Person".

"At home with Ben Franklin.

His electricity awards."

We've got the footage,

we need to contact him.

See if you can contact him and get the

shot. He wants to do the story. Joe!

Member Delbert Clark?

No longer with us.

- New York Times? - Yeah.

- Our friend at the Times.

This was yesterday morning,

they're saying it's...

- How old was he?

- 53. Sudden illness.

- Home of a friend.

- No, it's not an obit piece.

Natalie send some flowers

over there from us.

Couple things.

Case before the Supreme Court...

...involving the constitutionality of a

section of the Internal Security Act...

...provides for the deportation

of any alien...

...if he becomes a Communist

after entering this country.

Can you take this?

All right. McCarthy interrupting

his wedding trip...

...to take charge of the investigation

of Communist infiltration...

- Natalie, send some flowers.

- Poor Mrs. McCarthy!

May I finish?

It's national security!

- A real ladies' man!

- Well, they're in love.

We have no show for Tuesday, fellows.

So get out there and make some news.

Rob a bank. Mug an old lady.

Do something.

- You look at the Secretary Stevens

footage? - We will.

Watch it all the way to the end,

it's worth it.

Thank you, John.

There's not much there.

I can't tie it to the Eisenhower

in the back of the train piece.

- You ever spend any time in Detroit,

Fred? - Not recently.

There's a story here

in the Detroit News, Dexter, Michigan.

A kid named Milo Radulovich.

- Italian? - Irish. Air Force

kicked him out because his dad...

...read some Serbian newspaper.

- Was he a Communist? - I don't know.

- Who brought the charges?

- Air Force.

Charges were in a sealed envelope,

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