This past weekend, I had a chance to see the new movie, "Good Night, and Good Luck," which highlights Edward R. Murrow's instrumental involvement in bringing about the demise of Sen. Joseph McCarthy and his shameless use of political fear-mongering. Though the movie details an historic event that occurred over 50 years ago, its significance and relevance to media coverage of pre-invasion Iraq is remarkable and ultimately proves that the media has become more of a governmental lap dog than the watchdog our founding fathers hoped it to be.
During the early 1950s, a time of escalating tension between Russia and the United States, Sen. McCarthy fought tirelessly to eradicate what he perceived to be Communist elements within the American government. In 1950, Sen. McCarthy brandished series of lists of government employees accused of Communist ties. Though many of these accusations lacked substantial evidence or validity, Sen. McCarthy was able to prey upon people's paranoia and fears of the Red juggernaut.
Later, as chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Sen. McCarthy held 169 hearings that targeted public officials and governmental institutions that supposedly endorsed or harbored Communist ideology. Members of the Army, Navy, Treasury Department and Veterans Administrations were all called upon to testify, forced to answer baseless and derogatory questions from the chairman himself.
Incensed by Sen. McCarthy's deliberate abuse of authority, Mr. Murrow decided to confront Sen. McCarthy on his show, "See it Now." In the segment entitled, "A Report on Senator Joe McCarthy," Mr. Murrow used proclamations uttered by Sen. McCarthy that contained significant contradictions. For example, Sen. McCarthy claimed that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was listed as a subversive organization. Through extensive research, Mr. Murrow showed that the attorney general's office, the FBI, and other federal offices did not show the ACLU as being subversive. In fact, it had received letters of recommendation from presidents Truman and Eisenhower.
Mr. Murrow graciously offered Sen. McCarthy time to comment on this criticism. Two weeks later, Sen. McCarthy aired a taped response and accused Mr. Murrow of Communist leanings and affiliation. These allegations proved to be false, Sen. McCarthy was censored by the Senate and Mr. Murrow's show was cancelled three years later due to financial constraints and content disagreements with CBS owners.
In an era where being accused or labeled a Communist resulted in being blacklisted, defamed or even imprisoned, Mr. Murrow's personal display of fortitude and integrity brought an emphatic end to the witch hunts of McCarthyism and showed that journalism could continue to hold demagogues and scoundrels accountable. Wary of upsetting McCarthy, CBS declined to allow Mr. Murrow to use its logo or money for promotional spots. Compelled to report the truth, Mr. Murrow and his executive producer were forced to pay for advertisements for the show.
In the wake of the Valerie Plame scandal, I defended and commended New York Times reporter Judith Miller for her refusal to divulge her sources to a special prosecutor and face the risk of incarceration. Though she served almost three months in prison ostensibly to uphold time-honored journalistic principles, recent findings show that Ms. Miller's actions may not have been so noble.
Ms. Miller wrote a series of articles in 2002 and 2003 that suggested Saddam Hussein had or was trying to build weapons of mass destruction. As we all know, these reports turned out to be inaccurate. Scarred by these fallacious articles, the Times hierarchy continued to allow Ms. Miller to cover these areas until May 2004 — a year after the invasion and a year after no weapons were found. During this time, Ms. Miller was also in charge of covering the Plame leak, where she conveniently failed to mention to editors her conversations with I. Lewis Libby, who was recently indicted on perjury and obstruction charges in the leak scandal. The American public was denied crucial information that apparently showed a concerted effort by the Bush administration to undermine critics and evidence critical of a push to war.
Ms. Miller also agreed to allow Mr. Libby to his motives by identifying him in two different ways. In order to get Mr. Libby to give her material concerning the Plame case, she referred to him as "a former Hill staffer" rather than the usual "senior administration official." This distinction is extremely important, as the former title disassociates Mr. Libby from the administration he was currently working for. Ostensibly, it absolves him and the administration of responsibility in leaking Ms. Plame's name to the press
With the consolidation of large media corporations, local hometown newspapers being bought out by these corporations and a lack of news diversity throughout our nation, journalism finds itself in great peril. The actions of journalists like Judith Miller do not help at all. What has happened to journalists like Edward R. Murrow, who felt obligated to inform and educate the American people? What has happened to journalists who refused to grovel at the feet of the powerful elite? As Mr. Murrow used to say, "Good Night, and Good Luck."
Josh Moskowitz ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in political science and journalism.
