HRM

Good Night and Good Luck

As I tried to compare and contrast television news today, with this portrayal of what Murrow produced in his show, See it Now, in his fight against Senator McCarthy, I turned on talk radio. The Glenn Beck Program happened to be on, so I listened carefully. As I listened closely to what Beck had to say on his radio show, I could see how easy comparing and contrasting his show with Murrow’s show would be.
Glenn Beck’s radio and television career has made him popular and credible to many but, he is all so very accounted with controversy and criticism. According to the St. Petersburg Times, “His supporters praise him as a constitutional stalwart defending traditional American values from secular progressivism.” However a media watchdog group, Media Matters for America, says, he “promotes conspiracy theories and employs incendiary rhetoric for ratings.” Murrow seemed to have similar reviews. Many found him to be credible, and he had a major following that supported his programs. Murrow also had people writing negatively about him in the newspapers. Obviously, McCarthy’s followers were among those that disagreed with him.
The day I was listening to Beck’s show I didn’t have to listen hard to find Beck speaking his opinion about others. Usually his thoughts about others were edgy and not very nice. This is a major difference that you didn’t see often in the time of Murrow’s, See It Now. When Murrow saw a problem with McCarthy a lot of risk went into broadcasting his opinion to the world. Everyone involved with the show held their breath as they waited to see the reaction of the people. They stayed up all night waiting for the early newspaper edition so they could read the comments and get the reaction. Now days, if programs like Beck’s don’t have something controversial, it’s more of a shock. On becks show he read off the names of those leaving office because of the recent elections. He read them off in a very sarcastic sad voice. It went without saying that he strongly disliked these politicians and he was happy they were leaving office. He broadcasted his feelings to thousands even though someone in the audience might disagree with his feelings.
In Murrow’s prophetic speech he states that, “We have a built in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information.” I agree that everyone finds the truth hard to swallow. We don’t like information that disturbs us. Beck has a following, and most everyone in his following is well aware of his views. As he is giving controversial opinion most of his followers agree with it and come back for more. I would be willing to bet that Beck’s number one fan is not a left wing Democrat. The station that hosts Beck is also known for similar opinions. Murrow’s move to speak his opinion seems to be so bold and daring because he was broadcasting his message on a network that tries to stay in the middle. We have “built an allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information,” but sometimes we need to hear it. To me, the unpleasant or disturbing information was the actions of McCarthy as he accused innocent people of being communists.
Many people claim that Beck is sully an entertainer and I sum what agree. If that is the case I think that it is important to echo Murrow’s words, “television, in the main, is being used to distract, delude, amuse and insulate us.” We must not let the television be our only source of information. If one were to only listen to Beck’s program and use him as there only source then it would be a major distraction that insulates us. It would be so easy for people to be brain washed into believing that words coming from the television are doctrine. I believe that it is important to stay open and keep your source of information big. I agree with Murrow’s words that we need to “get up off our fat surpluses,” and be more educated. I’m thankful for the television. No Television, then no way to share our opinions and believes. We would be closed to the limited knowledge that is only physically in front of us.
It is apparent that the times have changed since Murrow’s show. His prophetic speech has somewhat come true. He had power to open people’s minds as doses present day broadcasters, such as Glenn Beck, but their styles are very different.



1. Eric Deggans, Glenn Beck Fans say he Represents their American Values by Eric Deggans, St. Petersburg Times, September 11, 2009
2. Glenn Beck no Stranger to Conspiracy Theories or Incendiary Rhetoric by Media Matters for America