Good Night, and Good Luck

E.R. Murrow's first report as director of CBS Europe, written with a colleague, was a radio broadcast on Austria's annexation to the German Reich. In 1951, his television programme See It Now began airing, becoming an important counterpart to the controversial activities of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Not least, the successful quiz shows of the time (see Robert Redford's Quiz Show) pushed this legendary programme out of prime time. Much of George Clooney's superbly photographed film shows parallels to inquisitorial tendencies in today's democracies and the importance of the media as a necessary fourth estate. In a speech in 1958, Murrow stated: ‘We are currently wealthy, fat, comfortable and complacent. We have a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information.’ (G.S.)