WIST Quotations

Murrow, Edward R. -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

If we were to do the Second Coming of Christ in color for a full hour, there would be a considerable number of stations that would decline to carry it on the grounds that a Western or a quiz show would be more profitable.

Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965) American journalist
(Attributed)

Murrow, Edward R. -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

To be persuasive, we must be believable. To be believable, we must be credible. To be credible, we must be truthful.

Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965) American journalist
(Attributed)

Murrow, Edward R. -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Difficulty is the excuse history never accepts.

Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965) American journalist
(Attributed)

Sourced in different places to either (a) comments made on John Kennedy's inaugural address, or (b) his address at the London Guildhall, Oct 1959.

Murrow, Edward R. -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

When politicians complain that TV turns the proceedings into a circus, it should be made clear that the circus was already there, and that TV has merely demonstrated that not all the performers are well trained.

Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965) American journalist
(Attributed)

Murrow, Edward R. -- See It Now (7 Mar 1954)

Dave — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:00:58 +0000

No one man can terrorize a whole nation, unless we are all his accomplices.

Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965) American journalist
See It Now (7 Mar 1954)
(Source)

Comment to the production team before the episode on Senator Joseph R McCarthy’s Communist witch hunt.

Murrow, Edward R. -- See It Now (7 Mar 1954)

Dave — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:27:30 +0000

If none of us ever read a book that was “dangerous,” had a friend who was “different” or joined an organization that advocated “change,” we would all be just the kind of people Joe McCarthy wants. Whose fault is that? Not really [McCarthy’s]. He didn’t create this situation of fear. He merely exploited it, and rather successfully.

Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965) American journalist
See It Now (7 Mar 1954)

On McCarthy’s accusations about Communists in the government.

Murrow, Edward R. -- Address at London Guildhall (19 Oct 1959)

Dave — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:42:24 +0000

The politician in my country seeks votes, affection and respect, in that order…. With few notable exceptions, they are simply men who want to be loved.

Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965) American journalist
Address at London Guildhall (19 Oct 1959)

Murrow, Edward R. -- Address, London Guildhall (19 Oct 1959)

Dave — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 20:03:39 +0000

The politician in my country seeks votes, affection and respect, in that order …. With few notable exceptions, they are simply men who want to be loved.

Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965) American journalist
Address, London Guildhall (19 Oct 1959)

Murrow, Edward R. -- Commentary (1954-03-09), “A Report on Senator Joseph R. McCarthy,” See It Now, CBS TV

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty.

Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965) American journalist
Commentary (1954-03-09), “A Report on Senator Joseph R. McCarthy,” See It Now, CBS TV
(Source)

(Source (Video)). Episode dealing with Sen. Joe McCarthy's witch hunt of Communists in the US.

Murrow, Edward R. -- Interview, Television Magazine (Jul 1957)

Dave — Fri, 11 Aug 2017 23:45:50 +0000

If television and radio are to be used to entertain all of the people all of the time, then we have come perilously close to discovering the real opiate of the people.

Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965) American journalist
Interview, Television Magazine (Jul 1957)
(Source)

Also cited in various places as being a speech given at Brandeis University (1958), and (incorrectly) upon receiving the Einstein Award (5 May 1957). Sometimes quoted as "used for the entertainment of the people" and "used for the entertainment of all of the people."

Murrow, Edward R. -- Radio broadcast to United States, London (1 Sep 1939)

Dave — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:03:32 +0000

I have an old-fashioned belief that Americans like to make up their own minds on the basis of all available information. The conclusions you draw are your own affair. I have no desire to influence them, and shall leave such efforts to those who have more confidence in their own judgment than I have in mine.

Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965) American journalist
Radio broadcast to United States, London (1 Sep 1939)

Murrow, Edward R. -- Speech, Radio and Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), Chicago (15 Oct 1958)

Dave — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:15:23 +0000

It is not necessary to remind you that the fact that your voice is amplified to the degree where it reaches from one end of the country to the other does not confer upon you greater wisdom or understanding than you possessed when your voice reached only from one end of the bar to the other.

Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965) American journalist
Speech, Radio and Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), Chicago (15 Oct 1958)

Full speech. Often quoted: "Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar."

Murrow, Edward R. -- Speech, Radio and Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), Chicago (15 Oct 1958)

Dave — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 14:04:40 +0000

If radio news is to be regarded as a commodity, only acceptable when saleable, then I don’t care what you call it — I say it isn’t news.

Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965) American journalist
Speech, Radio and Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), Chicago (15 Oct 1958)

Full speech.

Murrow, Edward R. -- Speech, Radio and Television News Directors Association, Chicago (15 Oct 1958)

Dave — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 21:31:09 +0000

This instrument can teach. It can illuminate. Yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise, it is merely wires and lights in a box.

Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965) American journalist
Speech, Radio and Television News Directors Association, Chicago (15 Oct 1958)

Murrow, Edward R. -- Speech, The Family of Man Award, The Protestant Council of New York (Oct 1964)

Dave — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 10:52:12 +0000

The speed of communications is wondrous to behold. It is also true that speed can multiply the distribution of information that we know to be untrue. The most sophisticated satellite has no conscience. The newest computer can merely compound, at speed, the oldest problem in the relations between human beings and in the end the communicator will be confronted with the old problem of what to say and how to say it.

Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965) American journalist
Speech, The Family of Man Award, The Protestant Council of New York (Oct 1964)
(Source)

His last public speech. Reprinted in Alexander Kendrick, Prime Time: The Life of Edward R. Murrow (1969).