Harnessing "New" Media for Quality Reporting

By David Pitts

If Edward Murrow were alive today, how would he harness the Internet to produce groundbreaking quality journalism? We cannot answer that question, but we can look to how Murrow revolutionized the new media of his time: first radio, and then television.

When Murrow joined CBS in 1935, network radio news did not exist aside from wire reports read by a studio announcer and occasional event coverage. But by the end of the decade, Murrow had assembled a team of correspondents who used radio as it had never been used before to bring the dramatic events leading to war in Europe into American homes. In the words of former CBS anchor Dan Rather, Murrow and the top-notch talent he hired — known as "Murrow's boys" — "invented broadcast journalism."

The catalyst that created CBS Radio News was the Anschluss, Hitler's annexation of Austria in 1938, according to the Museum of Broadcast Communications. Murrow — along with William Shirer — spearheaded the "European News Roundup" (later "World News Roundup"), a broadcast featuring CBS correspondents from all over the continent. Their reports were delivered live to the audience back home via short wave.

"It not only had multiple points of origin, it also had included both reporting and analysis of breaking news, and was both a journalistic and a technological breakthrough for broadcasting," according to Bob Edwards, author of a book on Murrow. When World War II erupted in Europe in 1939, Murrow provided live radio coverage from England of the London Blitz. His sign-on, "This is London," became legendary.

In the early 1950s, Murrow moved to television, then emerging as the dominant medium. Rather than concentrating on general news coverage, however, Murrow pioneered television documentaries. The programs he anchored are still remembered today for their innovation and quality and are prominently cited in the histories of U.S. broadcast journalism. They were:

"See It Now" (1951-57). The first television news magazine. It set the standard for tackling controversial topics in depth. Most famous for the McCarthyism program, the series also dealt with other tough issues of the time, such as racial segregation and the link between lung cancer and cigarettes. The premier broadcast featured the first, live simultaneous transmission from the East and West coasts of the United States.

"Person To Person" (1953-61). In this series, Murrow — in the studio — visited celebrities and newsmakers in their own homes through a remote hookup. The program featured guests as varied as movie star Marilyn Monroe, former President Harry Truman, and author John Steinbeck. This was the first time that technology was regularly used in this way and it captivated viewers.

"Small World" (1958-59). This program was truly ahead of its time: a global hookup bringing together thinkers and newsmakers from around the world in an unrehearsed discussion moderated by Murrow. It was produced through transoceanic phone conversations matched to simultaneous filming.

"CBS Reports" (1960-1971 and irregularly). Murrow pioneered the hard-hitting, single-subject, one-hour documentary that became a staple of early network television. One of his broadcasts about the plight of migrant farm workers — "Harvest of Shame" — still is shown today in journalism schools as a brilliant example of investigative work on TV.

As these examples indicate, Murrow was an innovator, but he also knew he was working in a commercial medium that required a large audience. He was always searching for new techniques to grab and hold the public's attention. Murrow would have regarded the narrowcasting of today made possible by cable, satellite, the Internet, and portable devices as an immense opportunity.

Murrow's legacy as a media innovator does not fully explain his unique status in American broadcast journalism. Most experts stress three other qualities that still matter in media, whether old or new, print, broadcast, or narrowcast — or even a blog: his willingness to take a stand so long as it was grounded in solid reporting; his unswerving belief in a free press dedicated to serious journalism; and his belief that words matter whether or not they are accompanied by pictures.

David Pitts is a journalist who has written for major U.S. newspapers, including the Washington Post and the Christian Science Monitor. He also worked in radio news.

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