Murrow Special: Good Business and Good Television

Today’s journalism students respect Murrow’s message: our own reward is in serving our audience.


To those of us studying journalism, Murrow is more than a fi gure in broadcast history; he still lives on in our newsrooms across the country. He is well known for many of his broadcast accomplishments and his nightly tag “Good night, and good luck,” but why is he still relevant today?

Murrow set a high bar for broadcasters. He is our industry’s standard for excellence and a man to whom I look for guidance. I know I am not alone in admiring Murrow because he ensured a respectable career for each of us. Without his dedication to integrity and independence, broadcast journalism would not have its foundation of excellence that we uphold today.

To achieve his greatness is not difficult—it is actually quite simple. We must work for those we serve: our audience. From his very fi rst broadcast, to his final “Good night, and good luck,”Murrow broadcasted with a purpose—one still taught to young journalists. Murrow taught us to be responsible broadcasters. We should not talk for the sake of talking or write for the sake of writing.

Our reputations can be tarnished and our motivations questioned if we are not careful with our work. We should learn from Murrow’s example that broadcasting requires a purpose or it risks becoming powerless. “Responsibility is not something that can be assigned or delegated. And it promises its own reward: good business and good television.”

I heard this quote a few years ago when I started at the Missouri School of Journalism. It is a motivation for me to start now, at the beginning of my career, to be a responsible broadcaster like Murrow. There is only one person to be held accountable for my work and only one person to feel the rewards of my reporting. If I follow Murrow’s legacy and high standard, I can make my own good business and good television.

A great broadcaster doesn’t simply read to his audience, he talks; he doesn’t hear his audience, he listens. Journalism is rooted in its ability to converse with its community—a primary necessity that keeps it relevant. Without our audience, we have no purpose—and this Murrow knew. Our position in society didn’t magically appear when the radio and television were invented; rather, it emerged from industry leaders who worked hard to be welcomed into American households. As a journalist, we have to credit Murrow for our respect and importance in society.

The name “Edward R. Murrow” means a lot to an aspiring journalist. When I learned about his heroic reporting from war-torn London and his reports on an abusive U.S. senator, it made me wonder if I could have done the same. I learned you have to take risks in your career, just like Murrow. If you don’t risk it, you won’t be tempted� to experiment with your reporting and won’t enrich your community. Great journalists are those who use their power to help those in need.

The founding fathers didn’t give us inalienable rights to sit on the sidelines. We must use our large voices to give voice to those who suffer. When Murrow saw abuse of power and unfair practices, he gave voice to the victims. When I report, I try to find the knowledgeable voices who are too shy to speak or the voices wanting to speak, but are intimidated. Murrow’s legacy is based on his determined effort to help others. When a broadcaster is awarded an Edward R. Murrow Award from RTNDA, it doesn’t merely refl ect excellence in broadcast journalism. A “Murrow” is awarded to those living up to Murrow’s exceptional career.

There are so many aspects of his career that are inspiring to young journalists, we can each take a different part of his legacy and motivate ourselves. There are millions of journalists who have been inspired by his works and millions more to be inspired. Although I may never be as legendary or well-known as Murrow, I can certainly be as important to the profession of journalism. Every young journalist should spend time getting to know Murrow. Each of is likely to take a part of his life and apply it to our own.

As we commemorate 50 years since Murrow’s famous speech, spend time reflecting on your career and your future to see if you can hold a piece of his legacy. We each hold a stake in the future of broadcasting; we must learn from our past to navigate our future.

—Mark Welshis a 21-Year-old senior from Charlotte, N.C. He studies radio and TV journalism and political science at the University of Missouri and aspires to report on national and international politics.

Originally published in the March 2008 issue of Communicator. All rights reserved.

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