A taping of the Newseum program Inside Media took a look at the legacy of Edward R. Murrow who died 43 years ago today and who would have turned 100 last Friday.
TVNewser attended a live taping of Inside Media Saturday afternoon. The Newseum program was a tribute to Edward R. Murrow commemorating what would have been his 100th birthday.
Former CBS and NBC News correspondent Marvin Kalb, and Bob Edwards, host of “The Bob Edwards Show” on XM participated in the panel which was moderated by Frank Bond.
The half hour program touched on Murrow’s greatest moments as a reporter first on the radio, then on CBS TV. From the London blitz to his See it Now program exposing Sen. Joseph McCarthy, Kalb, who was the last reporter hired by Murrow, called him “the gold standard.” Explaining how he grew up in the lumber camps of Washington state, Edwards added, “He was driven to be somebody.”
In discussing Murrow’s legacy and the current state of journalism, an audience member asked where people should look today for integrity in reporting. “It is absolutely possible today for people to get information that is important to them,” Kalb said, “but it takes work,” he added. “People go to their own comfort zone, whether it is NPR or Fox,” said Edwards.
Another in the audience of about 140 asked “Who is today’s Murrow?” Edwards offered, “The closest one is Bill Moyers,” which drew applause from the audience. In disagreement, Kalb said Ted Koppel is the closest citing the old Nightline model of news and hard-hitting interviews, “but Ted isn’t doing that anymore,” Kalb said.
Bob Edwards signed copies of his book “Edward R. Murrow: And the Birth of Broadcast Journalism” after the Murrow discussion at the Newseum Saturday.