If Edward R. Murrow and Fred Friendly sat down to watch the evening news in 2007, they would probably be very sorry to see what has become of their lead as newscasters. Except for a scanty few news magazines, such as "60 Minutes" developed by "See It Now" alumni Don Hewitt, and political talk shows as "Bill Moyers" and "Face the Nation," most of the TV news consists of sound bites, canned formats with bantering newscasters and rehashes of the same information ad nausea. In fact, the news often sounds like a soap opera, where people tune in to find out the next saga in someone's life (or death).
             Many (most?) of today's TV viewers want to be entertained. Just look at all the reality shows that have become so popular. Instead, Murrow thoroughly covered a topic. This provided the viewers with a strong foundation on the subject. His viewpoint may have differed from some of the people watching the show, but he had the conviction to say what he believed. This raises another concern with today's news. The news media are now under greater constraints. For example, they do not have the ability to film the war in Iraq, as the Vietnam War was filmed. They do not have access to visualize imprisoned foreign nationals. He took responsibility for making sure that the public were shown what was happening in their country or by their country. No one can eliminate prejudices - just recognize them," Murrow said. (Ironically, today more of this recognition of prejudices comes from the comedians, such as Jon Stewart).
             Murrow would run through the different headlines for the day and then talk with the various reporters in the United States and overseas. These were professionally trained journalists, not men who just read the words put up in front of them. Then Murrow would do his closing essay and comment on some vital issue, continually being purposely controversial, so that the audience wou...