Television’s visual medium made McCarthy look monstrous compared to Murrow’s calm presence

Evidence

See It Now became deservedly famous in the history of journalism for a series of episodes broadcast in 1954, wherein Murrow decided to challenge American senator Joseph McCarthy’s Red Scare—his ceaseless investigations of alleged communists in the U.S. government and other institutions. It was widely and correctly taken as an act of bravery, for McCarthy was vindictive and indeed would try to destroy CBS. But Murrow succeeded in exposing him as a witch-hunter and a bully, and this was partly owing to the power of the medium: the same screen that made Murrow appear serene and dependable made McCarthy, with his strange and craven mannerisms, look like a monster. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 445

Categorization

• CANDY: The observation that the same screen that flattered Murrow made McCarthy look like a monster is a crisp, memorable television-history fact for cocktail conversations about media power.
• XREF: connects to: Islamophobic warriors function like McCarthy as useful tools of empire; New Criticism’s rise and fall tracked McCarthy-era anti-communism

Broader Connections

• Islamophobic warriors function like McCarthy as useful tools of empire #complicates (0.80)