mild statement by Eisenhower shifted sympathy away from his cause and his
methods. It also led to a television network stand against him, supported by
many forms of media. This television stand, together with the “See it now”
documentary, and the nationally televised Army-McCarthy trials put an end to a
disgraceful time period of media history. It was with these actions that the
media and the generations of people that followed learned about the awesome
power of the press, especially the newfound television medium.
The primary function of newspapers, television and any other source of
media is to tell people what’s happening. It is not the responsibility of the
media to determine what the public should or shouldn’t know, or to be concerned
about the effects the truth might cause. Its duty is to report on the facts,
and to be sure of the information that they are reporting.
McCarthyism is something that should never have left Wheeling West
Virginia. Edward Murrow summed it up best in his famous television review of
McCarthy’s career; “Cassius was right: ?The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our
stars but in ourselves.’” (Rovere, 1959, p.265)
Bayley, Edwin R.(1981)Joe McCarthy and the Press. Wisconsin: The University of
Wisconsin Press.
Belfrage, Cedric.(1973)The American Inquisition 1945-1965: A
Profile of the McCarthy Era. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press.
Ewald, William Bragg.(1984)Who Killed Joe McCarthy?. New York: Simon and
Schuster.
Manchester, William.(1976) “A Slight Case of McCarthyism.” Controversy and other
Essays in Journalism. Boston-Toronto: Little, Brown and Company.
Rovere, Richard H.(1959) Senator Joe McCarthy. New York: Harcourt, Brace and
Company.
The 1996 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. Danbury: Grolier 1996.