Video: 'See It Now (CBS) - 1954-03-09'

(Tuesday, March 9, 1954, 10:30 p.m. EST; during the Second Red Scare) — CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow critically reviewed Wisconsin Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy’s anti-communism campaign on tonight’s edition of See It Now.

Titled “A Report on Senator Joseph R. McCarthy,” it used footage of McCarthy speeches to portray him as dishonest, reckless, and abusive toward witnesses and prominent Americans. In his concluding comment, Murrow said:

“We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men.”

Video: '45 85 Part 3' (Mar. 9, 1954, at 7:20)

“The actions of the junior Senator from Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay amongst our allies abroad, and given considerable comfort to our enemies,” said Murrow.

“And whose fault is that? Not really his. He didn’t create this situation of fear; he merely exploited it — and rather successfully. Cassius was right. ‘The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.'”

This broadcast has been cited as a key episode in bringing about the end of McCarthyism.