Edward R. Murrow quotes

Edward R. Murrow was an influential American broadcast journalist, renowned for his integrity and courageous reporting during World War II and the early years of television news. His work set new standards for ethical journalism and shaped the future of news broadcasting. He became a household name and a symbol for honest and principled journalism. Here are 78 of his quotes:

Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences. No one can eliminate prejudices - just recognize them.

Edward R. Murrow

The speed of communications is wondrous to behold. It is also true that speed can multiply the distribution of information that we know to be untrue.

Edward R. Murrow

No one can terrorize a whole nation, unless we are all his accomplices.

Edward R. Murrow

The obscure we see eventually. The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer.

Edward R. Murrow

Good night, and good luck.

Edward R. Murrow

If we were to do the Second Coming of Christ in color for a full hour, there would be a considerable number of stations which would decline to carry it on the grounds that a Western or a quiz show would be more profitable.

Edward R. Murrow

The politician in my country seeks votes, affection and respect, in that order. With few notable exceptions, they are simply men who want to be loved.

Edward R. Murrow

Most truths are so naked that people feel sorry for them and cover them up, at least a little bit.

Edward R. Murrow

Difficulty is the excuse history never accepts.

Edward R. Murrow

Just once in a while let us exalt the importance of ideas and information.

Edward R. Murrow

The newest computer can merely compound, at speed, the oldest problem in the relations between human beings, and in the end the communicator will be confronted with the old problem, of what to say and how to say it.

Edward R. Murrow

A satellite has no conscience.

Edward R. Murrow

To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful.

Edward R. Murrow

Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar.

Edward R. Murrow

When the politicians complain that TV turns the proceedings into a circus, it should be made clear that the circus was already there, and that TV has merely demonstrated that not all the performers are well trained.

Edward R. Murrow

Our major obligation is not to mistake slogans for solutions.

Edward R. Murrow

We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.

Edward R. Murrow

There is a mental fear, which provokes others of us to see the images of witches in a neighbor's yard and stampedes us to burn down this house. And there is a creeping fear of doubt, doubt of what we have been taught, of the validity of so many things we had long since taken for granted to be durable and unchanging. It has become more difficult than ever to distinguish black from white, good from evil, right from wrong.

Edward R. Murrow

American traditions and the American ethic require us to be truthful, but the most important reason is that truth is the best propaganda and lies are the worst. To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful. It is as simple as that.

Edward R. Murrow

We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it.

Edward R. Murrow

If none of us ever read a book that was "dangerous," had a friend who was "different," or joined an organization that advocated "change," we would all be the kind of people Joe McCarthy wants.

Edward R. Murrow

All I can hope to teach my son is to tell the truth and fear no man.

Edward R. Murrow