“Good Night and Good Luck,”
Brought to us from the stage,
Allowed viewers from home
To with theater engage.
Based on Edward R. Murrow
Who, for CBS News,
Got to challenge McCarthy,
It got rave reviews.
Though George Clooney was brilliant,
As was the whole cast,
What most got me was watching
A glimpse of the past…
When the bad guy was finally
Brought to his knees
After hurting so many
To varied degrees.
It’s a relevant topic
In light of the way
That democracy is
Being threatened today.
The unfortunate truth is,
At least what I see,
That to topple this bad guy,
There’s no guarantee.
“The times are a’changin”
Can’t really apply –
That train’s left the station,
No matter the why.
So I am afraid
We can never go back,
For the truth will be constantly
Under attack.
Categories:
murrow, america, appreciation, political,
Form: Rhyme
Anchors without rancour are rare today.
They don’t just report rumors, they dissect some.
Men like Brinkley and Huntley, anchors aweigh,
anchors without rancour.
They steer clear of party-lines with no humdrum.
No newshawk floored CBS such a long stay
as Walter Cronkite whose candor ranks as plumb.
War correspondents, like Murrow kept at bay
and cleared away critics like so much pond scum.
Mark Levin at FOX deals much in the same way -
anchors without rancour.
Categories:
murrow, 11th grade, integrity, leadership,
Form: Roundel
To those who soak up the slanted slop from Fox
Isn’t it time you switched off your black box,
Or, changed to a channel espousing the facts--
All the things your "balanced TV News” surely lacks
I challenge you to listen to Maddow for a week
You’ll get some valuable information you seek,
Not slanted, but grounded in solid research
Straight from a foundation grounded in truth.
[Fox’s martini has entirely too much vermouth!]
Me, I prefer the Evening News with Lester Holt
Giving me a look at what happened today,
Letting me make up my mind on what I think
Not a bunch of talking heads leading me to drink.
CNN I don’t watch so much, I’m delighted to say
I like my evening news cut-and-dried every day,
I don’t particular like their “expert’s” opinions
I am perfectly competent to decide what I think.
How I long for the days of Huntley and Brinkley,
Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, and their kind
Who knew I can intelligently make up my mind.
written December 4, 2021
Categories:
murrow, perspective,
Form: Rhyme
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
don't teach me how to think
when all I want to know
is how to live
a self-crowned sparrow perches up on high
a song he sings slowly swirls the storms
as if life itself weren't already wrong
like him, extols are the only norm
fly now where the cliffs are bare
where sullen is your sacred air
for beats of the heart dare move
under undue distress
fly away now where the nest is neat
and fledglings fall upon your feats
rise me with a ruse of wit
where simple doesn't merely fit
with trills of tripe and finer grit
something fresh and neatly writ
I don't need your force fed fodder
I need to live or why even bother
Categories:
murrow, life,
Form: Free verse
People’s lives were ruined
When McCarthy hollered “Red!”
Fanning flames as paranoia
Reared its ugly head.
Blacklists made the circuit
Keeping many out of work.
Neighbors spied on neighbors
Seeking where’d the commies lurk.
Finally, a prudent voice
Spoke out against this fool,
When Edward Murrow told the public
Reason had to rule.
I’m too young to remember
But I’m honoring that speech
When Murrow rallied all the world
To fight McCarthy’s breach.
Categories:
murrow, history,
Form: Rhyme