See It Now

Warning: blatant hype. If you live in a city blessed by the corporate gods, go see the film about Ed Murrow, “Good Night, and Good Luck” tonight to boost its box office on the only night that counts to the Hollywood bean counters. That way they won’t kill the promotional campaign, and more people will see the film in the next few weeks. If you wonder why people say his name as if he walked on water, try listening to this recording of Murrow as he told the world about what he saw at Buchenwald on April 15, 1945. He knew he was reporting to an American audience that included many people that had spent 10 long years denying that Buchenwald and places like it existed. It’s ancient; it sounds unfamiliar and strange to modern ears now; this is a lost, obsolete practice that was called broadcast journalism.