Exposing Joe McCarthy

 Senator Joe McCarthy is one of the strongest pro-American figures in the history of the United States. He indeed was the creator if McCarthyism, a witch-hunt and anti-communist hysteria. "McCarthyism was a reckless political gamble to convince voters that the Democratic Party had presided over the country through two decades of not unfortunate accidents or errors--but treason" Streitmatter 157. 

The media was known for McCarthy's uprising. His ability to manipulate the press was astounding. "In his book Joe McCarthy and the Press, Edwin R. Bayley concluded that McCarthy, "was able to generate massive publicity because he understood the press, its practices,  and its values; he knew what made news" Streitmatter 162. He manipulated newspapers into printing dozens of lies. His sneaky ways and intelligence, lead him to know the exact time of when to make a claim. This way no one would be able to track it down and catch him.  

However, one man was determined to stop his madness, and exploit him to the world. Edward R. Murrow, creator of See It Now on CBS. See it now focused on a number of controversial issues in the 1950's , but mainly criticized McCarthy and the Red Scare. Contributing to the downfall of Senator Joe McCarthy. Murrow used excerpts from McCarthy's speeches to prove where he contradicted himself. "He accused McCarthy of terrorizing innocent people and lying to the American public" Streitmatter 166. This backlash against Joe McCarthy was a major turning point in the history of television.