From Murrow’s 1958 Warning to Trump-Era Media Pressure, Here’s How Journalism Got Here
In my very first article published in this paper, I wrote about Edward R. Murrow and his contributions to journalism and CBS in the 1940s and ’50s.
In 1958, Murrow warned members of the Radio Television News Directors Association about the dangers of letting corporate and political interests interfere with journalism. He urged journalists to ‘illuminate rather than agitate.’ If not, he warned, TV would become nothing more than “wires and lights in a box.”
CBS Bows to Trump, Cancels Colbert, and Ignores Murrow
CBS—the network Murrow helped build—agreed to pay the $16 million settlement with the Trump administration about the way 60 Minutes edited an interview with then-VP Kamala Harris. Colbert joked about it calling it “a big fat bribe”—because Paramount needed FCC (Ran under Trump admin.) approval for the Skydance deal —on The Late Show on Monday. By Thursday, the show was canceled.
The Trump Effect
Ever since Trump entered office in 2016—and now again in 2024—life as Americans knew it has changed. We’re a completely different society. The way we consume media, and the mediums through which we receive it, has changed—not just from the new tech, but also the political manipulation.
Trump has made it a point to undermine the press anytime they don’t meet his ‘standards of reporting,’ calling them “disgraceful,” “false,” “fake news,” and “very dishonest people.”
Now in his second term, the attacks have evolved—blocking press access to the Oval Office, defunding NPR and PBS, suing any media outlet he feels crosses the line. He’s suing The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch for $10B over the Epstein birthday article. CBS paid up $16M to continue their merger deal. ABC handed over $15M to his library. The Washington Post—whose motto is “Democracy Dies in Darkness”— now owned by Jeff Bezos even backed off.
Trump is pressuring and intimidating these corporations by hitting them with massive lawsuits, forcing compliance through legal and financial exhaustion.
It also doesn’t help when Trump ‘truthed’ on Friday: “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next…”
A Manufactured Collapse
Most Americans either ignore the news or get it from TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or X—platforms filled with influencers who aren’t held to journalistic standards. The right has capitalized on the decline of legacy media, building a thriving right-wing media ecosystem pushing populist, conservative content—especially since the top platforms are owned by people like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
This Hits Different For The Black Press
As I write for a Black traditional newspaper, this hits different. Political discourse always affects minorities the most. Thats why the Black press exists. We were not only excluded from reading but also attacked by the white media, so we built our own. Free from the political games they play so we publish as we please, with integrity and truth.
Check Your News Outlets
With streaming and social media rising, and big media swaying with the wind, the three-source rule matters more than ever. Who’s behind the news you’re reading? Are they reporting anything critical about Trump—or just playing it safe?
The media is essential for healthy society because they inform the public, hold power accountable, and facilitate informed decision-making. Once that buffer between the truth, facts, and falsehoods, becomes dull the public is left with “wires and lights in a box”.
It’s exactly the kind of compromise Murrow warned about.
Until then, again in Murrow’s words, “Good night and good luck.”
