Edward R. Murrow Quotes

Difficulty is the excuse history never accepts.

~ Edward R. Murrow

We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.

~ Edward R. Murrow

A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.

~ Edward R. Murrow

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

~ Edward R. Murrow

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

~ 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

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

The right of dissent, or, if you prefer, the right to be wrong, is surely fundamental to the existence of a democratic society. That’s the right that went first in every nation that stumbled down the trail toward totalitarianism.

~ Edward R. Murrow

Our major obligation is not to mistake slogans for solutions.

~ Edward R. Murrow

We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information. Our mass media reflect this. But unless we get up off our fat surpluses and recognize that television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse, and insulate us, then television and those who finance it, those who look at it, and those who work at it, may see a totally different picture too late.

~ 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

We are in the same tent as the clowns and the freaks-that's show business.

~ Edward R. Murrow

People say conversation is a lost art, how often I have wished it were.

~ Edward R. Murrow

We will not be driven by fear ... if we remember that we are not descended from fearful men.

~ Edward R. Murrow

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

~ 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

Good night, and good luck.

~ Edward R. Murrow

We cannot make good news out of bad practice.

~ Edward R. Murrow

A satellite has no conscience.

~ Edward R. Murrow