Irony, argument, and reportage in television documentary: See it now versus senator McCarthy

Abstract

Edward R. Murrow's documentary series See It Now's “Report on Senator McCarthy” is a telecast that stands as one of the most influential documents in American public discourse. It is also one of the least understood. The standard response has been to label the program as “flawed” because it was not “objective.” This essay argues that the text situates itself between the genre of objective news documentary and the genre of public argument through the ironic “use” of objectivity as a fabricated strategy of appeal.