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Edward R. Murrow Trivia Quiz

For some, Edward R. Murrow is THE standard by which all broadcast journalists are measured.

A multiple-choice quiz by dcandler. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
dcandler

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
314,635

Updated
Jul 23 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
350

Awards
Top 20% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Edward R. Murrow worked for one U.S. network for 25 years. Which network was that?

Hint: Same network as Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather. Hint

CBC

ABC

CBS

NBC

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Question 2 of 10

2. Edward R. Murrow was born in Polecat Creek, South Carolina, but he grew up in Washington state. His first job was one that probably would have been typical for any strong young man in Washington at that time. What was it? Hint

delivering newpapers

lumberjack

swimming pool lifeguard

waiter

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Question 3 of 10

3. How did Edward R. Murrow first become well known to U.S. audiences? Hint

Radio reports during World War II

Interviewing President Roosevelt.

Hosting a quiz show

Investigating the Mafia

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Question 4 of 10

4. How did Edward R. Murrow feel about the advent of television? Hint

Television was inconsequential and demeaning

Television would change the world

Television was the greatest thing since sliced bread

Television was only for rich people

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Question 5 of 10

5. In November 1951, Edward R. Murrow's most famous series debuted. What was it called? Hint

The Murrow Report

The Evening News

Adventure

See It Now

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Question 6 of 10

6. In 1954, Edward R. Murrow's program aired its most famous broadcast. What man's actions and methods did Murrow attack during that broadcast? Hint

Joseph McCarthy

William Paley

Dwight Eisenhower

Nikita Kruschev

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Question 7 of 10

7. There was a movie out in 2005 about one particular aspect of Edward R. Murrow's career. The title of the movie was Murrow's sign off line. What was that? Hint

Good Night and Good News

Good Night and Good Luck

And That's the Way It Is

That's the Way I See It

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Question 8 of 10

8. The closing line of Edward R. Murrow's famous McCarthy broadcast of March 1954 was "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars/ But in ourselves." Who was Murrow quoting? Hint

Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Plutarch

Suetonius

William Shakespeare

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Question 9 of 10

9. Edward R. Murrow had an interview program that appeared from 1953 to 1959. What was that program called? Hint

Lives of the Rich and Famous

Person to Person

Talking Heads

Meet the Nation

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Question 10 of 10

10. Edward R. Murrow died on April 27, 1965 at age 57. From what did he die? Hint

Killed in a plane crash.

Cirrhosis of the liver

Killed by a land mine while reporting from Vietnam

Lung cancer

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Edward R. Murrow worked for one U.S. network for 25 years. Which network was that? Hint: Same network as Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather.

Answer: CBS

Murrow was hired in 1935. He was only 27 but claimed he was 32. Within two years, he was dispatched to London as their correspondent.

Answer: lumberjack

His family homesteaded just 30 miles from the Canadian border in Skagit County.

3. How did Edward R. Murrow first become well known to U.S. audiences?

Answer: Radio reports during World War II

Murrow provided live radio broadcasts during the height of the London blitz. He usually started his broadcast with "This is London." He assembled a staff of reporters that covered the war. They were known as Murrow's boys (although one was a woman).

The group included Mary Marvin Breckinridge, Cecil Brown, Winston Burdett, Charles Collingwood, William Downs, Thomas Grandin, Richard C. Hottelet, Larry LeSueur, Eric Sevareid, William L. Shirer, and Howard K. Smith.

4. How did Edward R. Murrow feel about the advent of television?

Answer: Television was inconsequential and demeaning

The president of CBS at the time, Frank Stanton, had to beg Murrow and Eric Sevareid to go on camera at the 1948 Republican convention.

5. In November 1951, Edward R. Murrow's most famous series debuted. What was it called?

Answer: See It Now

The program had started on radio as "Hear It Now." Murrow began the broadcast by saying, "This is an old team trying to learn a new trade." Don Hewitt directed the premier episode. He went on to eventually create "60 Minutes."

6. In 1954, Edward R. Murrow's program aired its most famous broadcast. What man's actions and methods did Murrow attack during that broadcast?

Answer: Joseph McCarthy

McCarthy was a US senator who spearheaded communist "witch hunts" during the early 1950s. Some right wingers referred to the network as the "Red Network" or the "Communist Broadcasting System." Some people felt that Murrow waited too long to attack McCarthy.

The entire episode was devoted to the senator and relied mainly on film footage of his speeches. They made him appear to be a sneering bully.

7. There was a movie out in 2005 about one particular aspect of Edward R. Murrow's career. The title of the movie was Murrow's sign off line. What was that?

Answer: Good Night and Good Luck

Murrow started using the line during the Battle of Britain. Londoners generally said the same thing to each other because they didn't know if they would see each other again. Then Princess Elizabeth used a similar line "good night, and good luck to you all." To close out a radio broadcast.

The movie was all about the McCarthy broadcast of "See It Now" in March 1954.The episode title was "A Report on Senator Joseph R. McCarthy".

8. The closing line of Edward R. Murrow's famous McCarthy broadcast of March 1954 was "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars/ But in ourselves." Who was Murrow quoting?

Answer: William Shakespeare

From Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar" I, ii, 140-141. The broadcast finshed with these words:
The actions of the junior Senator from Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay amongst our allies abroad, and given considerable comfort to our enemies. And whose fault is that? Not really his. He didn't create this situation of fear; he merely exploited it -- and rather successfully. Cassius was right. "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves."

9. Edward R. Murrow had an interview program that appeared from 1953 to 1959. What was that program called?

Answer: Person to Person

Murrow chatted with a wide array of celebrities. Murrow seemed to visit in their homes by way of a split screen. Guests included such people as Harry Truman, Marilyn Monroe, and John Steinbeck.

10. Edward R. Murrow died on April 27, 1965 at age 57. From what did he die?

Answer: Lung cancer

Murrow always seemed to have a cigarette. In 1955 he did two programs probing a link between smoking and cancer. At that time he said "Smoking is a habit to which I am addicted. Since I've been in this business, I have smoked 60 to 70 cigarettes a day. I doubt very much that I could spend a half hour without a cigarette with any comfort or ease,"

Source: Author dcandler

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