Due to Circumstances Beyond Our Control . . .

Book excerpt: This discourse on the importance of television in society presents Friendly's uncannily prescient views on the corrosive effect of money on the news business, the sensationalization of news reporting, and the viewing public's appetite for quality broadcasting. With Edward R. Murrow, Fred Friendly practically invented television journalism. Through telling anecdotes and penetrating analysis, he recalls his collaborations with Murrow, from their stinging documentary on Senator Joseph McCarthy to CBS's pioneering coverage of the burgeoning civil rights and anti-Vietnam War movements. Friendly also recounts his resignation as president of CBS News in 1966, when the network ran reruns of I Love Lucy instead of Senate hearings on the war in Vietnam. Following that controversial decision, he began writing this memorable book.