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‘If you fall silent, the country is doomed': CBS News' Scott Pelley stresses courage as network faces pressure campaign

Yahoo

32 minutes ago

Yahoo

‘If you fall silent, the country is doomed': CBS News' Scott Pelley stresses courage as network faces pressure campaign

A climate of fear is perceptible in the United States today, and it must be resisted no matter what, CBS News correspondent Scott Pelley says. 'People are silencing themselves for fear that the government will retaliate against them, and that's not the America that we all love,' Pelley told Anderson Cooper in an exclusive interview after CNN's Saturday telecast of 'Good Night, and Good Luck.' The Broadway play, which recounts CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow's unflinching 1954 broadcasts about Sen. Joseph McCarthy's Cold War witch hunts, has stirred comparisons between McCarthyism and Trumpism, and between the CBS network then and now. Fear and courage 'are the two themes that run through both of these moments in American history,' Pelley told CNN's Cooper. 'The most important thing is to have the courage to speak, to not let fear permeate the country so that everyone suddenly becomes silent,' the former 'CBS Evening News' anchor added. 'If you have the courage to speak, we are saved. If you fall silent, the country is doomed.' Cooper asked Pelley, a nearly 40-year veteran of CBS: 'Do you still believe in journalism? Do you still believe in the role of journalists?' 'It is the only thing that's gonna save the country,' Pelley responded. 'You cannot have democracy without journalism. It can't be done.' Cooper, who also works alongside Pelley as a correspondent on '60 Minutes,' anchored a discussion about the state of journalism after the Broadway telecast Saturday night. One inescapable topic was President Donald Trump's pressure campaign against CBS News. Trump filed a legally dubious lawsuit against CBS over a '60 Minutes' interview with Kamala Harris last fall. CBS News journalists and executives have sought to fight the suit and its allegations of 'election interference.' But lawyers at CBS parent Paramount Global have been trying to strike a settlement with Trump, perhaps believing that such a deal will help secure the Trump administration's approval of Paramount's pending deal to merge with Skydance Media. The settlement could look like a payoff in exchange for government approval and would spark an outcry from CBS News journalists. At '60 Minutes,' 'everyone thinks this lawsuit is an act of extortion, everyone,' a network correspondent recently told CNN. When Cooper asked Pelley what Murrow would think of the state of play at CBS, Pelley said that 'he would probably be waiting to see how this lawsuit from the president works out and how the Paramount Corporation deals.' Murrow, he said, 'would be for fighting,' not settling. A settlement would be 'very damaging to CBS, to Paramount, to the reputation of those companies,' Pelley added. 'I think many of the law firms that made deals with the White House are at this very moment regretting it. That doesn't look like their finest hour.' When asked about the April resignation of '60 Minutes' executive producer Bill Owens, Pelley repeated what he told viewers — that Owens felt that he no longer had 'the independence that honest journalism requires.' At the time, the correspondents talked about leaving with him, but Lesley Stahl recently told The New Yorker that Owens 'explicitly asked us not to resign.' Pelley told Cooper that, on the one hand, 'you really wish the company was behind you 100%, right?' On the other hand, 'my work is getting on the air.' Paramount bosses have not killed any '60 Minutes' segments, even though the newsmagazine has aggressively covered the Trump administration. 'While I would like to have that public backing,' Pelley said, 'maybe the more important thing is the work is still getting on the air.' Pelley caused a stir with a commencement address at Wake Forest University last month. Many conservative media outlets said Pelley ripped Trump, though he never mentioned the president by name. 'Why attack universities? Why attack journalism? Because ignorance works for power,' Pelley said in the speech. 'First, make the truth seekers live in fear. Sue the journalists. For nothing.' Pelley also talked in the speech about the Trump administration's actions against major law firms and warned that people in power 'can rewrite history.' 'With grotesque, false narratives, they can make heroes criminals and criminals heroes,' Pelley said. 'And they can change the definition of the words we use to describe reality. 'Diversity' is now described as 'illegal.' 'Equity' is to be shunned. 'Inclusion' is a dirty word. This is an old playbook, my friends.' In the sit-down with Cooper, Pelley said he thought he was echoing the sentiments of Murrow in the 1950s, 'that freedom of speech is what matters in this country.' 'You can agree with the government. You can disagree with the government. But you have the right to speak no matter what your opinion is. If the government begins to punish our citizens because of what they have to say, then our country's gone terribly wrong.' As for the furor over his commencement speech, Pelley remarked, 'what does it say about our country when there's hysteria about a speech that's about freedom of speech?'

CNN

2 hours ago

CNN

‘If you fall silent, the country is doomed': CBS News' Scott Pelley stresses courage as network faces pressure campaign

A climate of fear is perceptible in the United States today, and it must be resisted no matter what, CBS News correspondent Scott Pelley says. 'People are silencing themselves for fear that the government will retaliate against them, and that's not the America that we all love,' Pelley told Anderson Cooper in an exclusive interview after CNN's Saturday telecast of 'Good Night, and Good Luck.' The Broadway play, which recounts CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow's unflinching 1954 broadcasts about Sen. Joseph McCarthy's Cold War witch hunts, has stirred comparisons between McCarthyism and Trumpism, and between the CBS network then and now. Fear and courage 'are the two themes that run through both of these moments in American history,' Pelley told CNN's Cooper. 'The most important thing is to have the courage to speak, to not let fear permeate the country so that everyone suddenly becomes silent,' the former 'CBS Evening News' anchor added. 'If you have the courage to speak, we are saved. If you fall silent, the country is doomed.' Cooper asked Pelley, a nearly 40-year veteran of CBS: 'Do you still believe in journalism? Do you still believe in the role of journalists?' 'It is the only thing that's gonna save the country,' Pelley responded. 'You cannot have democracy without journalism. It can't be done.' Cooper, who also works alongside Pelley as a correspondent on '60 Minutes,' anchored a discussion about the state of journalism after the Broadway telecast Saturday night. One inescapable topic was President Donald Trump's pressure campaign against CBS News. Trump filed a legally dubious lawsuit against CBS over a '60 Minutes' interview with Kamala Harris last fall. CBS News journalists and executives have sought to fight the suit and its allegations of 'election interference.' But lawyers at CBS parent Paramount Global have been trying to strike a settlement with Trump, perhaps believing that such a deal will help secure the Trump administration's approval of Paramount's pending deal to merge with Skydance Media. The settlement could look like a payoff in exchange for government approval and would spark an outcry from CBS News journalists. At '60 Minutes,' 'everyone thinks this lawsuit is an act of extortion, everyone,' a network correspondent recently told CNN. When Cooper asked Pelley what Murrow would think of the state of play at CBS, Pelley said that 'he would probably be waiting to see how this lawsuit from the president works out and how the Paramount Corporation deals.' Murrow, he said, 'would be for fighting,' not settling. A settlement would be 'very damaging to CBS, to Paramount, to the reputation of those companies,' Pelley added. 'I think many of the law firms that made deals with the White House are at this very moment regretting it. That doesn't look like their finest hour.' When asked about the April resignation of '60 Minutes' executive producer Bill Owens, Pelley repeated what he told viewers — that Owens felt that he no longer had 'the independence that honest journalism requires.' At the time, the correspondents talked about leaving with him, but Lesley Stahl recently told The New Yorker that Owens 'explicitly asked us not to resign.' Pelley told Cooper that, on the one hand, 'you really wish the company was behind you 100%, right?' On the other hand, 'my work is getting on the air.' Paramount bosses have not killed any '60 Minutes' segments, even though the newsmagazine has aggressively covered the Trump administration. 'While I would like to have that public backing,' Pelley said, 'maybe the more important thing is the work is still getting on the air.' Pelley caused a stir with a commencement address at Wake Forest University last month. Many conservative media outlets said Pelley ripped Trump, though he never mentioned the president by name. 'Why attack universities? Why attack journalism? Because ignorance works for power,' Pelley said in the speech. 'First, make the truth seekers live in fear. Sue the journalists. For nothing.' Pelley also talked in the speech about the Trump administration's actions against major law firms and warned that people in power 'can rewrite history.' 'With grotesque, false narratives, they can make heroes criminals and criminals heroes,' Pelley said. 'And they can change the definition of the words we use to describe reality. 'Diversity' is now described as 'illegal.' 'Equity' is to be shunned. 'Inclusion' is a dirty word. This is an old playbook, my friends.' In the sit-down with Cooper, Pelley said he thought he was echoing the sentiments of Murrow in the 1950s, 'that freedom of speech is what matters in this country.' 'You can agree with the government. You can disagree with the government. But you have the right to speak no matter what your opinion is. If the government begins to punish our citizens because of what they have to say, then our country's gone terribly wrong.' As for the furor over his commencement speech, Pelley remarked, 'what does it say about our country when there's hysteria about a speech that's about freedom of speech?'

George Clooney in Good Night, and Good Luck on CNN: The Live Broadcast's Most Notable Moments — Plus, Grade It!

Yahoo

3 hours ago

Yahoo

George Clooney in Good Night, and Good Luck on CNN: The Live Broadcast's Most Notable Moments — Plus, Grade It!

Couldn't get a ticket to see George Clooney make his Broadway debut in Good Night, and Good Luck? Take heart: On Saturday, CNN broadcast the play's penultimate performance — live — as a commercial-free TV event. Based on the 2005 film of the same name, Good Night, and Good Luck stars ER alum Clooney as legendary CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow. The true story takes place in the 1950s, as Murrow came under fire for criticizing Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who levied unsubstantiated charges of communism at various Americans during the Cold War. More from TVLine Yes, George Clooney Has Seen The Pitt - Here's What the ER Vet Had to Say About Noah Wyle's New Medical Show Save the Dates: Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck Live on CNN, and More The Conners EPs Reveal the Roseanne Vets They Wanted - But Never Got Back The 100-minute production ran without intermission, as it has since it opened at New York's Winter Garden Theatre on April 3. Clooney directed the film, in which he played Murrow's producer, Fred Friendly. In the Broadway show, Friendly is played by Glenn Fleshler (True Detective). Clooney and Grant Heslov wrote both the movie and the play. The play's cast also includes Clark Gregg (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Ilana Glazer (Broad City), Carter Hudson, Paul Gross, Christopher Denham, Fran Kraz, Mac Brandt, Will Dagger and Georgia Heers. The production is nominated for five Tony Awards, including Clooney for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play. (A quick note: Though the CNN-provided press photos below are black-and-white, the broadcast was in color.) Readers of a certain age will remember that George Clooney took part in the live Season 4 premiere of ER in 1997. So how did his latest live bid go? Scroll through our list of notable moments below. McCarthy couldn't have succeeded in his campaign of fear-mongering had the political and social climate of the time not allowed him to, Murrow pointed out in a broadcast that uses the politician's own words to indict him. 'The actions of the junior Senator from Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay amongst our allies abroad, and given considerable comfort to our enemies,' he said. '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.'' Though Gregg's Don Hollenback is the show's tragic figure — Hollenback, a CBS newscaster who was accused of leftist leanings, died by suicide — Clooney and Gregg shared a scene at roughly the hour-mark in which Clooney seemed to be on the verge of laughing (when the script didn't call for it). But both men pulled it together, and the show continued apace. The show's scenic design, which earned Scott Pask a 2025 Tony nomination, allowed Clooney & Co. to move throughout CBS' newsroom with ease and purpose. The control room, the conference room, the broadcasting booth — all evoked a bustling newsgathering operation of the era, with video screens deployed to show the audience what viewers at home would've seen at the time. The serious nature of the story doesn't allow for a lot of comedy. That said, if there was a line that got a big laugh from the live audience, it was delivered by Fleshler as Friendly. Clooney delivered the play's final monologue, pulled from a speech Murrow gave to an association of radio and television journalists in 1958, at a lectern in front of a giant screen — even bigger than the one shown here. Huge moments in news and pop culture appeared in a montage as he spoke about how television news — and TV in general — wouldn't cater to the lowest common denominator if the audience didn't repeatedly show up for exactly that sort of content. 'Our history will be what we make of it,' Clooney-as-Murrow warned, rebuking those who'd choose programming that entertains without informing. The montage unfolded, featuring I Love Lucy, Elvis Presley, John F. Kennedy's assassination, Laugh In, the Challenger explosion, The Jerry Springer Show, the first plane flying into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, Megyn Kelly insisting that Santa is white, conspiracy theories about the attempted Jan. 6 coup, Beyoncé, and a ton more images before culminating in Elon Musk giving an alleged Nazi salute. 'The question is not what power unchecked can do. We've seen that answered,' he said. 'The question is, what are you prepared to do?… Good night, and good luck.' What did you think of the live telecast? Grade it via the poll below, then hit the comments with all of your thoughts! Best of TVLine Young Sheldon Easter Eggs: Every Nod to The Big Bang Theory (and Every Future Reveal) Across 7 Seasons Weirdest TV Crossovers: Always Sunny Meets Abbott, Family Guy vs. Simpsons, Nine-Nine Recruits New Girl and More ER Turns 30: See the Original County General Crew, Then and Now

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‘If you fall silent, the country is doomed': CBS News' Scott Pelley stresses courage as network faces pressure campaign

‘If you fall silent, the country is doomed': CBS News' Scott Pelley stresses courage as network faces pressure campaign

George Clooney in Good Night, and Good Luck on CNN: The Live Broadcast's Most Notable Moments — Plus, Grade It!

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‘If you fall silent, the country is doomed': CBS News' Scott Pelley stresses courage as network faces pressure campaign

‘If you fall silent, the country is doomed': CBS News' Scott Pelley stresses courage as network faces pressure campaign

George Clooney in Good Night, and Good Luck on CNN: The Live Broadcast's Most Notable Moments — Plus, Grade It!

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