It focuses on the theme of media responsibility, and also addresses what occurs when U.S. journalism offer voices of dissent from government policy.

The movie takes its title (which ends with a period or full stop) from the line with which Murrow routinely signed off his broadcasts.

The film was a box office success and received critical acclaim for Clooney's direction, the writing, cinematography, production design and performances (particularly Strathairn's).

Military men come to Friendly's office, attempting to persuade him not to broadcast the story, but CBS goes ahead and the segment features on Murrow's show See It Now.

In one clip, McCarthy accuses a man who was provided with an attorney by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in 1932 of being a communist.

John Aaron later announces this in the newsroom, but the celebration is cut short when a phone call to Friendly informs the news team that Hollenbeck has committed suicide by gassing himself.

Shortly after, CBS chief executive Paley speaks with Murrow and Friendly in his office and tells them they have lost one of their major sponsors, and as a result, he will only give them five more one-hour episodes and also move their slot from Tuesday night to Sunday afternoon.

At the same time, Mickelson calls Wershba and Shirley to his office: He knows they are secretly married, in violation of CBS's policy forbidding marriage between colleagues.

In September 2005, Clooney explained his interest in the story to an audience at the New York Film Festival: "I thought it was a good time to raise the idea of using fear to stifle political debate.

His father, Nick Clooney, was a television journalist for many years, appearing as an anchorman in Cincinnati, Ohio; Salt Lake City, Utah; Los Angeles, California; and Buffalo, New York.

[3] Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and former eBay president Jeffrey Skoll invested money in the project as executive producers.

[10] Roger Ebert, in his Chicago Sun-Times review, contends that "the movie is not really about the abuses of McCarthy, but about the process by which Murrow and his team eventually brought about his downfall (some would say his self-destruction).

"[13] Jack Shafer, at the time a libertarian-leaning columnist for the online magazine Slate, accused the film of continuing what he characterizes as the hagiography of Murrow.

Furthermore, Shafer writes, evidence obtained via the declassified Venona espionage program confirmed that many Soviet agents and sympathizers were in fact in positions of influence in the U.S. government, a disclosure the film entirely overlooks: "Clooney and company ignore the material that might argue against their simple-minded thesis about Murrow, the era, and the press to produce an after school special".

As of November 2022, AMC is developing a television series adaptation of the film with Jonathan Glatzer as showrunner and Clooney as executive producer.

[18] The play is scheduled to begin previews at the Winter Garden Theatre on March 12, 2025, with an opening night set for April 3.