"Good Nigh and Good Luck" Movie Review

                         "Silenced Screams" 

Broadcast Journalism in the 1950s should have been a time for America’s breakthrough in live reports on television; however, censorship was on the prowl more than ever before. Good Night and Good Luck is a movie depicting and illustrating journalists fighting for their unalienable rights as citizens and as American reporters against McCarthyism's accusations of communism.  

Journalists' role in society is to report the truth by presenting facts to the American people. These “Red Scare” issues at the beginning of the broadcasting television era are prevalent in today’s modern-day newsrooms. This is an era I would give the name “McCarthy’s Screams and Journalists Silence.”   

Senator Joeseph McCarthy and his political agenda accused journalists of being communists. He wrongfully accused journalists of disagreements over the government’s policies. Journalists were forced to choose what was more valuable to them, their reputation, or the truth. Arguments against the government meant that a journalist needed to be silenced instead of seen as a hero.  

Edward R. Murrow was a well-known broadcasting name who was a news anchor on Good Night and Good Luck. Joseph McCarthy was against communism, yet anyone who was against him was in trouble. The truth should be information that belongs in the hands of the public for them to form their own opinions and make informed decisions.  

The case that would be an ongoing battle between the press and McCarthy was about a man named Milo Radulovich. An Air Force officer in the United States Military was fired for the accusations about his sister and father being communists because they read a Serbian newspaper. A man, willing to risk his life and fight for a citizen, even McCarthy was wrongfully convicted as a madman.  

Murrow and the journalists working on his broadcasting segment wanted to share how these governmental accusations were false. The military wanted to approve the news segment on CBS News about Milo Radulovich. This created a News Blackout that meant the government was trying to censor any argument against McCarthy and his political party.  

News reporters were being censored. News anchors had to sacrifice their positions to stick up for their beliefs and values. Murrow’s boss believed that McCarthy would self-destruct, but if Murrow does not tell the truth, then who will? The act of sandbagging was not an option for him as he was a loyal American Patriot.  

In 1954 Murrow broadcast a segment about McCarthy stating that American people should know the facts. Reporters take an oath and should be guaranteed their rights to freely speak and write. After his segment ran, many reporters viewed Murrow as a symbol. They saw Murrow as the spark to ignite civil arguments against McCarthy.  

After the uproar, Radulovich was reinstated and was no longer seen as a communist threat. On April 6th McCarthy wanted to appear on Murrow’s broadcast in hopes that him being a powerful senator would defeat what he called a know-nothing journalist. His main argument was that Murrow was the main leader of the communist party.  

  A week later, McCarthy fired back as American people should be aware of the truth. Due to all the mass media attention, the Senate investigated McCarthy and his politically fueled agendas. The truth would prevail one way or another.  

CBS News fell into the chilling situation where they feared legal accusations against Edward R. Murrow’s news broadcasts. Bill, the boss, moved his segment from Tuesday to Sunday afternoons in hopes of protecting their reputation rather than protecting their loyal and most trusted journalist.  

Edward R. Murrow shared factual information to the public on Good Night and Good Luck to bring awareness and attention to the American public. McCarthy was the one making hasty communist accusations however, he was depicting himself just like a communist leader. As an aspiring journalist, this movie Good Night and Good Luck meant that journalists have a right to disagree, a right to speak out, and a right not to be controlled. Our government has the responsibility to protect these rights.  

The same issues seen in Good Night and Good Luck occur today across various news networks. The government tries to promote and control certain political parties while censoring and hiding others. As journalists, we should be outraged. However, as American Citizens, we need to advocate and remember we can form our own opinions and hold true to our values and beliefs.  

The press can question the government. They can speak out about the government if it is crossing the boundaries of our rights. A name I give to this Modern Era is “Silenced Screams,” because many news reporters chose to keep their reputations rather than go against the government. What would the journalism world look like if all reporters, broadcasters, and anchors told the truth? “That’s all folks… Good Night and Good Luck!”

EOTO 2 Reactions Post "History of Journalsim"

                      History of Journalism 

My peers and I were introduced to certain topics that were produced in the daily papers and broadcast regularly in the movies we watched.   It gave us insight into how journalism thrived in history and how these methods survived all the way to today. Journalism was introduced in all topics, not just reports about the government or politics. 
 
War was a topic that was widely discussed, especially during both World Wars. However, journalists found a way to spice up reports on war to entice the readers. War Journalism is a type of propaganda that was created to advertise the war efforts. Photojournalism was extremely popular during the war, as journalistic writings were seen next to a photo depicting to the readers what war was like. It showed the actual impact it left on America and the rest of the world.  

 

Political Cartoons are drawings that discuss politics and current events visually in a comedic way. These cartoons were seen in the newspapers. To get the gist of the cartoons, readers must have some background context about politics and various issues around the world. Thomas Nast was the first to create a political cartoon in which he formed the Republican Elephant and the Democratic Donkey. This has stuck with the parties to this day. Political cartoons started in newspapers and were meant to be very controversial. As technology advanced, these political drawings were seen on television through broadcasting segments live on the news giving the cartoonist a larger audience. The tabloids looked just like newspapers except the headlines were made to draw the reader’s attention to read a more politically fueled story. The headlines were called red tops, which contained a large heading in red to gain attention for the various political stories. The Gossip Column was a small segment in the papers that talked about scandals, celebrities, and politics. It seems gossip has been important to some for a very long time. The Roaring Twenties was a decade full of drama. Hedda Hopper was a famous gossiper who discussed the lives of many celebrities and their affairs. Political stories were amped up by including cartoons, catchy titles, and the lives of many A–listers.  

 
Journalism was transformed for leisure use starting with sports broadcasting. Boxing was the first sport to be broadcast. The first college football game to be broadcast was Pitt vs.WVU and oh what that developed into. Radio had a major impact well since the audience could visualize the games and more people owned radios than tv’s at the time. The coverage of the first television broadcasting of baseball and college football was a huge hit. Music journalism was a concept founded by a German journalist who criticized classical music during the 19th century. Once the 1920s transformed the decade with jazz, music reports were more interesting than ever. Elvis was the King of rock and roll and the Beatles became popular in the 1950s, so more artists wanted their songs discussed in the papers.  It became the “it” thing for them.

 

Journalism incorporated a wide variety of new methods to keep readers and listeners engaged. I learned about many of the informative ways that the papers were transformed. The pioneers who stepped out on a wing and a prayer truly were cutting edge with their firsts. These men and women defined modern journalism as we know it today. Modern journalists owe a debt of gratitude to these brave writers and reporters who paved the way for the industry.

                                  EOTO 2 Crime and Women's Sports Reporting 

Once America was out of the First World War America was transformed into a society that was known as The Roaring Twenties. The age of prohibition, Women’s suffrage, flappers, and speakeasies oh my. Journalism needed to have extra pizazz just as jazzy as this decade was. News incorporated daily leisurely reads such as local and national crimes which included details about criminals, and murderers, how they committed their crimes, and the answer to the why. Women got their big breakthrough in reporting about athletics after their voices were finally heard.   

    

What is crime reporting and how did it thrive during this era? Crime reporting is a type of journalism where local and national information about crime, criminals, and criminal activity is released to the public. A crime reporter of this era would report firsthand at a crime scene trying to get any information and facts reported to the public immediately. This included descriptive details about criminals, murderers, how they committed their crimes, and why. The police and journalists would work hand in hand. The police provided information to journalists to share with the people while the journalists gathered any information about a crime from the police. Most of the time crime reporters were able to investigate and write stories about unsolved cases. Journalists could provide police with leads by assisting police with their stories to find out “Who did it?”  

 

What was going on when crime was more rampant than in any other decade? Once the United States government enacted the Prohibition Act under Woodrow Wilson alcohol was banned and crime reached its peak. This law had the opposite effect and the crime rate increased rapidly. Prohibition meant that gangs and crime leaders ruled various cities across America. No one was better at committing white-collar crimes than the mob leaders themselves.

What did the 1920s mean for journalism? Investigative journalism thrived during this time, so reporters could write stories frequently and crime reporters were very much needed. During this decade crime was very strategized and criminals were at the top of their game using their illegal moves to scheme their mastermind felonies. On every street corner there was a crime scene that meant a crime reporter would be nearby.    

 

At the scene of a crime, journalists would take notes on a notepad and write down the most important and the most valuable information that a reporter could. News during the 1920s consisted mostly of the technological innovations of modern newspapers and the radio. Breaking News was a term introduced where reporters could gather facts at a crime scene and then relay that message directly to the newsroom. Crime stories would grasp the reader’s and listener’s attention creating an element of fear while informing American Citizens about what was going on in their cities.  

 

Jake Lingle was a famous crime reporter in the 1920s who worked for the Chicago Tribune. As he was walking on an Illinois alleyway, he was murdered in broad daylight with a fatal gunshot wound to the back of the head. He was a respectable journalist among readers and his peers or so they thought. His unexpected murder caused quite an uproar in the journalism department in Chicago and other news networks in America. Many news reporters feared that their fate would be the same as Lingle’s. The New York Tribune recalled, “Whose business was to expose the work of killers.” Jake Lingle was seen as a victim until the public found out that he was friends with popular mob leader Al Capone. Once Lingle had ties to one mob he became a target of another. Due to the amount of national attention that this crime story got journalists dug up some information on Jake Lingle. He would plagiarize other journalists’ facts and write his own story. Did Al Capone murder his source? Some people thought that Capone had eight henchmen murder Lingle while others thought that Capone had too much going on at the time to murder a journalist. However, some thought that the murderer could not have been Capone due to how many witnesses there were at the scene of the crime. This unsolved case was closed once it was discovered that Jake Lingle was murdered by another mob as vengeance against him.  

 

Leisure activities and everyday life flourished in newspapers as a popular choice for readers in the 1920s. The women’s suffrage movement meant that women were guaranteed the right to vote. As all the women fought for their voices to be heard journalism and news corporations transformed into a new societal change where women had more prominent roles in writing and reporting. Since so many people read about athletics the need for sports reporters grew. The nineteenth amendment paved the way for women to have the ability to pursue careers in sports reporting. Across The United States in all the major sports-dominated cities there were thirty-five female sports reporters dedicating their time to writing about athletics. Three female sports reporters were credited with being prominent journalists in the 1920s. Margaret Goss was a female reporter for the New York Tribune who reported on all areas of women’s sports. Lorena Hickock was a female reporter who reported on male sports which was rare for a woman to do. Jane Dixon was a female reporter from the New York Telegram who reported on all sports specifically focusing on boxing. Female Sports Reporters provided a brand-new outlook throughout the journalism industry. There were many people against women’s rights in the 1920s however women transformed the sports industry with their stories. As an aspiring female journalist, I always find it remarkable how female journalists throughout this decade were able to succeed in a major male-dominated society by writing about athletics.           

 

    As a reader, listener, and watcher of the news, the public can see how transformative The Roaring Twenties was for journalism. Crime Reporters informed American citizens about crimes and how to keep their communities safe. Crime reporters were honest and factual as they brought justice to criminals while respecting and honoring the victims and their families. Organized crime was so strategically planned that it was the birth of the daily reports of crime that we see today. Margaret Goss, Lorena Hickock, and Jane Dixon are three women who changed sports broadcasting forever. The 1920s were an era that defined jazz journalism and modern broadcasts today.