Edward R. Murrow: A Brief Film Analysis

The battle between Journalist Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy is a fight that went beyond limits on television in 1954 (http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2015/mar/30/ggod-night-and-good-luck-george-clooney-edward-murrow-reel-history). Edward R. Murrow earned his fame from his career with CBS News that began in 1935 (SITE MOVIE). Following World War II, Murrow worked with a fellow reporter, Fred Friendly on a program called Hear It Now. Both were successful in the sense that the program was popular and showed on television, which was later called See It Now. Although Murrow and Friendly televised many new reports in their careers, the most recognized and historically remembered contribution was the battle they had with Senator McCarthy on See It Now (http://www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/Murrowvs.McCarthyism.asp). Murrow used his career in

journalism and broadcasting to carry out a story regarding communism that involved the Senator of Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy. Since Murrow was an anti-communist and a loyal patron of his country, he wanted to expose McCarthy to the United States for being a traitor to his nation. The first episode of See It Now premiered on November 18, 1951. After only a month, the broadcast was attacking Senator McCarthy for supporting communism. As a result, Murrow was able to assist with a case regarding Milo Radulovich, who had been accused of being a communist and a security risk. Radulovich was a case centered around this battle between Murrow and McCarthy that concluded with justice of Radulovich.
The battle between a journalist and a senator has never been so intense and publically broadcasted. This indeed is a battle that went down in history and will continue to be one of the most historical one on one fights to result in justice to the nation and the people. The book Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism by Bob Edwards portrays a biography of the journalist Edward R. Murrow that led to one of his most memorable broadcast; the battle with Joseph McCarthy. The book goes in depth about the highlights in Murrow’s journalist career. In the movie Good Night and Good Luck, directed by George Clooney, depicts a visual of the tensions between Murrow and McCarthy in regards to the threat of communism. The phrase “good night and good luck” is a direct quote from the sign off that Murrow says after every broadcast. This movie captures a moment in time that focuses around the battle between the two and provided an illustrates the threat of communism and the wrongdoings of Senator McCarthy. Although the book Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism and the movie Good Night and Good Luck discuss the fight between Edwards Murrow and Joseph McCarthy, both expose the battle slightly different through the background information provided, use of other issues linking around the fight, and how Senator McCarthy was portrayed.
In the movie Good Night and Good Luck, the movie begins with a ceremony salute to Edward R.

Murrow held on October 25, 1958 followed with a speech from him on the stage. The movie flashbacks to Murrow’s life as a journalist and the efforts made in his television program, See It Now. It provided insight into the issues that occurred inside the CBS News building such as the decisions that Murrow bypassed by his Chief, William S. Paley. In addition, the screen paused to provide information that read: “Throughout the 1940’s and 1950’s America was overwhelmed with concerns about the threat of communism. Senator Joseph McCarthy made a public accusation that more than two hundred ‘card-carrying’ communists had infiltrated the United States government. Few in the press were willing to stand up against McCarthy for fear they would be targets (SITE MOVIE).” This showed background information how the fear of communism was a big issue in the 1940’s and 1950’s. In addition, the movie included many visual references to the issue of communism from previous recordings that show how McCarthy acts and what he says about

communism.
On the other hand, the book Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism, provides background information at a greater extent. The book by Bob Edwards discussed Murrow’s career from start to end and including a great deal of detail about the McCarthy fight. The information provided included the premier of the first See It Now on November 18, 1951 and how Murrow broadcasted more than just about McCarthy. Through his broadcasts, Murrow addressed the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift, NATO, the Cold War, Korea, the polio epidemic, the Suez Crisis, the Soviet invasion of Hungary, integration in Little Rock, the launch of Sputnik, the rise of Castro, and most importantly McCarthyism (SITE BOOK). Including a sufficient amount of background information about a topic allows for a better interpretation of the battle between Murrow and McCarthy. In the case of these two sources, the movie included more generalized background information, whereas, the book illustrated sufficient background information in order to convey the purpose of the fight.
Other issues were mentioned in both the book and the movie that were used in order to sort out the battle between Murrow and McCarthy. For example, the issue with Milo Radulovich being convicted to be affiliated with communism. Milo Radulovich is a Serbian-American air force lieutenant that was accused of being a security risk to the nation. This accusation was a result from his family who were suspected of having socialist political opinions (http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2015/mar/30/ggod-night-and-good-luck-george-clooney-edward-murrow-reel-history). This case was used in both the movie and the book as an advising topic to film-makers and the writer of both sources. However, both sources portrayed the issue with Milo Radulovich slightly differently.