“Good Night, and Good Luck” is a 2005 American drama film about how United States (US) was plagued by the threat of communism, creating a tense atmosphere within US in the early 1950s. Fear of communism was inevitable and Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin exploited those fears. CBS reporter Edward R. Murrow and his producer Fred W. Friendly challenged McCarthy and aimed to expose him of his agendas. Although their actions brought about many consequences, the two men persevered in their stance and eventually brought down McCarthy successfully. While the film focuses mainly on the theme of media responsibility and covers US’s politics in the early 1950s, it also encircles around other crucial themes such as sexism. This essay discusses about how this film is used as a tool for objectivity, agenda setting, stereotyping within gender, and how these has impacted the characters in the movie and viewers. Objectivity primarily entrails “a commitment to truthfulness”, “neutrality in the sense of fairness and balance”, and “neutrality in the sense of emotional detachment” (Calcutt and Hammond, 98). This means reporting factually accurate information and allowing audiences to decide their own stands instead of presenting the journalist’s views. In the movie, the use of objectivity is prevalent. When Murrow made a controversial report on McCarthy, Murrow achieved objectivity by quoting McCarthy directly. One quote Murrow used was “Upon what meat does this our Caesar feed?” On his program, Murrow also took one step further to achieve objectivity. He used McCarthy’s montages in his program to prove that McCarthy did say those quotes himself, and that he is not making them up. To add on, Murrow said “… and desires so to speak to answer hi... ... middle of paper ... .... Cable News Network, n.d. Web. . Baran, Stanley J., and Dennis K. Davis. Mass Communication Theory: Foundations, Ferment, and Future. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Pub., 1995. Print. Basow, Susan A. Gender: Stereotypes and Roles. Third ed. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Pub., 1992. Print. Bryant, Jennings, and Mary Beth Oliver, eds. Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research. Third ed. New York: Routledge, 2009. Print. Calcutt, Andrew, and Phil Hammond. Journalism Studies: A Critical Introduction. London: Routledge, 2011. Print. Nerng, Roy. "Roy Ngerng's Speech at #ReturnOurCPF: I Believe In A New, United Singapore." The Heart Truths. WordPress.com, 7 June 2014. Web. 11 June 2014. .
Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) is the big shot broadcaster, he is the host of two hit CBS shows on television. Edward is the first newsman to put controversial information on television. This information is not completely factual, but it speaks out against anticommunism and the government in hopes of taking down Joseph McCarthy. Joseph is the senator of Wisconsin who plays a big role in brainwashing Americans. He is a governmental figure who puts fear of communism in his supporters. Edward goes on national television and singles out the beloved and trusted senator McCarthy for his fake accusations against Milo Radulovich that created a lot of attention and ultimately ended up costing Milo his job. This is the turning point of bringing back the freedom to the people who start to pin supporters against McCarthy. After Edward put his story of McCarthy on TV, McCarthy hostilely replied by saying Edward was a communist. McCarthy also falsely accused Edward of joining communist unions.
Clare Booth Luce wanted to convey the idea that she is being invited here not to tell scandalous stories, but to convey her own perspective on how the journalists can improve. It might seem as if she doesn't have the right to do so, but they "asked for it!" In this speech introduction, Boothe Luce, with humorous reminders, she was able to establish her own ethical credibility and the right to criticize the journalists.
Crawford, Nelson Antrim. The Ethics of Journalism. New York: Greenwood Press, Publishers, 1969. 42, 46-47, 110-111.
The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) provides a very clear and thorough Code of Ethics, which serves as a good definition of ethical journalism. According to this code, an ethical journalist must try to minimize any potential harm done to people directly involved with the event being reported. Such a journalist should also act independently of any personal biases, and be responsive to any criticism of their work. Finally, a truly ethical journalist must seek to find and report the truth (Society). Common sense reaffirms these guidelines. When one thinks of ethical behavior, one usually thinks along terms of being truthful, appreciative of others, acting responsively and using fair judgement. All of these concepts are explicitly stated in the SPJ's Code of Ethics.
McQuail, Denis. "The influence and effects of mass media." Mass communication and society (1977): 70-94.
The film titled WIT, included events that occurred from the time of cancer diagnosis for
The creation of life is a marvelous thing. The bodies and minds of individuals are boldly shaped through experiences and memories unique to each person. As babies grow to be teenagers and as teenagers grow to be older adults, each stage has its own particular courses that it travels. In order to see this more clearly, Pete Docter and Bob Peterson translate the stages of life through a young boy who becomes stuck with an elderly man on a mission to fulfill a lifelong promise to his deceased wife in the movie Up.
Choosing what news station to watch can be a big deal. Maybe one person identifies with Fox News more and maybe one person identifies with CNN more. Whatever news station one chooses there might be some biases with how news stories are reported. These biases may be harmful to the facts that need to be reported on, or it could just be a part of being human. All people have opinions, and that includes reporters. However, it is a reporter’s job to share the facts and not the opinions. In this paper I will first define what journalistic objectivity, and then address the following questions, Can or should a journalist be objective, under what circumstances can objective journalism be beneficial, and under what circumstances can objective journalism be harmful?
Perse, Elizabeth M. Media Effects And Society. Mahwah, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates, 2000. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
The idea that journalist could ever become truly objective enterprise was first questioned by journalist and intellectual Walter Lippmann in the 1920’s. Lippmann investigated news reporting on the Russian Revolution in 1917, and then concluded that U.S. news media completely had misrepresented the truth of media bias.
Objectivity - A word ironically enough, subjective to the person choosing to define it. Acknowledging it or the lack of it has often been a cause of debate amongst journalists and the publics to which they cater. Debatable, contested, criticized and often inconclusive, the idea of objectivity has long been strived for in the hopes of promoting the ‘truth’ and upholding the interest of the public. Michael Bugeja a Journalism professor at the Iowa State University defines it as ‘seeing the world as it is, not how [one wishes] it was”, Bob Woodward of the Washington Post sees it as a way that can trip us on the way to “truth” (Cunningham, 2008) and writer George Orwell saw it as an intellectual honesty and balanced judgment that seemed non-existent. Three individuals, three perspectives, all paralleling the fundamental pursuit of the “simple truth”. With these varied opinions, one questions if objectivity is simply a utopian construct, if it simply an idea to strive by and keep journalists in line or is it perhaps outdated and unachievable concept that needs to be explored further in order to reach a more conclusive definition. With the turn of the 21st century revolutionizing the way news is produced and consumed, one asks if objectivity is still as sought after by journalists and their publics or has a new and more achievable concept surpassed it.
Popular opinion credits media with great power to shape not only what topics the average individual thinks about, but also how they think about those subjects. Recent research in the fields of Political Science, Psychology, Economics, and Communications supports this opinion.
Bryant, J., & Zillmann, D. (2002). Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research (2nd ed.). Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Elbaum Associates.
The means of communication can be informative and entertaining. There are many pros and cons when it comes to deciphering the effects of mass media. It serves to alert and inform its audiences about newsworthy occurrences using the shock factor, worst-case scenario circumstances. It also plays a key role in defining our cultural tastes, establishing our national identity and...
Gaskins and Jerit (2012) contributed their research on this topic and introduce it by sharing, “these findings have important implications for researchers and industry executives who seek to understand the changing nature of the media environment and its effects on the mass public” (p. 191).