In class we watched the film "Good Night and Good Luck" which took an inside look at broadcast journalism. The movie is set in the 1950s during a time when the threat of communism was everywhere. Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin was going around and exploiting the fear of communism. CBS news decided to take a stand against Senator McCarthy by showing the people the other side of the issue.
One interesting fact about the movie was that even though it was made in 2005, the entire film is in black and white. I felt that this really added to the setting because that is how movies were shot in the 1950s. I was really able to gain a sense of time based on that one seemingly small detail.
The movie brought up a topic that we have been debating with in class, should journalist just report the news or should they sometimes take the news into their own hands. This movie shows the advantages of investigative journalism. The news anchor, Edward Murrow, and the rest of his team at CBS were able to provide the public with the idea that Senator McCarthy was not always being truthful.
I agree that investigative journalism can be beneficial to society. In this case, the news media was able to be open minded and show a side of an issue which was not being discussed. That is what is needed in the news. When I am looking at current events, I want to know what is going on from every angle, not just one point of view. I want the media to provide me with just enough information so that I can make my very own informed decision.
No comments:
Post a Comment