As part of my series on the state and future of media and news reporting, I’d love to add a plug for George Clooney’s 2005 film Good Night and Good Luck. If you haven’t seen it, you should. The film tells the story of CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow’s battle against Senator McCarthy and his witch-hunt in the 1950’s.
Besides being lit meticulously and filmed beautifully, its message is clear and compelling: do not let fear and cowardice shout down the truth. An interesting message for a film that looks a bit like a polished film noir, with low light shots and interesting angles. Films noir, the stories of the human condition, our unfailing ability to sabotage our own happiness, inevitably ensuring we are evicted from the garden; seem at once so close and so far from Clooney's story of the height of honorable journalism ethics. This story probably the only thing on this earth that can make me seem nostalgic for the 1950’s. 
It begs the question, what has happened that has caused the state of journalism to be so far from the right and honorable these days. The shattering of our societal consensus has certainly contributed to the fall in honor and respect held by the public for those who report the news, but they have also brought about their own downfall. In the 1950’s, disseminators of news sources were much more highly respected and people were much less skeptical. Now we take it for granted that there are many sides to the story and we only ever hear one. Not only that, but often there is no attempt at all to either tell the truth or even pretend to be unbiased. Commentary now passes for news. One wonders where this sense of duty to fight to show the public the truth has gone. Perhaps we no longer care to know it. Or are we all so jaded that we think there is nothing good and honorable in this world for which to take a stand anymore? But what is truth? We are exposed to so many different viewpoints now, that maybe we are of the mind that there is no absolute truth, and reality is not so immutable as it once seemed.Previous Posts in News and Media:
News and Media Part 2: LA Times' "Ink Spots" Spot
News and Media Part 1: Review of Dennis McDougal's "Privileged Son"
Your review and comments make me want to see the movie. Furthermore, I wish we had a voice like Edward R. Murrow's to shout out the truth about what is happening today. Maybe the truth is not absolute but there is certainly more truth that could be told to counteract the barely true that is shouted loudly and painfully and primarily so the powerful can remain in power. Fact-Finders is helping but is not loud enough.
ReplyDeleteYou should definitely watch it. It's a great film. I don't know what Fact-Finders is. In general, a news source needs to be able to avoid being labeled left-wing or right-wing, but we are so quick to accuse others of bias when our own bias is too strong to allow us to thoughtfully digest the information presented.
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