good night and good luck: Movie Review

Good Night and Good Luck takes place in the 1950s and was directed by George Clooney, who also acted in the film.

In the movie, CBS reporter Edward R. Murrow and his producer Fred W. Friendly decided to go against Senator McCarthy and expose him for weaponizing the fear of the people for his own gain. 

Throughout the movie, Murrow and others had to report are emotionally-charged stories, yet remove their feelings and do their best to just present the facts and report the truth.  Murrow and Friendly did journalism the right way, telling the truth and staying away from fabricated and or hyperbolized stories.

Bringing down one of the most controversial senators in the history of the United States government, this film shows the relationship between the government and the press that was present in the 1950's and still is in society today. 

The dilemma that the CBS news team faced was whether or not they wanted to do what was right for the country, and what their job description morally described, or if they wanted to remain silent to ensure the safety of themselves and their reputation. 

There were unfair trials regarding communism and one of those cases was centered around Milo Radulovich.  Radulovich was a big part of the movie.  Murrow and others believed that Radulovich was being persecuted and punished  for the true actions of Senator McCarthy.  Many workers at CBS fought against reporting on this case because of their fear of ruining their reputations or being hunted by Senator McCarthy.  Anyone that criticized the government could be looked at as a communist-sympathizer so they wanted to produced content that was very specific and stay away from topics that could hurt them in the long run.

The movie takes place Red Scare era.  The Red Scare was a frenzy about the perceived threat that Communists in the United States posed during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the U.S.  The conflict intensified in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

While many within CBS were scared to report properly, Murrow and others did not let their fear and apprehension get in the way of them doing their jobs as journalists. They pushed through all the fear and hesitation that they were confronted with and did the job that signed up for.  They fulfilled their journalistic responsibility of informing the American people of what they had the right to be informed about the consequences be damned, despite the higher-ups not wanting them to do so.

Murrow and others that stood up for what they believed in, put their careers on the line, and quite possibly their lives.

The number one duty of the journalist is the pursuit of truth.  Sometimes it may be difficult but as long as journalists focus on that directive, they are on the right path.