Good Night and Good Luck Review

 

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The film Good Hight and Good Luck was a full that was written and directed by George Clooney and Grand Heslov. The film takes place in the late 50’s and it tells the story of  CBS reporter Edward Murrow and his producer Fred Friendly. Throughout the film they talk about the the current communist scandal with a senator who was campaigning. Edward Murrow in the film has a hard time battling with what to do with the information he discovers and the best way to handle the situation. Furthermore, it follows different employees and the way that exposing and talking about the senator has effected their job. 

                                                                 

   

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The movie was very interesting because it gave a glimpse into the life of journalists at the time and they ways they worked. It also showed how at the time they have a lot stricter rules and a lot more red tape. Especially on the things that they said. I particularly enjoyed one scene when one of the main characters Edward Murrow drops a huge bomb on his show and during that time viewers were allowed to call in.   

                                                                            

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However, after he did this there are no calls coming in so everyone is scrambling around trying to figure out whey there are no call coming in. Especially since some of them put heir jobs on the line. Until one of the employees realizes that the has something unplugged and then the calls start flooding in. I really enjoyed their movie because it showed the hard work and dedication that  journalists put into their work at that time they didn’t have all of the resources that we have today so they hade to work diligently to ensure their work and information was well vetted.

EOTO Reaction : The Satire of Political Cartoons

                                                                      

          

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Today’s presentation spoke about cartoonists and the way they work with the news. Cartooning seems like a family easy going job, however over the years with certain political and global changes cartooning has had a lot of power. In most older newspapers there would be a cartoon section, the illustrated would make drawling of something light hearted that would ultimately have a deeper meaning under the joke. However over the years it has developed into a very powerful ways to speak out about certain issues and it has also been used to perpetuate propaganda especially in war times. However the problem with these cartoons is that they were often offensive. 

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The first cartoons started around 1754 by Benjamin Franklin, the cartoon was created to persuade people to join a colony. The cartoon said ‘Join or Die’ which depicted a snake that was divided up into pieces to represent the different colonies. In a way it is the first illustration of propaganda because it sparked concern in the people who read it and it caused action in them. 

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Though today majority of them are purely satirical and manly political and they usually make fun of certin political figures or our current state in the world. For example during Former President Donald Trump’s time in office there were many cartoons made of him because his time in office was very controversial. Especially towards the end of his presidency once the pandemic picked up. Though the cartoons can be very informative for the public to keep up with the current topics though the shouldn’t be taken seriously as a pure form of news since it is comedy at the end of the day. 

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We learned also in the presentation that the cartoonists have an association known as the AAEC or the American Association of Editorial Cartoonist. This association mainly prompts the work of the people who are featured on the website. It also acts as a way for the public to go on their website and look at the different pieces. Overall cartoonists are a very necessary job because they offer a break from the heaviness of of the news and media in general. And although hey do touch on real topics we face everyday, the creative illustrations  help ease the blow of them. 

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EOTO Response: Anonymous Sources

 In the world of Journalism the main way that we get information for our work is though using different types of sources. It is best to use a direct source, which is someone who is credible with a story that can be proven and has no reason to lie. This can at times be tricky however, that is where our skills as journalists come alive. 

Today a group presented an EOTO on the history of Journalist using anonymous sources. They went over the times journalists have used it and it has gone well. For example, with the infamous Nixon Watergate scandal we learned about how the the journalist who covered that story made good use of his anonymous source. A source who at the time was only known as ‘Deep Throat’, it later came out that it was a former FBI agent who was thought to be but was never confirmed to be the anonymous source. They met in secured and they were able to communicate that way and it resulted in a helpful story that exposed Nixion’s crimes. 

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However on the other end of this the group also went over a Journalist who didn’t make good use of her anonymous sources, who in fact were never real in the first place. Janet Cooke was an American journalist who published a story in the Washington Post Titled “Jimmy’s World”, it was advertised as an account of a young Black boy who was struggling with his heroin addiction. This story caused outrage because people were looking for the boy who was being so neglected by his parents that he would have the opportunity to become a heroin addict at the age of eight. 

The story was so sensational that Cooke even went on to win a Pulitzer Prize for it. However, it was later discovered that the story was completely fabricated. Janet Cooke would go in to loose her job and her credibility however, it started a larger conversation about the way journalists work and the ways and times that they are allowed to use anonymous sources. Before class today I had never heard of this case or known about this anonymous source standard that Journalist have now. Overall, I found it to be informative as well as widely fascinating. 

EOTO Reaction: Trial By Media

       

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In the eyes of the law the way we make decisions often has a lot to do with trial. A person is accused of something and then they go before a judge and a jury and they tell their side and the evidence is supposed to speak for itself. This is theoretically how justice is supposed to work. However, what happens when the media gets a whiff of a murder trial or an impressive embezzling scheme that almost worked.

It can begin to get somewhat out of the hands of the Judge and Jury because the media has now spoken, with the huge headlines and ongoing articles. This has led to the phenomenon known as a “Trial by Media”. This phenomenon was probably seen the most in the O.J Simpson case.

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O.J Simpson was a famous NFL Player who was accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Shortly after her death her ex-husband O.J Simpson’s trial started. It quickly became the case of the century it was televised which allowed the public to make their own mind about the case. This allowed the public and the media to sensationalize the case and turn it into the infamous case we know today.

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The phrase trial by media perfectly explains this case, a trial that was meant to only be in the courts ended up being broadcasted for the world to see. Effectively the social repercussions of the case is what trial by media ultimately means. Even though O.J Simpson was acquitted of the charges against Nicole Brown Simpson, he still ended up going to jail anyway for separate charges. However, the public had already decided that he was guilty in their own eyes. We see this happen even today when certin crimes happen in the news the people have such harsh social repercussions that follow the person even enter the crime or the story is long over. Weather the person was found guilty or innocent in the legal courts or not. 

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This topic Is extremely interesting and it attempts to take a deeper look at human behavior and at the way we see and judge things. It also causes us as people to take a better look at the way the media portrays cases. It also starts a bigger conversation of cancel couture and the way society condemns people socially. 

EOTO #3 : The Trouble With Paparazzi

  

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 When you think of the paparazzi you generally instantly think of antsy mobs of people following the Kardashians or shouting at people on the read carpet. Though those things do happen, who really known when the paparazzi originated or what their original purpose. It seems as though they have always been there. For starters the word Paparazzi comes from an Italian origin of the word Paparazzo. The first ever paparazzi photographer was Tazio Secchiaroli, he was a photographer in Rome in the 50’s. 

    At this time magazines wanted to get photos of celebrities living their everyday lives. Before this celebrities just walked around and lived their lives without having to be photographed in the same way that they are now. So once magazines put this out Photographers started going out an following celebrities in order to get shots of them for any Magazine who would buy them. Ever since then, the paparazzi and celebrities have had a complicated relationship. Many celebrities often complain about the presence of the paparazzi because they say that it prevents them from living their normal lives. However celebrities also tip of the paparazzi when they want to be seen or need the publicity. 

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    However though the paparazzi is a normal practice and it helps feed a lot of new for pop culture magazine’s and TV shows there have always been questions as to its legality. For example the way some paparazzi have aggressively followed celebrities and even trespassed to get the perfect shot. Because of this many celebrities have taken legal action. For instance filing harassment charges against them for the at times excessive following or the mistreatment of some celebrities children. However, being a paparazzi photographer is actually legal there are just certain regulations they have to follow. For example, they are not trespass in order to get the shot, take photos in public rest use or in secured areas, and finally at a crime scene. If these rules are violates they could possible be arrested. They also are not allowed to do anything that would require them to get any photos that would require them to put away one in danger. 

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    This was the result of the death of Princes Diana who died after trying to evade the paparazzi. Her car flipped and she sustained injuries that would later lead to hear death in the operating room. Ever since that tragic accident in 1997 the paparazzi have had a bad reputation in the eyes of many. Some people think that that was just an unfortunate accident that shouldn’t speak for the field in its entirety. Were as others feel that it should have been the last trap of many. All of this raises a bigger question as to weather or not the paparatzi do more harm than good. Should we as the people have a right to know what celebrities do in their off time since we are what keeps them in the lie light? Or should they get to go home the same way we do at night and be just like a normal person? 

EOTO #2 Terms:The Black Press

 

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In 1690 when the first newspaper was published the world of Journalism was no place for minorities. Slavery was still in effect in the north and would be until 1804. So, this meant that there was no representation for women or people of color. The first Black Owned and operated newspaper was the Freedom Journal. It was founded by Samuel E. Cornish and John B. Russwurm in 1827. This also makes much more of an impact because it was right after slavery was abolished.  

 

One of the main contributions that this paper was that it helped newly freed African American men and women learn about what was going on in society. The paper also worked to improve conditions for African American men and women. The goal of the paper was also to educate other minorities and people who were not minorities on the issues that the Black community was facing. The paper would have a two-year run; however, it was a great steppingstone for many Black Owned and operated newspapers.  

   

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A particularly infamous Black owned and operated newspaper was The North Star which was founded by Fredric Douglas. Fredric Douglas was a former slave who escaped and dedicated his life to being an abolitionist. Not only for the abolishment of slavery but also for equal rights for Black men and women as well as women. This wet his apart from other abolishers because there were lots of people who wanted to end discrimination against African American men and women, however, there were not that many people who were fighting for the equal treatment of women. The North Star Newspaper was created in 1847. There was a bit of discomfort around Douglas creating his publication because of his competitor the Liberator. The liberator was run by William Lloyd Garrison who was a Caucasian man who also fought for the abolishing of slavery and women’s rights.  

 

However, Fredrick Douglas had published several pieces in William Lloyd Garrison’s publication, and they ended up forming a good friendship. So, when Fredrick Douglas said he was going to start his own newspaper Garrison asked him not to know that he would lose many followers. However, Fredric Douglas went through with it and as William Lloyd Garrison predicted he ended up losing many followers, this led to the end of his publication and the end of their friendship. 

 

The age of the Black press was one of impact and longevity. There would be countless publications that were owned and operated by African and American men. Publications like The Peoples Advocate and The Colored American paved the way for Black voices to be heard. Without publications like these the journalistic community would still be behind a lot when it came to understanding different opinions.  

Media and War: The Never ending Battle

 

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Though out class and though out history we have seen peoples voices being silenced countless times. Specifically in times of war when tensions are high and Journalists have often been the target of this silencing. However on the other hand the relationship between the press and the government in times of war have been rather synchronized. As much as the two clash in war, the media has in the past has helped get people to enlist in wars such as WW1 and WW2.

 

In WW1 it was the first of its kind and no one had ever seen a war quite like it before. During the war journalists were sent over as correspondents to report on the war and relay it back to the people at home. This caused many journalists to see battle first hand and gain a true understand of what it was like to be on the first lines. They also had to place themselves in harms way just to get a story. 

Though they had been there to write carefully crafted massages back to the US. Although, how could they write a fairy tail story about a war when they saw bodies and tragedy everyday? As a journalist you are called to write the truth and to educate the people about the truth as best as you can. So this caused conflict between the way certain journalists saw the war and the way the US wanted them to report the war. 

 

In World War 2 journalists were publicly putting down our enemy side which was Germany. This was issue because Journalism isn’t  supposed to be biased so that the viewers are able to make up’s their own mind about the situation. 

However, when the media started to tell people how they should feel about something it creates a huge divide and also puts the publication in a box because they are then know to be either right Republican, Democratic, or Liberal. This is know as the objectivity standard which is what we have today in journalism. It makes sure that the stories are objective and as factual as possible.  

In an article by the Guardian They  spoke out about what it was like for journalists to speak out about war during WW2 and how it reached a point that journalists were just publishing things that were complete fiction. This speaks to our patriotism as a country. Especially in war times it it easy to see a whole country as the enemy when usually we are only at war with that countries leaders. So all of this defamation and fiction that was posted about Germany and its people most likely  had lasting effects on the people in the country who had nothing to do with the issue in any way. 

 

Though the media has always had a complicated relationship with war and with the government, the truth is that neither of them can survive without the other. If there is ever a war or a global conflict again the government would be free to make any decisions they want without the public knowing. 

However, this would lead to a lot more corrupt behavior and it would lead to the public being a lot more in the dark. On the other hand the government certain legal obligations keep the press in line as well and make sure that they are relaying the news properly. 

EOTO#1 The Man Who Would Be Heard

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 William Lloyd Garrison was a fearless abolitionist in the 1800’s. He was very passionate and outraged at the idea of slavery. He worked tirelessly for many years as an abolitionist as well as fighting for women’s rights later in his life. He was the creator of the publication the liberator which was a publication that published works about the injustice’s of slavery and politics. It was meant to educate others about how wrong slavery was, it was used as a way to have the voices of those who were fed up about the situation heard. 

 

For example, the Liberator published works of other famous abolitionists like Fredric Douglas. At this time the fact that The Liberator was publishing the works of Black Abolitionists it was very unusual and it was just another thing that set the liberator apart from other publications. The publications main demographic was the freed slave population of that time because they would be the group of people who would have a main interest in the subject matter of the work that was published. Which is why contributions like Fredric Douglass’s made such an impact.

 

                                                                

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Though all of this was really good and called a lot of attention to the injustices that were taking place at that time it made a lot of people angry. Especially since Garrison was a Caucasian man who was sticking up for the rights and lives of African American people at their time. Which helped to bridge the gape of trust between the Black and White population in someways.

 

Since African American people had few rights and slaves had no rights they were hardly seen as people. Garrison often had many threats against his life so much to the point that there were at times bounties on his head. This goes to show just how dedicated William Garrison was to the cause, because he was willing to possibly put his life on the line for what he believed in.

 

The paper ran for about 30 years and in that time they always pressed the issue about the detriment slavery had and how it was a terrible thing for the society. At the top of every issue was the papers Mantra which was “Our country is the world our countrymen are Mankind”. This mantra is talking about how we as people are responsible for each other and how we are all united and equal. 

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Another thing that set the paper apart was the fact that at the top of each issue there was an illustration that spoke to another issue about slavery. This was helpful because it allowed people to physically see what caring conditions would look like and show a different and more authentic side to what was going on at the time with slavery. 

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The legacy and impact that the Liberator had surpasses the years that it was in print. When it finally did end Garrison published one final farewell. And after the liberator went down he still continued he work as an activists however, he had shifted his Main focus to women’s rights, however he cared a lot about equality.The liberator though it was just a publication was fighting a war on ideals. It challenged the status quo of thought which was that slavery was acceptable. Because of publications like the Liberator the writing world has forever been impacted.