Edward Murrow was an influential journalist in radio and television and the host of the CBS program See it Now. He was respected by his listeners and viewers because of his efforts to always represent both sides of a story fairly and equally. Many now say he set the standard for ethical reporting in broadcasting.
The events that take place in “Good night, and Good Luck” center mostly on See it Now’s role in stopping Senator Joseph McCarthy’s persecution of supposed communists. During this time, there was much generalized fear of communism and little rational thought about the possibility of spies within the country. This time in history is significant to us now because is reflects the fear and confusion surrounding terrorism and supposed terrorists. Just as Murrow was fearless in challenging respected government officials over their labeling of innocent people and senseless hearings, this film seems to be suggesting that journalists and citizens now have a duty to be as critical as possible.
Another good point that this movie caused me to reflect on was the idea that not all stories have two equally valid sides. Murrow has one line in the film that essentially says that sometimes there is only one story to tell, not two. This was a pretty drastic statement for him considering his long-standing policy of always reporting every angle, even if he disagreed with one. In the case of McCarthy’s acts against the innocent Air Force and government employees, he felt that there was only one way to interpret the Senator’s actions: unfair and wrong.
This film made me consider that not all stories stick to the format of Perspective 1 vs Perspective 2, and because they can’t be reported that way, there really is no such thing as objective journalism that can be performed by formula. Not that I will now only report the side that I feel is correct, but I will stop trying to give a clearly irrational viewpoints ground to stand on in efforts to appear unbiased.
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