Ethical Values in Good Night, Good Luck
Jordan Simmons
js676410@ohio.edu
The path to achieving broadcasting fame is depicted in the
film Good Night, and Good Luck, through
Edward R. Murrow’s efforts to make face of Senator Joseph McCarthy during his
involvement with the Red Scare in the 1950s.
One of Edward R. Murrow’s biggest benefits was his bravery in calling
out Joseph McCarthy.
The movie does an excellent job portraying how America
operated during the Red Scare and how timid people were when it came to talking
about it. Murrow was not that kind of
guy. He was up front taking the risky
task of opposing McCarthy and his accusations.
Columbia Broadcasting System, or CBS, must grapple with the unraveling
events involving Murrow’s newscasts on McCarthy. Some of the ethical values that are birthed
in this film include the stakeholders, ethical values, and objectivity.
Stakeholders
The biggest stakeholder in this film is the news figure who
everyone in America looked up to and trusted.
He was brave enough to speak out about the controversy over communism
which put him in danger. Every ounce of
credibility that he had so earnestly earned was on the line and he could have
just lost his job altogether. Had McCarthy himself not been disclaimed for
soon after, the public may have condemned Murrow.
In the decision of CBS to let
Murrow report freely on these topics also affected and brought forth numerous
other stakeholders and pressures. The
public is a stakeholder because they are affected by his words and may also be
supporters of McCarthy. Senator McCarthy
was a stakeholder because as he went forth with the Red Scare campaign, Edward
R. Murrow casted doubt on the scares that McCarthy shed light onto.
Ethical Values
In numerous occurrences in the
film Good Night, Good Luck, Edward R. Murrow does a great job in acting
ethically for the public. In ethics
class we learn of the significance of being independent reporters and Murrow
did a great job of doing this. When his
boss at CBS feared his impact, he maintained his ways of acting independent and
saw success in doing so. Murrow reported
on the bases of truth. He reported in a
way that we unfortunately do not see enough in today’s media-truth and nothing
but the truth.
Objectivity
Murrow does a great job by
expressing objectivity, although it was very difficult at times. In the start of CBS’ newscasts on the
McCarthy involvement he states first and foremost that in no way do the views
presented reflect in any way the views of CBS, nor do they have intentions to
accuse the senator. They express that
they are purely working in investigative journalism and reporting their
results. To express objectivity and good
reporting, Murrow even invites McCarthy for a chance to share his views.
As journalists, we have goals of
digging for the truth, expressing objectivity, and being knowledgeable of our
stakeholders and obligations to them.
This film demonstrates how effective Edward R. Murrow was in his
reporting ways that are unfortunately dwindling away today.
No comments:
Post a Comment