Good Night, and Good Luck

The minute I saw Robert Downey Jr. appear on screen, consider my attention grabbed. Of course, the plot of the film itself was intriguing, but I am also a fan of RDJ's work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Shortly after starting this post, the camera then turned to George Clooney. This film has quite a star-studded cast! Anyway, I'll stop fangirling. Let's continue the rest of this post professionally. 

Good Night, and Good Luck is a drama from the early 2000s directed by George Clooney that is based on a true story. The film opens with the head of CBS, Sig Mickelson, introducing Edward Murrow, a broadcast journalist for CBS, to the audience. Murrow is preparing to give a speech. In this speech, Murrow mentions that "We have a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information. Our mass media reflect this." It is unfortunate how true this statement is today when it comes to certain topics. I believe that our government does in fact have a built-in allergy to unpleasant information, which only sets us back a hundred steps as a nation. My belief is reflected by recent events in our country that have been overlooked, swept under the rug, or blatantly ignored by government officials. As of today, March 30th, the year 2023 started only 88 days ago. In that time, there have been 130 shootings. LGBTQ+ rights are on the line. Abortion is no longer a woman's protected choice. The tragedies don't stop there. Rather than focusing on real issues, all the government has done as of late is yell at the creator of a social media app (Tiktok) and ask him the most inappropriate, idiotic questions surrounding wifi networks and dilating pupils. Whatever happened to liberty and justice for all? Whatever happened to liberty and justice AT all? America is falling apart at the seams, and patching those holes up only makes them look uglier. As much as I'd love to go on, I think it would be best to end this here and resume talking about the film. 

The main idea behind Edward Murrow's speech is that people must be told the truth by the media. Nothing should be sugarcoated in order to save face. The end of Murrow's speech states, "But unless we get up off our fat surpluses and recognize that television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse, and insulate us, then television and those who finance it, those who look at it, and those who work at it, may see a totally different picture too late." Edward Murrow can be seen as a protagonist in the film. He believes in doing what is right, even if it means going against his superiors and getting to the heart of uncomfortable topics that no one wants to touch upon. Murrow is displaying the attitude of a true, trustworthy journalist, insisting on telling the truth and nothing but the truth. One might consider him to be a muckraker journalist. 

Towards the middle of the film, I noticed something interesting. Certain scenes opened with a jazz singer in a recording studio. Her songs seemed to set the tone for those scenes and act as a symbol. If you listen closely to the lyrics, she brings up ideas of darkness, heaven, light, and love, among other things. 

 

Edward Murrow's goal in the film was to expose Senator Joseph McCarthy, who was continuously exploiting fears of communism in the U.S. during a time when the threat of communism had already created a stir. McCarthy was seemingly adding fuel to the fire...and for what? Who was that supposed to benefit? There is a discussion at work between colleagues of alleged communists hiding around in the U.S. which led to an innocent man getting dismissed from the air force on a pure assumption. The man was given the most unfair trial I've ever seen, unaware of the charges against him and with evidence remaining sealed in an envelope. The man was found guilty, and the majority of journalists backed away from reporting about it for the fear of being penalized by McCarthy. 

Edward Murrow eventually steps up, eager to air out McCarthy's dirty laundry and give the people the truth on his show, while also requesting comment in self-defense from McCarthy. McCarthy agrees to come on the show, only to accuse Edward of being a communist himself and listing what he believes are pieces of relevant evidence. Edward denies most of them aside from being on a foreign payroll for a short amount of time and declares that since McCarthy did not deny any facts that were reported about him, the audience can assume that all of them are in fact true. Edward wins! The air force man goes back into the army, and all is well. A clip of Edward's speech is shown again, ending the film with its title, which I thought was a perfect way to summarize everything. Way to go, George Clooney! 

EOTO #3 Reaction

As a journalism major aiming to achieve a job writing and reporting as an entertainment journalist in the future, it may not come as a surprise when I tell you that I was most captured by an EOTO presentation on celebrity journalism. For years, I've loved watching shows such as Access Hollywood and Extra and getting buried in magazines from Variety to Vogue. I enjoy staying up to date on pop culture, especially the music side. Ask me about any recent celebrity feuds or gossip, and I'll most likely know the details. 

 

From what I gathered during the presentation in class, the first technical celebrity interview on record was John Quincy Adams, a former U.S. president, in the 1800s. Adams was supposed to get interviewed by a female journalist named Anne Newport Royall, who appears to be the first-ever female journalist. Cool! However, since sexism was oh-so-present at this point in time, Adams rejected the interview because he did not want to get interviewed by a woman, as he thought that a woman would be incapable of succeeding at interviewing a president. As if the job was too intimidating or something. Royall was not going to stand for this, of course, so she caught Adams off guard at his home while he was swimming completely unclothed and prevented him from exiting the conversation by hiding his clothing until all of her questions were answered. Royall seemed like a total badass. 

The more commonly known origin of celebrity journalism occurred in the early 1900s with a new publication called "Photoplay". Photoplay was a magazine filled to the brim with reports on the lives of celebrities. As the years went on, the term "celebrity" molded in meaning, ranging from politicians to actors to athletes! After a while, the interest of the public shifted from war and politics to makeup products and diets. Looking at celebrity journalism today, it is impossible to go twenty-four hours, even just one hour, without hearing or reading about some update in some celebrity's life. Examples include but are not limited to, Kim Kardashian's photoshop fails, Taylor Swift's genius lyrical easter eggs, and Rihanna showing up to the SuperBowl halftime show pregnant. I personally hear and read about these things by choice. What can I say? It's entertaining stuff! 

EOTO #3: Gonzo Journalism and Hunter S. Thompson

Gonzo journalism introduced a brand new, never-before-seen method of writing and reporting. Hunter S. Thompson was labeled as the father of this new type of journalism, and his impact still shines through today in modern publications. 

The symbol above is what's known as the "gonzo fist". The gonzo fist illustrates two thumbs and four fingers holding a peyote button. The peyote button is a nickname for the top of a peyote cactus. The gonzo fist was first used by Hunter S. Thompson in a 1970 article about the Kentucky Derby. Gonzo journalism is best described as journalism from a first-person point of view. It allows the writer or reporter to express their personal opinion on a story and insert themselves into the narrative in a way. With gonzo journalism, journalists are free to speak on their own observations and experiences, rather than just the typical facts and learned information. 

 

One of many popular news outlets that still use gonzo journalism today is Rolling Stone, as well as Vice Magazine and Buzzfeed. Traditional journalism was objective, while gonzo journalism appeared to be more subjective. The term "gonzo" itself stemmed from Thompson hearing Bill Cardoso, the editor at Boston Globe, use it as regional slang meaning weird or bizarre. The word is also said to have originated from one of two languages: Italian, where "gonzo" means rude, or Spanish, where "ganso" means foolish. 

Circling back to Hunter S. Thompson's Kentucky Derby article from 1970, the tale behind it is pretty unique. Thompson had a deadline to meet and was empty-handed with no story. Instead of giving absolutely nothing to his editors, Thompson opted to send them pages from his notebook to replace a traditional story covering the events of the race. The article of notebook pages posed a peek into Thompson's perspective while attending a series of parties before and after the Kentucky Derby. The contents included themes of drinking, partying, and drug use by those around Thompson. The article was not publicly widespread, but a lot of other journalists at the time were drawn to it and Thompson's unfamiliar style of writing. Thompson's new approach influenced other journalists to participate actively in their stories and reject objectivity. As opposed to detaching themselves from their subjects and remaining strictly professional, the journalists would begin to spend quality time with them. This is not unheard of today, as writers at Rolling Stone often publish stories about the long periods of time they've spent with artists. It has also been said that writers at Vice Magazine have consumed illegal substances or taken part in illegal activities with the intention of better explaining the experience to readers. 

Another well-known publication by Hunter S. Thompson is his novel, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". The novel is written in the style of gonzo journalism and tells the true story of Thompson's field trip to Las Vegas to create a story from a motorcycle race gone wrong. The only fictional portion of the novel is the names used. They're all made up. As for the plot, Raoul Duke, a journalist, and his attorney, Doctor Gonzo, travel to Las Vegas to report on a motorcycle race but completely change gears after getting distracted by a slew of drugs. Funnily, Raoul Duke was the pseudonym that Thompson used on certain pieces throughout his career. The autobiographical novel was later adapted into a film starring Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke. It is clear that Hunter S. Thompson has truly left his mark on gonzo journalism, and thanks to his quick-witted thinking and expressive opinions, this new era of journalism was born. 

 

Sources 

https://becomeawritertoday.com/what-is-gonzo-journalism/ 

RICHARDSON, PETER. “Between Journalism and Fiction: Hunter S. Thompson and the Birth of Gonzo.” Boom: A Journal of California 6, no. 4 (2016): 52–61. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26413213. 

Tamony, Peter. “Gonzo.” American Speech 58, no. 1 (1983): 73–75. https://doi.org/10.2307/454762. 

 

EOTO #2 Reaction

One presentation topic that very much stood out to me in the second round of EOTOs was The Muckrakers. I was able to seamlessly connect this presentation with my own on Jacob Riis, since his publication, "How The Other Half Lives" kickstarted the idea of muckraking journalism. Jacob Riis was considered a muckraker for his raw honesty and willingness to expose the truth. This connection allowed me to gain a better understanding of what exactly a muckraker was and is. 

According to the presentation, the muckrakers were a group of journalists whose priority was to report on true and completely accurate stories that had to do with both economic and political corruption. In simpler terms, the muckrakers' job was to rake the muck, or fake news, out of the media. The group aimed to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, exposing those who did wrong to the general public. 

Theodore Roosevelt coined the phrase during one of his speeches in the early 1900s while discussing the impact that the muckrakers had on legislative decisions. Some journalists did not enjoy getting called, "muckrakers", whereas others absolutely loved it! At first, the muckrakers followed the format of yellow journalism, which boasted bold headlines and large exaggerations to grasp the reader's attention. After a while, the muckrakers found that it was time to switch things up, and they began to write in a more organized and thoughtful manner. The point of muckraking was to cut the bullshit and get straight to the point without embellishing anything. Yellow journalism did not serve to properly represent that idea.  

There were many impressive muckraker journalists at the time, but one that caught my eye most was Ida Tarbell. Female journalists weren't exactly a foreign idea as time went on, but I believe female representation in any and all areas of journalism is important. Tarbell exposed the wrongdoings of the Standard Oil Company, and her findings eventually aided in the company's dissolution. Talk about power! 

 

EOTO #2: Jacob Riis

Jacob Riis played a pivotal role in the fields of investigative journalism, muckraking journalism, and photojournalism, paving the way for others to follow suit. Riis wrote about and photographed immigration, poverty, education, and social reform. The celebrated journalist's primary claim to fame was a series of photographs of the unimaginably horrible living conditions in New York City in the 1880s. 

Jacob August Riis was born in 1849 in Ribe, Denmark, and was dubbed "Jacob the Delver" as a kid for messing with the sewerage in his house. One may joke that this was Riis' first investigation. Riis was raised in a small, two-story house in a poorly kept and malnourished area, with his parents and many siblings. His father was a schoolmaster, and his mother stayed at home, birthing fourteen children. A large number of Jacob's siblings passed away at a young age, predominantly from unclean drinking water and tuberculosis. Only four kids, including Jacob, lived past the age of twenty. In 1870, at the age of twenty-one, Jacob decided to leave home to pursue better opportunities in America. 

Jacob Riis landed his first job in America as a police reporter, working for the New York Tribune and Evening Sun. During this time, Riis was able to develop extensive knowledge of New York City's slums that crammed immigrants from different nations together. He soon befriended Theodore Roosevelt, and the two began closely working together. Roosevelt was not a U.S. president yet at this point and worked as the head of Police Commissioners. Riis and Roosevelt would travel to the New York City slums late at night and investigate them. Riis used flashlight photography to document the poor living conditions, homeless children, and terribly soiled alleyways. Unfortunately, the public was blind to these conditions. Riis' photographs offered a much-needed wake-up call. 

Jacob Riis published his first book called "How The Other Half Lives" in 1890. The book featured Riis' flash photography of the poor city living conditions, displaying both photojournalism and investigative journalism. This book became the foundation for muckraking journalism and exposed the poor living conditions to upper and middle-class citizens. The photographs featured filth, disease, exploitation, and overcrowded areas inhabited by over one million immigrants. Theodore Roosevelt called Riis, "The most useful citizen of New York." after the book was published. Also, the book later inspired another journalist, Jack London, to go on to expose London's East End in a book of his own, titled "People of The Abyss". 

Riis went on to publish a second book in 1901, called "The Making of An American", which was equally as popular as his first book. This time, the book was an autobiography and told a detailed success story of Riis' journey from a homeless immigrant to a praised journalist. Today, he is recognized as a hero in the field of journalism. Two of Riis' most noteworthy quotes from his time as a journalist are, "The slum is the measure of civilization", and, "The world forgets easily, too easily, what it does not like to remember." Both of these raise excellent points and could not be more true. Regarding the first quote, if society does not properly care for the less fortunate, then that paints society as dirty and of low quality. As for the second quote, history sometimes repeats itself and this could be the reason why. People disregard information and events that make them feel uneasy, instead of investigating the causes to avoid similar events in the future and improve society as a whole. The present-day world needs another Jacob Riis. 

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Sources 

https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/jacob-riis?all/all/all/all/0 

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/How-the-Other-Half-Lives/Jacob-A-Riis/9781625584250#:~:text=How%20the%20Other%20Half%20Lives%20was%20a%20pioneering%20work%20of,City's%20upper%20and%20middle%20class. 

https://jacobariismuseum.dk/en/jacob-a-riis/ 

https://www.moma.org/artists/4928 

https://jacobariismuseum.dk/en/gallery/ 

 

They Won't Forget

They Won't Forget is a black-and-white, dramatic, mystery-thriller film from 1937 that brings to light the tragic concept of trial by media. The exact definition that I came across from the International Journal of Law Management and Humanities states that trial by media was a phrase used to describe the impact of media on a person's reputation by creating a widespread perception of guilt or innocence. In the case of this film, the widespread perception is guilt. 

 

The story revolves around a professor, Robert Hale, and the true effect of trial by media. One of Hale's students, Mary Clay, was found dead on Confederate Memorial Day. Seeking out the perfect plan to boost himself up to the Senate, Andrew Griffin, the district attorney, made a successful attempt to point all fingers at Hale for the crime. This was a buyable accusation since Hale was Mary Clay's teacher. To make matters worse for Hale and better for Griffin, Griffin teams up with a reporter named William Brock. Together, the two quickly build an abundance of prejudice and hatred against Hale to paint him as guilty. 

Soon afterward, many citizens are advocating for his death. Mary Clay's brothers are especially enraged by the death of their sister (reasonably so) and have begun planning Hale's abduction and murder. They made threats to kill Hale themselves unless he was executed. When it comes time for Hale's trial, things are not looking good. Witnesses had been threatened and felt an immense amount of pressure, choosing not to speak on his behalf, because it may land them in a tough spot equal to or worse than Hale's. Hale's lawyer did what he could but to no avail. Hale is found guilty and sentenced to death. 

In a turn of events, Hale's sentence is changed to life in prison. Mary Clay's brothers do what they had threatened: abduct Hale and kill him. Hale's wife visits Griffin's office to return a check he sent her for financial help, because honestly, what is a check going to do? It certainly will not replace her husband. Mrs. Hale is furious with Griffin and Brock for putting on their act with zero remorse, and watching her monologue was the saddest part of the plot for me. She knew in her heart that her husband didn't do it. She knew that Griffin and Brock made it all up. Shortly after Mrs. Hale exits the office, Brock asks Griffin if he thinks Hale was actually guilty, and Griffin's outrageously inappropriate two-word response is, "I wonder". Imagine plotting to have an innocent man killed just because he's easy crime bait, only to question whether or not he'd be capable of said crime. The indecency, the insanity, it's just unfathomable. This is why I don't like politics. The lies, the sheer audacity of people to play the blame game for their own benefit even if it puts others in harm's way, and the fact that it didn't take much convincing or any clear evidence to rile up a crowd and turn them on an innocent man. Shame on you, Andrew Griffin. 

EOTO #1 Reaction

Of all the presentations given on institutions for EOTO #1, I was most captured by The North Star, as well as Publick Occurrences and The Boston News-Letter. 

Before this presentation, I was familiar with Frederick Douglass' history but unaware of the creation of The North Star. The North Star was a newspaper created by Douglass that made history as the first abolitionist newspaper written and published by a black man. This is a very significant piece of writing, especially since every one of the abolitionist newspapers at the time such as The Liberator, The Emancipator, and Alton's Observer were not written or published by black men. The newspapers had instead been written by northern white men who were sympathetic to the plights of slavery, but could not empathize with them. 

 

The North Star was inspired by The Liberator. I found it interesting that Frederick Douglass used The Liberator as a muse while creating The North Star, as he was dissatisfied with the fact that it had been written and published by a white man. I was also quite intrigued by the story about how The North Star got its title. Around the time the paper was written, a series of states in the North banned slavery. Many slaves were able to flee the South by using the North Star as a guide to get to the North. This title makes the paper all the more a vital piece of history. 

From what I gathered on Publick Occurrences, it paved the way for an essential part of our first amendment rights: freedom of the press. Publick Occurrences was the first colonial newspaper in America. The paper only released one issue, but regardless, it shaped the future of the people vs. the government and had a hand in determining whether the people should have freedom of the press years before it was actually written into the constitution. Benjamin Harris created the paper, with four pages and featuring blank sides for reader commentary. Nowadays, we'd consider that pretty short, but they didn't! 

The paper was also the first colonial newspaper in America to have multiple pages. Before Publick Occurrences, people published single pages of news and/or read newspapers shipped from England. After a few short days of existence, Publick Occurrences was shut down due to a lack of license. I think although Publick Occurrences had a far-from-ideal run length, the fact that Benjamin Harris had his voice heard at all made its creation worth the cancellation. 

The Boston News-Letter came around fourteen years after Publick Occurrences and was legally created and published by John Campbell. I can't even imagine what our world would look like right now if we didn't have a news source for fourteen years. That just goes to show how much we depend on the news. The Boston News-Letter was technically one page long, with information taking up two sides of one piece of paper, much shorter than Publick Occurrences. Campbell also made sure to mark each page with "Published By Authority" to show readers that he was legally publishing the paper. Smart man! 

EOTO #1: History of Political Cartooning

 Political cartoons have been around for centuries, and are used as a form of artistic expression in politics. According to Brittanica, political cartoons have been identified as drawings made to convey editorial commentary on politics, politicians, and current events. There are five key components to check off when creating a political cartoon: symbols, exaggeration, irony, labeling, and analogy. 

Political cartoons got their start in 1720 with the collapse of the South Sea Company. With every significant historical event that followed, a political cartoon would follow as well and they still do today, centuries later. Some older cartoons have even been modernized or revamped to revisit certain events. 

Benjamin Franklin, The Pennsylvania Gazette, 1754 

Matt Davies, Newsday 2023 

 The significance behind Benjamin Franklin's original cartoon falls into two parts: the main idea, identifying the five key elements. The main idea of this cartoon was to promote the union of the American colonies at the beginning of the French and Indian War. The cartoon appeared a number of times as a means of convincing the colonies to join each other or, as it says...die. As for the key elements, the usage of a snake could have possibly symbolized regeneration, because snakes shed their skins. There was also a legend that stated if a snake was cut into pieces and reassembled before sunset, it could come back to life. The snake was cut into eight pieces in the cartoon to represent the eight colonies. The cartoon was first featured in an editorial written by Franklin for the Pennsylvania Gazette on May 9th, 1754. 

The cartoon created by Matt Davies bears a striking similarity to that of Franklin's, and that's because the two are directly linked to each other. The first thing you'll notice is the snake. The snake is not at all cut apart and remains in one piece, but has its tail in its mouth. Upon further analysis of the wording used in this cartoon, there is an apparent history of the use of the phrase, "Don't tread on me" in politics, and it is considered highly controversial. The phrase, "Don't tread on me" is an expression of American patriotism and individualism. Those who choose to use this phrase are supposedly reaching for freedom without overarching government rule. The cartoon stems from a yellow flag sporting a snake with its tail in its mouth, more often referred to as the Gadsden flag. While America was considering a revolution from Great Britain, Franklin created his cartoon of the colonies as severed pieces of a snake. The Gadsden flag, created by Colonel Christopher Gadsden, was said to be directly based on the "Join or Die" cartoon, with the intention of spreading vigilance. The Gadsden flag is now a largely recognized symbol of the Revolutionary War. Those supporting the flag currently believe that it represents courage and holds historic value. Those who dislike the flag believe that it represents racial discrimination and harassment because Gadsden was a known slave owner and trader. 

Aside from Benjamin Franklin, other popular political cartoonists from the 1700s to the 1900s include William Hogarth, George Townshend, Thomas Nast, James Gillary, George Cruikshank, John Tenniel, and Rube Goldberg. 

The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, or the AAEC, is a group of political cartoonist members who aim to protect the right to keep creating political cartoons. They claim that political cartoons are crucial as a form of expression. 

 

The cartoon below has a lot to unpack. It was created by Matt Wuerker in 2016, and published in the online magazine, Politico. The message is clear: journalism acts as the dam for a constant overflow of propaganda, fake news, and the overall release of false information into public news outlets. The pipes spewing garbage into the water are labeled, "fake news", "propaganda", "rumors", "malarkey", "conspiracy theories", and "disinformation". It's easy to interpret that those six things are contaminating the news being presented to the public. With so much contamination in the news as of late, it is getting increasingly difficult today to filter out what's fake. A journalist's job is to find the facts, get rid of the fake news, and ultimately give the people the truth and nothing but the truth. 

Matt Wuerker, Politico, 2016 

Sources 

https://www.illustrationhistory.org/genres/cartooning-political-and-editorial#:~:text=Political%20or%20editorial%20cartooning%20is,Series%E2%80%9D%20engravings%2C%20was%20published 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/political-cartoon 

https://www.lambiek.net/comiclopedia/artist-compendium.html 

https://firstamendmentmuseum.org/exhibits/virtual-exhibits/art-politics-300-years-of-political-cartoons/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA2-2eBhClARIsAGLQ2RkyQlPSlcyXkSpxenfWta10G-Nb7vpdm_79oOO3FlMv9dl5HIXnJOIaAuYAEALw_wcB 

https://www.politico.com/gallery/2016/12/december-2016-002382?slide=0 

https://editorialcartoonists.com/about-the-association-of-american-editorial-cartoonists/

https://www.rjmatsoncartoons.com/editorialcartoons 

https://twitter.com/AAEC_Cartoonist