Since the beginning of broadcast journalism, there has been one person credited with revolutionizing the field. This was Edward R. Murrow, also known as Mr. Television. Murrow set the highest standard for the reporting of news on radio and television. He broadcast stories that other journalists of the time would not even touch for fear of blacklisting. His facts were solid, his scope thorough, his analysis on target, and his principles uncompromised (Edwards 7). He was also fearless when it came to challenging leaders who he felt were abusing their power, including Senator Joseph McCarthy. Murrow ushered in the modern age of reporting by basically creating the radio and television journalism medium and by openly using these mediums to challenge the views and principles of powerful politicians.
Broadcast journalism is defined as, “a field of news and journals which are ‘broadcast’, that is, published by electrical methods, instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters,” (“Broadcast Journalism”). Edward R. Murrow was one of the first true broadcast journalists. Although newspapers and journalists had been around for quite some time, radio and television were relatively new fields of technology, and a new way of presenting the news had to be adapted. Murrow’s first experience with broadcast journalism came to be when he started reporting from England during World War II. Although the radio was certainly not new when Murrow began reporting from it, it was the first time it was used as a substantial news source (Bernstein). Before this time, average citizens mainly tuned in to hear the headlines or to listen to nightly entertaining radio shows as it provided an escape from the bleakness of the Great Depressi...
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The battle between Journalist Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy is a fight that went beyond limits on television in 1954 (http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2015/mar/30/ggod-night-and-good-luck-george-clooney-edward-murrow-reel-history). Edward R. Murrow earned his fame from his career with CBS News that began in 1935 (SITE MOVIE). Following World War II, Murrow worked with a fellow reporter, Fred Friendly on a program called Hear It Now. Both were successful in the sense that the program was popular and showed on television, which was later called See It Now. Although Murrow and Friendly televised many new reports in their careers, the most recognized and historically remembered contribution was the battle they had with Senator McCarthy on See It Now (http://www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/Murrowvs.McCarthyism.asp). Murrow used his career in
At the start of the 20th century, journalists had begun to play an important role in exposing wrongdoings within politics and society. These journalists, often called muckrakers, used their journalism to focus on political flaws and corruption in city governments. Several popular publishers adopted this form of journalism, which became widely popular
The film, “Murrow vs. McCarthy” had introduced the development of news media and at the same time, in-depth telling the social political, economic and cultural changes in United States during the cold war. After World War II, the shadow of the war have not disappeared, the cold war atmosphere shrouded in the American’s minds. The United States was not only afraid of Soviet attack, but that dissidents will penetrate into the government to overthrow the current rule. The film had showed the conflict between television journalist Edward Murrow and the United States senator in the states of Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy.
Words came from readers in Cleveland that “‘the impression soon prevails in your mind that Ernie Pyle… is the President of the United State’” (Tobin 29). In the midst of World War II Ernie Pyle stood out from the crowd of journalists with a style that hadn’t been seen before but spoke to American readers all over both on the home front and abroad. One writer and historian, Jordan Braverman, puts it into perspective however the lack of truth of some reporting by saying, “Soldiers were known to have huddled in foxholes under heavy aerial bombardment, while their radios were telling them that U.S. forces had complete control of the skies in their battle sector” (Braverman 84). It wasn’t just radio that did this but also print media that both wasn’t always accurate and could be seen as having alternative motives in their writing. One reader summed it up as “you read Lippman for wisdom. Pegler for controversy, Winchell for gossip, but Pyle you read for sustenance in difficult times” (Tobin 28). Echoing this feeling, one deliveryman proclaimed “‘the trouble with these column guys is they want to organize the world… except Pyle. Throw the rest away, but gimme Pyle’” (Tobin 28). Ernie Pyle began his career as a columnist before World War II had begun, and so did his development of distinct aspects of journalism that he carried through his Word War II columns and brought with them a new light to journalism. Roy Howard himself the head of the Scripps-Howard Publishing company wired Pyle a message during the war. It read, “‘ YOUR STUFF IS NOT ONLY GREATEST YOUR CAREER… BUT MOST ILLUMINATING HUMAN AND APPEALING DESCRIPTIVE MATTER PRINTED AMERICA SINCE OUTBREAK BATTLE BRITAIN…YOUR STUFF TALK OF NEW YORK’” (Tobin 57-58). Pyle gathered inform...
The term “muckraking” was coined by Theodore Roosevelt because according to Roosevelt the journalist “raked up “filth” at his feet”. Before the 1880s, quality magazines were expensive and had poor circulation around the nation. Newspaper on the other hand were more popular with the public and of course they were cheaper. Entering the 1880s, technological developments made the circulations of magazines popular and affordable for
The author provides a rough timeline of the objective norm emerging in American journalism, and explains the inner origin of these co...
Howard Cosell changed the way we do news today because he was always looking for the best opportunities that were available for him. Terry O’Neil, former executive producer at NBC sports and executive with ABC News who began his broadcasting career as an ABC Sports researcher assigned to Howard Cosell, said that the changed made by Cosell was epic and cosmic.
In “Reporting the News” by George C. Edwards III, Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry, the main idea is how the media determines what to air, where to get said stories that will air, how the media presents the news, and the medias effect on the general public. “Reporting The News” is a very strong and detailed article. The authors’ purpose is to inform the readers of what goes on in the news media. This can be inferred by the authors’ tone. The authors’ overall tone is critical of the topics that are covered. The tone can be determined by the authors’ strong use of transitions, specific examples, and phrases or words that indicate analysis. To summarize, first, the authors’ indicate that the media chooses its stories that will air
During the Progressive Era Theodore Roosevelt coined the term “muckraker” to characterize journalists that he believed overdid themselves when researching a story, comparing them to someone stirring up the mud at the bottom of a pond. However, while Roosevelt created the nickname, he also used the muckrakers’ influence to directly appeal to the American people. Journalists who are considered muckrakers do not go too far in the pursuit of their stories because they are using their positions to expose the ills of the government, big business, and society; it is beneficial to the American people.
Woodward and Bernstein's undertaking constructed the cornerstone for the modern role of the media. The making of the movie about the Watergate Scandal and the ventures of the two journalists signify the importance of the media. The media’s role as intermediary is exemplified throughout the plot of the movie. The movie is the embodiment of journalism that guides future journalists to progress towards the truth, no matter what they are going up against. It was the endeavor of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein that led them to the truth behind the president’s men. They showed that not even the president is able to deter the sanctity of journalism in its search of truth. The freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, and people’s right to know account for the same truth that journalists pursue; the truth that democracy is alive and will persist to live on.
Muckraking. The public was becoming more and more informed throughout the Progressive Era. Muckraking, the predecessor to investigative journalism, would play a major role in exposing social problems. Muckrakers had a huge impact on the changing societal landscape and investigated anything that they felt was corrupt and needed reform, such as unsanitary conditions and housing. Two Famous muckrakers, Upton Sinclair and Jacob Riis, wrote books that would expose two of the biggest scandals of the Progressive Era.
Media is a powerful tool that can be used to influence the majority and the distortion of truth in media has a rippling effect that may prove to be dangerous. Good Night, and Good Luck is an extravagant film that exposes the truth of media. The main protagonist in the film, Edward Murrow, makes attempts to caution the audience about the power of media. In the film, Murrow says “We have a built in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information; our mass media reflect this. But unless we get up off our fat surpluses, and recognize that television, in the main, is being use 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.” (Heslov & Clooney, 2005) Which is
Encyclopedia of the New American Nation. Television – Tv news and the early cold war. 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
What Edward R. Murrow meant was that television was a great thing if used correctly, if not it was useless.
Journalism: a profession under pressure? Journal of Media Business Studies, 6, 37-59. Scannell, P. (1995). The 'Secondary'. Social aspects of media history, Unit 9 of the MA in Mass. Communications (By Distance Learning).