Good Night, and Good Luck -Part 1-

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As a preparation of view of “Good Night, and Good Luck” (2005), in the class, I searched a few main characters in this film.

The relationship between Edward R. Murrow and Joseph McCarthy.

Edward R. Murrow (April 25, 1908 – April 27, 1965) was born in North Carolina. He became one of the most eminent broadcast journalists in the U.S. as well as in Europe. His persuasive report had a significant influence on both radio (Hear It Now) listeners and the TV audience during World War II and post-war. As a result, The Emmy Award recognized him as a honorable recipient for a few times.

The 1950s was a period when the Red Scare had been operated by the U.S. government under the circumstance of the Cold War between the U.S. and the USSR. Murrow came out against the Red Scare that evacuated the Communists and their sympathizers in his documentary show “See It Now” (1951 – 1958) on CBS.

He particularly accused Republican U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) who escalated The Red Scare and for whom was named as the well-known idea for anti-communism, “McCarthyism.” Although most of media was afraid of McCarthy, Murrow criticized McCarthy’s illegal and forcible practices towards individuals. This struck the viewers who also had gotten tired of McCarthyism.

Murrow worked on this show with Fred Friendly, a former president of CBS News and a producer of “See It Now.” George Clooney played Friendly in the movie “Good Night, Good Luck.” Friendly and Murrow paid advertising fees from their own pockets to enforce the program when the sponsors refused to support them.

As one of CBS is newscasters and commentators, and a colleague of Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly, Don Hollenbeck (Mar. 30, 1905- Jun. 22, 1954) also played an important role during this period. However, it is said that he committed suicide because of repeated attacks from Jack O’Brian, a columnist in a Hurst Corporation, media conglomerate, and supporter of Joseph McCarthy.

“See It Now” and “Person to Person”

Murrow’s program “Person to Person” (1953-1961) was hosted with Charles Collingwood. This was a popular television show that introduced celebrities and politicians such as John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe. While Murrow dealt with more politics and world affairs in “See It Now” with a serious tone, he was more friendly in this program.

It seems Murrow was passionate and took pride in his job. I remember Professor Rift Fournier, one of my other professors from communications department, had talked about this film 3 years ago in his “History of TV” class at Lindenwood University,  but I haven’t had a chance to watch it so I am looking forward to seeing this film soon in class.

All The President’s Men -Ethics in Journalism-

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“All The President’s Men” (1976) was directed by Alan J. Pakula, staring Dustin Hoffman, and Robert Redford. This film was based on a true story, the Watergate scandal in the 1970s.  I watched it in the seminar of my Practices and Ethics class . We have discussed what is journalism and the ethics are held by journalists.

“Reporters Woodward and Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Nixon’s resignation.” IMDb

What mostly got my attention was that the way one of the protagonists, Carl (Dustin Hoffman),  tried to investigate this incident. There are a few points that made me uncomfortable while watching the movie. These all can be related to the ethic of journalism.

What was remarkable is Carl’s interview style. It seems like he was approaching people nicely (particularly when he had an interview with a woman he used his “cute” smile),

but he sounded pushy somehow and I did not like the way he said “oh this is just for backing up my memory later on” as he   was taking out his notepad and a pen from his pocket. I understand that he was trying to gather all the hidden information and truth, which would be the greatest “breaking news” of all time, yet forcing or manipulating people to reveal an issue should be considered as an unethical behavior unless those people preciously agreed to talk about it or do not feel uncomfortable with reporters’ approaches.

It is reporters’ responsible to gather true information and make them visible for the audience, or the public. Yet, it seems the border between what the reporters do and what the police or the government does is vague, because the news reporters sometimes become the ones who find the clue for an unsolved affair.

However, there was one thing that impressed me. To assure that the information is all correct and realiable, this might be the primary job of the media, but I did not think that, that thing would be an issue until then. This is because as the text book The Element of Journalism by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel says one of the principle sources of pressures that the journalists face is the temptation to publish immediately. Since I was watching the process of the investigation which had shown where the all sources came from, I was aware of who was doing what, but I can now see that it was reasonable for the executive editor to order the reporters to see if the sources were trustworthy or not.

In real life the audience had no idea how the reporters and the newspaper gets the information and it could be only a tiny part of an event. After watching this movie, it made me think it probably is a good idea to get to know who writes/reports the news and find out his/her background. This is because each one of them has a different viewpoint on politics, finance, history, or any kind of category, so it would be easier for me to take the news and critique.

Citizen McCaw

In the last class, we watched a documentary film “Citizen McCaw “(2009).

As a few people said in class, what Wendy McCaw did was not ethical regarding “taking over traditional style of the Santa Barbara News-Press.” Yet, I agree with the opposite opinion that since she was the owner she had a right to express what she wanted, such as an issue of protection of sea turtles.

To be honest, I am slightly against the latter, because if she wanted to advocate animal issues or her other interests, she could have just started her own newspaper and written whatever she wanted. There was not need to invade the local newspaper and control reporters and editors.

I’ m sure all employees wanted to work for the News-Press because the way the paper had run was attractive to them. That doesn’t mean those people who were fired can just start their own publisher and make the exact same local paper again.  Nevertheless, the border of who makes a decision on what the paper should cover is vague, I believe Ms. McCaw should have known the role of ruling about the local newspaper, particularly one that has been around for a long time. People expect to get information that is related to their daily lives and things major papers don’t cover at all. Maybe this sounds biased, but I think wealthy people believe that they can do whatever they want.

WHAT IS JOURNALISM?

Although I have had no desire to be a journalist and run around all over the place, I appreciate what they do every day, every second. Until I became a college student, I was one of those who thought “everything on TV and newspaper is true.” It was a huge shock to me when I knew that doesn’t happen in real life. News has to be “exciting,” otherwise people don’t pay attention. It seems like media has tried to report something that makes us nervous so citizens will buy newspapers or watch TV. So lately, I can’t trust almost any news. Let me rephrase it, not that I don’t trust them whatsoever, but I tend to think the news must be just a tiny part of  a large glacier.

I also would like to point out the way this film made. This was supposed to be a documentary film, but somehow it made me feel like I was watching one of MTV’s shows or some sort of “reality” show. Some parts of this movie didn’t give me a serious feeling.  There were a few awkward transitions, narrations, and interviews that seemed fake or over exaggerated.

Building a career

I am a junior at college and will be graduating in August 2011, if I take J-term and summer classes. A part of me is excited abut the other half is nervous.

It’s been like this picture for the last few months…

Actually, I do not mind working anywhere as long as I can get a position that I am looking for, but it seems attractive to work in the States also. Before I came to the United States, I didn’t think that I would want to stay here and try finding a job/internship. Going home (Japan), or working in either Australia or UK were a few choices for my next step.

I have made my resume in other classes before, but it’s been a great opportunity to work on it seriously for job interviews before my eyes. Every lecture that has been given in my Seminar in Professional Practice and Ethics class has already helped me with building own career. Writing resume, reviewing others, receiving comments from others, preparing for an informational interview, these practical lessons have made me feel better.

“Networking” is one of the most important keys to be successful in the whole process of getting a job. I have already found an alumnus in a company where I’m aiming to have an informational interview. Mr. Ben Scholle, one of my professors suggested that I contact him when I was telling him about this assignment.

Personally, I’m planning to go to a Boston Career Forum in October. Since I would need both English resume and Japanese resume, I am so glad that I’ve been working ahead for this big event. Also, getting to know my desired positions by doing an informational interview will definitely help me to find out if I really want to be engaged in work in next few years or for the rest of my life.

So I’m still…

Resume Review

First of all, I am not a native speaker and it was little bit hard for me to criticize others’ resumes, but hope my point of view makes sense  🙂

Laura:

It looks nice and font style is cute, it tells you who you are, but it seems like the font could’ve been larger because there is a space left on the bottom. Capitalized name caught my eyes.

Under related qualifications, it says “proficient in Word and PowerPoint,” but it would be better as “Microsoft Word and PowerPoint” because that’s the official name although everyone knows what those programs are.

Also I would suggest to switch around Admissions Office and Lifeguard, since you are currently working in the office.

Stephen:

Font size, style, and back ground color on each sub-title are nice.

I just didn’t get it what the short red line on top of the page was. Experiences explain a lot of why you put an your excellent Verbal Communication Skills,” but it’ll be easier for employers to read if all the sentences were shorter because everything looks long .

I would like to see more programs you can operate instead of “etc.” Also, it would look more professional to spell out “ad lib” (probably because I don’t know what lib stands for…)

As I suggested to Laura, switch KCLC On-Air Talent and Production Trainer may be nicer.

Brett:

A simple and clean resume, and I liked it. It would’ve been better if your name was bigger just so it’ll get more employer’s attention. I’m not sure but I think BA needs to be B.A.

Under the Sports Experience, you said you have extensive knowledge in football, but how much? It’ll be good if some sort of number is listed to impress readers. I wasn’t sure if “Had to use” was the write expression or not, since I had an impression of “oh, he was forced to use those programs and didn’t really enjoy them.” Did you have any particular position at all the places you worked?

Who am I…?

I am KAEDE MIMURA, (Kaede means “maple” in English,) was born and raised in Kyoto, Japan.

I chose to move to the United States and study at Lindenwood University because I have a few dreams that I would love to pursue.

1. To study COMMUNICATIONS.  (Now I’m an Advertising and Media major).

I moved from Japan to the U.S. to learn how to approach and touch people’s feelings that make them think.

I’ve been around arts, music, books, and many other media thanks to my parents who studied arts and make their livings by producing crafts. Movies have always been a thing that I particularly really enjoy. They make me feel good, happy, sad, and above all, teach me about a “life” from different perspectives.

The U.S. is one of the BIGGEST countries that produces movies, and all the other media.  I wanted to come and see what’s going on with those industries closer.

I strongly believe that arts can be a very important part of one’s life and how we see/hear/feel/touch arts should be respected all the time. Yet, it seems both children and adults spend less and less time on arts.

That’s why working as an event planner or an art director is what I’d love to do for my career.

2. To experience more COMMUNITY SERVICES/VOLUNTEER WORKS.

Just imagine being the person who is trying to do something that he/she can’t do, is struggling with a problem, or doesn’t know how to make things better. I can’t stand it. That is why I like to do services and volunteer works. Working is another thing that I like to do. Seeing people’s faces with big smiles makes me so happy. There are more opportunities to participate in community services and volunteer works easily here in the U.S. compare to Japan. I’ve learned what people need, why things happen, how to solve their issues, how to get others involved to help us, and many more.

Lindenwood University has a “Campus YMCA” whose slogan is “No pool, No gym, Just service.” I’ve worked with this group since 2008.

I’m also a member of the Lindenwood International Student Organizaion, ISO.

Since I’m one of the international students at Lindenwood, I know how it is to be “Non-American.”  We support those who are from overseas by sharing their cultures and interacting with Americans. We believe that it would be very nice if everyone became aware of the differences we have across the universe which will make any relationships among people smoother.