[Mb-civic] CBC Arts - JOURNALISM ICON MURROW PORTRAYED IN NEW FEATURE FILM

[CBC Arts]

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JOURNALISM ICON MURROW PORTRAYED IN NEW FEATURE FILM
WebPosted Wed Oct  5 12:20:04 2005

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Journalistic icon Edward R. Murrow and the 1950s American phenomenon of
McCarthyism are coming to the big screen in a new film called Good Night,
and Good Luck , written by George Clooney and Grant Heslov.


The film draws parallels between the anti-communist obsessions of
McCarthyism, which Murrow and CBS News were credited with exposing, and
the current U.S. angst about terrorism.

Clooney acknowledges that the terrorism threat is a more realistic one,
but he suggests that there are worrying parallels between loyalty oaths
of the McCarthy era and the Patriot Act of today. "The question is how
much of our civil liberties we are willing to give up".

George Clooney's father, Nick, was a local television news anchor whom he
credits with inspiring him to co-write and direct the film, in which he
also has a starring role as Murrow's legendary producer, Fred Friendly.

"When I started to do it, my dad said, 'be very careful with your
facts'. And we double-sourced every single scene", Clooney told The
Associated Press.

He said the meticulous research adds to the film's documentary sheen.


Senator Joseph McCarthy and the widely accepted communist threat that he
championed caused huge tensions and divisions in the U.S. and in most
western countries, including Canada, in the 1950s. The McCarthy witch-
hunt for communists and so-called "fellow travellers" was particularly
fierce in the film industry, as it was in the arts more generally and in
journalism.

"I thought it was a good time to have those debates again about
government using fear to erode away civil liberties, which happens every
30 to 40 years", Clooney said.

"I thought it was a good time to talk about responsibilities of
the Fourth Estate and always questioning authority - which at
times we shirk."

Neither Clooney nor Heslov (who also appears in the movie as Don Hewitt,
another legendary CBS producer and the creator of "60 Minutes") are out
to condemn modern journalism as measured against the Murrow standard.


"This administration, because of 9/11, got a pass on tough questions",
Clooney said. "Bush One didn't, Clinton certainly didn't, Carter didn't,
Ford didn't".

But "somehow you were unpatriotic" if you asked challenging questions
about the 2001 terrorist attacks or the war in Iraq.

Good Night, and Good Luck takes a snapshot in time. It begins with a 1958
Murrow speech about the social responsibility of television, in which he
famously argued that TV must either accept some serious responsibilities
or become an instrument to "distract, delude, amuse and insulate".

It then flashes back to 1953 and 1954 when Murrow began focusing
on McCarthy.

Heslov pointed out that Murrow was actually a bit late to the game, and
that others, including The Washington Post cartoonist Herblock, had
targeted him much earlier.

Edward R. Murrow is played in the film by David Strathairn, who won best
actor award for the performance at this year's Venice Film Festival.


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