"Activist" journalism is more truthful and informative than "objective" reporting

Rating: 9/10 (12 November 2014)

Set during the reign of Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist witch hunt, Good Night, and Good Luck. is the story of CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow's public battle against the senator. Shot in a beautiful black and white, the film details the pressure put on the public to declare loyalty to the United States and denounce Communism, as well as the struggle to resist that pressure. Murrow was able to leverage his position in the media to expose the evil of McCarthy's crusade, and the film shows the lengths he and his team had to go to do that, as well as some of the contradictions and compromises involved. David Strathairn is brilliant as Murrow, and all in all the film captures the mood and explores the terms at stake in that era with clear purpose. It's also an interesting film on the question of objectivity in journalism. Murrow has a definite perspective, and yet his reporting is fair and accurate. This kind of "activist" journalism is more honest and truthful and ultimately informative than the kind of false "objective" reporting we've been conditioned to accept as the standard.