EOTO #3: Reaction

Bob Woodward

Photo: New York Times

This presentation about "the greatest reporter of all time" was truly fascinating. Bob Woodward was born in Genova, Illinois on March 26, 1943. He attended Yale University, double majoring in History and English. After graduation, he decided to enlist in the U.S. Navy where he served for five years. 

Once his time with the Navy was over, Woodward went on to start his career as a reporter. He started at The Washington Post but was out of a job after a two-week trial. 

He then found luck at Montgomery Sentinel. Who then referred him back to The Washington Post, which kickstarted his infamous reporting career. 

Woodward was working during Richard Nixon's reelection campaigns. As many know, he and his administration were found guilty for many white-collar crimes. Woodward and his friend/fellow reporter,

Photo: The Guardian

Carl Bernstein, revealed this presidential scandal. 

The breaking of this scandal is what makes Woodward and Bernstein such renowned reporters. During Nixon's campaign, these reporters knew something suspicious was taking place, and as good journalists do, they did the digging necessary to then reveal the various crimes. 

These reporters are very inspiring for their efforts in revealing difficult information. But the public deserve to know the truth. Woodward and Bernstein won a Pulitzer Prize after writing their number-one bestseller called "All The President's Men." 

This scandal marks when journalists were able to gain mass media attention, providing truthful and factual information to the American people. Woodward and Bernstein were determined to expose the Watergate crimes and their coverage of the events gained them a great reputation. 

Naturally, the government tried to say that Woodward and Bernstein were false and inaccurate. Ron Ziegler, The White House Press Secretary in 1972, actually ended up apologizing to the reporters a year later. 

Bob Woodward is someone that every aspiring journalist should look up to. It was great getting to learn about his various Pulitzer Prizes and unforgettable reporting. 

Photo: Forbes

Woodward also covered the Whitewater scandal during Bill Clinton's administration and exposed them in his bestseller "The Agenda." He also interviewed President George W. Bush on his response to 9/11 and his involvement in the Iraq War. Woodward went on to write several novels about the involvement in Iraq. 

He covered America's involvement in Afghanistan and Pakistan during Obama's administration, and recently wrote "Fear" which describes Trump's outlook on foreign affairs. 

Woodward is a true inspiration and as someone who is very interested in political journalism, hearing his story and the lengths he went to to achieve success is amazing. He embodies perseverance and hard work, while also always being one step ahead of the rest. He is known as one of the greatest reporters in America and after this presentation everyone should understand why. 

Photo: The Guardian

"Shock and Awe"

 Thoughts on "Shock and Awe"

Photo: Amazon, Prime Video

This movie had me hooked the entire time. Since it is based on real characters and real events, this film has a lasting effect on the viewer. As a college student getting ready to enter the media world, seeing the events that these journalists went through during their battle to simply tell the truth, was hard-hitting. 

The underlying theme of this movie is the reaction and behavior of the press during the run-up to the U.S. government’s illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003. During this time, tension and anxiety was at an all time high, prompting questionable actions and decisions. 

Press behavior didn't strike me as atypical. All reporters are racing to get to the story first. They are searching for sources, reaching out to everyone they can get in contact with, and it doesn't matter whose toes they have to step on. 

However, while it was frustrating that people were leaking information to larger publications, such as The New York Times, this is typical in the media world. Unfortunately, even if it is false information, people will continue to give out the knowledge they have, and it is then up to the reporters to figure out if it is true or not.  

Photo: Strobel & Landay; Credit: Robert Ebert

In the Knight Ridder newsroom, Jonathan Landay and Warren Strobel, were doing exactly what good journalists are expected to do. They spent their time questioning the government, instead of just going along with what the officials and other media outlets were saying.

The nation was under great distress, wondering if the claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction in his possession were true or not. Landay and Strobel questioned the Bush administration and were skeptical of this claim. While they were questioning the government, everyone was questioning them as reporters.  

It takes a lot of guts and hard work to go against what the government is saying. People tend to trust the government, although that is going in a different direction today. There are also media outlets that are heavily influenced by the government, which can be seen in "Shock and Awe." 

Photo: Bush, Radio Free Europe

The New York Times was not skeptical of the government, and the Bush administration was using the media to get their message out, which caused a mass amount of worry and stress. 

This in turn, created issues for the reporters at Knight Ridder. Yes, news is like a game. Who can get there first and who is telling the truth? Knight Ridder was first to the truth, but when everyone is in tune with the justifications from the government and major publications, their first thought was to turn on reporters such as Landay and Strobel. 

We saw the men at the barbecue turning on Landay and Strobel, treating them like they were the enemy. When they were really doing the right thing. But this is a prime example that people are more likely to go along with what mass media outlets are saying, which throws off public opinion and behavior. 

For journalists and everyone, the truth is what matters the most. Sometimes the truth is ugly and people don't necessarily want to hear it, but the truth needs to be told. News can never always be a positive thing because they are very negative events happening in our country and world every single day. 

This movie parallels a lot to what is happening today. Tensions have been running high between the press and the government for a very long time now. Since before the illegal invasion in 2003. 

The media's primary duty is to present the public with information and alert us when important events occur. Reporters will always be getting various information about different events and topics. 

It is important that we do what is right and look at all sides of a story. If we are so focused on one version of the story, then the way Landay and Strobel were treated and swept under the rug, will continue to happen in the media. 

Photo: Variety

EOTO #3: Journo Heroes of the Modern Era

The Adventures of Martha Gellhorn

Photo: Gellhorn, Credit: Britannica

While it may be common to see female journalists in war zones today, there was a time when women were not allowed to be writers, let alone report in these places. As one of the first female war correspondents, Martha Gellhorn spent her career covering stories during times of unrest. 

Gellhorn was born Nov. 8, 1908, in St. Louis, Missouri. She attended Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, but decided to leave during her freshman year in 1972 to start her career as a writer. After contributing to several publications, she landed her first job with The New Republic, a progressive political magazine, and then the Albany Times Union newspaper. 

Photo: New York Times

She soon returned to St. Louis on the allegations that her parents were worried about her, but upon arriving, she quickly became bored and restless. Paris was a hotspot during this time for young American writers and artists. Gellhorn packed a suitcase, typewriter, $75 and headed to the popular destination. 

Starting at the New York Times bureau office, she did not have much luck and was turned down for all the jobs she applied to. After much difficulty, she landed at United Press during the First World War. 

Gellhorn was fired after reporting that a man associated with the UP had sexually harassed her. During the 1920s, there was very little protection from sexual harassment in the workplace, leaving women exiled and unemployed. 

After losing her job with the UP, she picked up various jobs writing for newspapers and covering fashion for Vogue. She traveled Europe during the late 1920s but returned back to the United States in the early 1930s. 

Gellhorn quickly formed a relationship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and even lived in the White House. During her two months there, she assisted Eleanor with correspondence and her column in Woman's Home Companion.  

Photo: Military History Matters

This relationship helped Gellhorn get hired as a field investigator for the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. She toured the country, reporting on the Great Depression. Gellhorn documented how the depression was affecting everyday Americans, as well as those experiencing unemployment, homelessness and hunger. 

In 1936, she wrote The Trouble I've Seen, accounting all of her experiences. From the desperation of men emasculated by unemployment, to children who had to be told to forget about their desires, Gellhorn captured what everyone was experiencing. She was only 25 at the time, making her one of the youngest reporters tasked with telling the story of the Great Depression from the perspective of Americans themselves.  

She had the chance to investigate all of these tough topics before becoming a foreign correspondent. Her first war assignment involved covering the Spanish Civil War for Collier's Weekly. 

Photo: PBS

Although Gellhorn did not want to be known for her brief marriage to Ernest Hemingway, it was a major event during this time. She met Hemingway while on vacation in Key West, and this prompted an affair. When she was given the assignment for Collier's, he said he would be in Spain waiting for her. 

While in Spain, she covered the bombings of Barcelona and soldier's stories about life in the trenches. Later published in 1968, A Stricken Field, describes the oppression of the Gestapo and Prague. She also included her reflections on her experiences while trying to convey the events as news. 

In 1940, she married Hemingway and shortly after received a job offer from Collier's to go to China. Hemingway was convinced to go along. They met with Madame Chiang Kai-shek, the first lady of the Republic of China, on April 14, the day after Josef Stalin signed a nonaggression pact with Japan. 

Gellhorn and Hemingway quickly ran into marriage troubles prompted by Gellhorn's dedication to her reporting. Hemingway did not understand what these jobs meant to her. 

She accepted a job in 1943 that took her to Cassino, Italy. Here she covered stories of orphans and French Army efforts against the Germans. Troubles climaxed in 1944 when Hemingway stole Gellhorn's Collier's credentials and went to England to cover the expected Allied invasion at Normandy. 

After learning of what he had done, she was determined to be present for this event. She traveled to England and discovered he was having an affair. Gellhorn ended the marriage.   

Then the Allies were getting ready to invade Nazi-occupied France. The U.S. military did not want women correspondents on the front lines because of the risk, but Gellhorn was determined to be present. She had to fight for her spot, especially after Hemingway stole her job, but through many witty steps, Gellhorn landed on June 6, 1944 as one of the only women, and journalists, to first-hand experience D-Day. 

She went on to cover the Battle of the Bulge, the liberation of Dachau, the Nuremberg trials, the Arab-Israeli wars and the Vietnam War.  Gellhorn covered almost every war and military conflict during her career. 

At 81 years old, she reported on the invasion of Panama in 1989, while also publishing multiple books and novels about her reporting and travel experiences. 

Gellhorn passed away Feb. 15, 1998, in London. She went through a long battle with ovarian and liver cancer.  

Despite many hardships and setbacks during her early career, Gellhorn endured and is now known as one of the greatest war correspondents of the 20th century. Her works documented the most influential events during that century and she continues to be an inspiration to female journalists and war reporters today. 

Photo: Something Rhymed

EOTO #2: Reaction

The History of Gossip Columns

Photo: RBK, The Secrets You Learn Working at Celebrity Magazines

One presentation that really caught my attention was the one about the history of gossip columns. Prior to this presentation, I honestly never thought much of them. It was simply something that existed and that was all. 

A journalist is meant to investigate and dig for detailed information that hasn't been heard before, so it was very interesting to look at this job through the lens of gossip. When I think of a journalist, my mind automatically goes to news reporting and current events. This presentation taught me to keep an open mind and see that there is so much more out there. 

Journalists have the ability to obtain high-profile information on some of the top celebrities and figures in the world. A gossip column is the part of a newspaper or magazine where you find stories about the social and private lives of famous people. 

Photo: CrimeReads

Reader's love scandalous and juicy information. It is human nature to be curious about the lives of those around us, so when gossip columns became a thing, they gained major popularity. 

Gossip columns became very popular in eighteenth century Europe. Although gossiping has been around forever, the invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century is what allowed readers to digest material at much higher rates. With the printing press producing written materials quicker, prompting higher distribution rates, people figured out that writing could be used for much more than daily news.

James Boswell, a Scottish biographer and journalist, became known as the first "gossiper." He began writing about events happening in his town, which then later turned into 70 gossip columns for London Magazine. One interesting thing that Boswell did was write under a pen name.

Writing under a different name, especially when you are exploiting famous individuals secrets, is a smart move. Many writers still do this today. He started the trend and other gossip columnists began hiding their identities.  

Photo: Hedda Hopper, Wikipedia

With the rise of films in the twentieth century, the main focus was shifted to movie stars and their personal lives outside of filming. Celebrities are constantly under the watch of everyone around them and are never safe from the media. Hedda Hopper, an accomplished actress and gossip columnist, was someone that celebrities wanted to avoid. 

She targeted all of the big names in the film industry during this time and wrote about their shocking scandals in her columns. Hopper's columns may have negatively affected the people she was writing about, but the ability she had to release the truth was of great benefit to her.

Even today, we have major names that celebrities try to avoid in fear that they may be written about. A modern concept is the paparazzi, which celebrities can never tell when they are going to show up and start snapping pictures of them. 

Huge names such as Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez, actors in I Love Lucy, have faced much scrutiny in gossip columns. The image of their perfect life and family was quickly brought to a halt when a gossip columnists revealed a story about Arnez having an affair with a prostitute. 

Photo: Newspapers.com

This shows the real power that writers hold. It is interesting to explore the start of gossip columns and make comparisons to what they are today. In modern times, with the rise of social media, gossiping is a constant concept. 

Social media makes anyone a target of gossip. Celebrities and major people such as government officials, are still a main target, but there has been many scandals caught on social media that have involved people who are not famous.

People will always be looking for the next story and the next big scandal. Sometimes we don't even realize how wrapped up we get in the lives of others. Gossip columns are mainly a form of pure entertainment, but sometimes they can rip apart people's once happy lives. 

But as long as the reader is satisfied, that's what matters.  

      

"Good Night, And Good Luck"

Exploring Good Night, And Good Luck

Photo: IMDb, Movie Poster

During the early 1950s, there was a chilling effect making its way into broadcast journalism. Reporters began refraining from engaging in certain topics out of fear of losing their jobs or being penalized by the government. Good Night, And Good Luck dives into that era and gives viewers an understanding of what it was really like to deal with the government during this time. 

The press is among the most important establishment in this world. When the government steps in and attempts to take control of what is being said, they are disrupting the balance of free speech. The government and press should be separate.   

Photo: Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

Good Night, And Good Luck showcases the press-government relationship going down a dark path. The best part of this movie is that all events filmed, actually happened in our country. While this was a confusing time, getting to see actual clips of Senator McCarthy's anti-communist witch-hunts added to the urgent issues occurring in the country and the media.

In the movie, the CBS team decides that it is only right to investigate the Radulovich accusations. The theme of media responsibility and telling the truth is major in this film. 

Though they would most likely be under harsh watch, Murrow and the other reporters move forward with covering the Radulovich story and eventually turn attention to McCarthy. Murrow personally invited McCarthy to defend himself against the claims made about his corrupt influence on the show. 

As the movies goes on, Murrow starts to challenge McCarthy's questioning and calls him out for major untruthfulness. Seeing Murrow critiquing McCarthy on national television was a great tribute to how journalists are supposed to act. When there is sketchy actions coming from major influencers in the government, there needs to be people willing to uncover what is happening and reveal it to the public. 

   

Photo: Senator McCarthy, Credit: A Sharper Focus

 

It is interesting to see the parallels between this era and what the media is today. During recent current events, journalists have experienced a lot of the same things that the actors portrayed in this movie. Much like when the military men go to Friendly's office in attempt to persuade him to not broadcast the story. 

But CBS went ahead and broadcasted the story anyways. Today, it is common for journalists to be approached and told not to investigate certain topics. When it comes to revealing the truth though, many journalists go ahead and do what is right. 

The government and many citizens do not understand that the truth is the truth. The truth can be good or ugly, but as long as journalists are reporting factual, accurate information, people deserve to hear both sides of the story.

Photo: Murrow, Credit: Little White Lies/Truth & Movies

It is important to recognize how Murrow said during his show that anyone who criticized or called out McCarthy, was labeled a Communist. Anyone who opposed McCarthy would be publicly marked as a Communist party member. 

This same action is seen today. People are getting "cancelled" on social media for speaking their mind and voicing their opinions. From journalists to businessmen, teenagers to top government officials, it does not matter who you are, if you criticize the government or speak an opinion that others don't like, you will be shamed and punished for it. 

There has been a constant chilling effect in the U.S. since the beginning of media. A modern example is the outbreak of the coronavirus in 2020. People were not allowed to voice their opinions against the mask mandate, lockdown, and vaccines because it was seen as criticizing the government and their choices. 

But what good is the media if we are not allowed to question and critique the government? Journalists are meant to investigate, question, and reveal important and necessary information to the public. 

Life would be quite mundane if we were all forced to have the same opinions and views. Looking back on times such as the second red scare during Senator McCarthy's term, is important to ensure that the same mistakes and actions are not repeated. 

As an aspiring journalist, it is nerve-wracking to see many professionals under scrutiny and in fear of losing their jobs for simply doing their job. But I hope that one day I will have the opportunity to use my voice for good, and continue to do the true work of a journalist.    

Good Night, And Good Luck was a fantastic film for young journalists to experience. Those involved in the making of this film went to great measures to ensure historical accuracy while also using real videos from this time. Going into this field, it is important to realize the tainted relationship between the press and the government, but to also know that the press is supposed to be separate from the government.  

"We must not confuse dissent disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it." -Edward R. Murrow   

Photo: Prime Video