In many ways, it can be argued that through the use of film, society’s view on the profession of journalism can be reflected to be uncover and investigate stories ‘that we ourselves dare not.’ (McNair, B. 2010. Pg.12) By acting as our ‘collective conscience,’ journalists can be portrayed through film and television shows to act as a unifying source within our society; exposing our shared beliefs, morals and ideas into the public eye. This can be seen through the All The President’s Men (1976), where the journalists are portrayed as investigative, daring, and strive to reveal the truth through their courage and perseverance. However, journalists in film can also be represented in a paradoxical way. In the film Nightcrawler (2014), the journalist in the film, Lou Bloom, is portrayed to have little or no morals when it comes to the profession of journalism. He can be seen to fabricate the truth or manipulate others in order to acquire a story that would have maximum impact when shown on the television. The following essay will explore whether journalists in films act as our “collective conscience, going to places and doing things that we ourselves dare not, and without courage we would, as societies, be very much worse off” as the critic, McNair believes.
In the first instance, All The President’s Men (1976) centres on a storyline of two reporters, Woodward and Bernstein who work together to uncover and expose the American government-better known as the ‘Watergate scandal.’
It is not always easy to look someone in the face and address their faults. Yet, Clare Booth Luce’s introduction of her speech is straight to the point and effective through her appeals to ethos and pathos as well as various tones to do just that. The purpose of her speech is to criticize the tendency of the American Press to sacrifice their journalistic integrity in favor of the public demand for sensationalist stores. In a number of ways, Luce is successful in setting up her speech’s message and working towards cushioning her audience for her upcoming
The movie “All the President's Men” (1976), is based on the work of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein two Washington Post newspaper writers, who uncovered the cover-up of the White House's involvement in the Democratic Party National headquarters, Watergate, break-in. At first, Bob Woodward discovers what seems to be a minor break-in but is surprised to find that top lawyers were already on the defense case. He also discovers that names and addresses of Republican fund organizers were being accused, which further aroused his suspicions. When he brings this to the attention of the head of the Washington Post, he is prepared to run with the story and assigns Woodward and Carl Bernstein to it. Their findings of this
Nearly everybody has thought about writing as a career or a hobby, and it’s simple when you really put the time into it because these skills, like creativity are easy improving skills. Most successful journalists have great creativity and writing skills, especially in the current age when journalists are actually writing award-winning novels, like John Sandford, my father’s favorite author and more famously Mark Twain.
In 1960, American journalist and politician Clare Boothe Luce speaks to journalists at the Women’s National Press Club. She brings up the topic of integrity. Not only does integrity affect journalists, but also the media as a whole. From the beginning, she is straightforward with the audience, she is going to give them hell. She goes on to say that everyone in the audience will be revolted, but should listen through. This prepares the room full of female journalists to feel attacked by her criticisms of the American press. Luce argues that integrity needs to be restored in the media, to do this she appeals to their values while using a defensive tone along with a positive one, while also creating
As society advances and the opinions of the general public change several press outlets work to stay up to date with the changing times. However, in an attempt to stay modernized journalists often times sacrifice their integrity to stay favorable in the public eye. These degrading actions, often times sacrifice the true news for more appealing news. Clare Boothe Luce, American journalist and politician, gives a controversial speech to the Women’s National Press Club condemning her female audience. Moreover, as a female addressing an audience of women she is able to give her true opinion and is able to honestly critique her colleagues. She persuades her audience by preparing them for the criticism by reiterating that she is the guest, by praising journalism, and by logically providing reasoning that the journalistic view must change for the good of the general public.
In all, I thought All The President’s Men was a great tool to learn more about the Watergate scandal and the Nixon administration. I liked the movie because it told the story as a narrative, rather than just listing facts. Woodward and Bernstein did a great job of revealing the scenario through their involvement with mysterious informant, Deep Throat, as well as detailing the Nixon administration’s corruption. I would recommend that anyone watch All The President’s Men because it adeptly portrays the media’s ability to influence politics and serve as a watchdog for the government. All The President’s Men is a great historical account of the Watergate break-in and the scandals that ensued.
The press is definitely not perfect. Who better to let journalists know this than a fellow journalist? Clare Boothe Luce’s introduction of her message to journalists at the Women’s National Press Club utilizes literary devices and techniques such as pronouns, hypophora, anaphora, and antithesis. Luce looks to prepare her audience of female journalists so they respond more positively to her criticism of the American press by giving the reason for her presence and complimenting them. Luce adopts a conversational yet stern tone in order to help incite change in the press.
All presidents men was based on a non-fictional novel, that talks about a small burglary that happened during Nixon’s second election to the office. The burglary was done by five people who had either a past with the CIA, or some type of a relationship with the CIA. They tried to rob the Democratic Party Headquarters at the Watergate apartment complex, but got caught by the police. However, two guys working from the Washington Post, name Woodward and Bernstein. Both reporters took on the job and started searching of why those people who were connected to the CIA, tried to rob the Democratic Party money. Other reporters and people thought it was just a simple robbery, but the two reporters working on the case believed that it could be connected to something very big.
All the President’s Men is a remarkable film that tells the story of two Washington Post reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, that sought to find out what truthfully happened in the Democratic Party Headquarters burglary in 1972. Through their interviews and research, they followed the money that led to uncovering a nefarious presidential reelection campaign. In their persistence, the two exposed a suspicious break-in and unearthed the corruption in the administration that lies beneath it all. While All the President’s Men is faithful to the events that transpired from Watergate in 1972, the film lacks the necessary background knowledge to fully realize the significance of the scandal.
The core of Clooney’s approach is the idea that sometimes journalists need to go beyond simple and exact reporting and offer some more in-depth interpretations on current affairs. He stresses the tensions caused by post-war paranoia and threats made against a country through his portrayal of the acting and characterisations,
This film technique reinforces Brian’s authority. Despite the fact that the issue Brooke wants to cover is about sexual discrimination, Brian still refuses the story based on the fact it will not rate well. When Brian discovers that the story involves discrimination of lesbians, he suddenly becomes eager to stretch the story to its full potential. This example explores the idea that news networks will disregard important stories and the truth within them, to further their network’s popularity and income and to feed the public’s demand for 24 hour news
At the beginning of television news an arrangement existed between television journalists and the public. It was look at as that in modern times promotion journalism was normal. The United States was the modern, broadminded leader of the free world. When Walter Cronkite reported on the daily count of deaths of American soldiers in Vietnam, in lead to the antiwar disapprovals of the 1960s. One man changed how the United States look at the war with his power and influence to change people opinions. (Mann)
The media and the public have had a relationship that has existed for centuries. Through the media, people become aware of events and issues occurring around them. As a result, they make educated decisions. Therefore, the media serve as witnesses of the events happening within our societies and then report them to us. That said, could journalism have a significant political impact in our societies? It is through the media that governments and their citizens communicate. For instance, people communicate by protesting and voting, governments respond by amending the issues affecting the public. It is also through the media that potential political leaders gain recognition. Therefore, the answer is yes, because, journalism causes the spread
In a contemporary society, the role of journalism is a varied one that covers many different aspects of people’s lives. As more and more outlets spring up around the world, many more stories are able to be covered by different outlets, and this means that journalism takes on a more and more important role in a contemporary society. Much of our lives centre on political and social happenings, and journalistic outlets are the public’s way of finding all the information on these event. Journalism also provides us with a way of finding out which of these stories are important and deserve our attention, and which stories can be ignored. The important role of journalism can be well observed in the recent coverage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) in both New Zealand and around the world. This is a ground breaking economic deal, and holds a great deal of importance for the 800 million citizens of the countries involved, as well as the rest of the world. With worldwide coverage of this deal, it is inevitable that different types of reporting occurs, and that different outlets will provide different accounts. With so many different journalism outlets around the world and locally, many have to have a way of standing out from the crowd. This means that some extremely different coverage of very similar stories can occur. However it can also simply be down to different ownership, differing political views, and different socio-economic environments. Two outlets with
Since we read the world through mediums, mass media is one of the most potent institutions. It cultivates societal and cultural norms, serving as an educator and entertainer. The media builds narratives, framing real-life events to fulfill their agendas. In Citizen Kane, publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane capitalizes on the power of modern mass media. He uses the New York Inquirer to lead his yellow journalism crusade. The sensationalist narratives he directs lead the newspaper’s readers to view Cuban independence via a war with Spain as a necessity.