The movie "Good Night and Good Luck" delves into the McCarty era where the country experienced the second red scare, when many people feared degradation and citizenship revocation due to accusations of communist "security risks." Journalism and First Amendment violations were extremely common, and this led to journalists worrying about reporting the violations due to fear of being outlawed and deported.
This movie specifically outlines when the CBS Television network airs news episodes that outline the violations, despite the fear of jailtime or deportation. It also uses real clips which helps the movie feel accurately represented, one story that became particularly infamous is how they outlined an Air Force Lieutenant was discharged and jailed for suspicion of communism despite the fact that the captain and the public never saw the envelope, nor was there a court case, they were thrown directly into prison.
They were threatened by the lead supervisor and decided to do an episode specifically on McCarthy, no matter the risk, they analyze footage and put as much work into tiptoeing the line of jail as possible, this is a great way of visualizing and explaining how the journalism process worked in the second red scare, Many news outlets were struggling to report on the events without getting ridiculed by McCarthy, They had to resort to not reporting them at all, Which is a very big and good example of Prior Restraint, Which is a major violation of the first amendment.
The airing was mostly successful, With the higher up of CBS saying they agree and are alongside the message, essentially starting to make the public get a sense of union that could help defeat the red scare and bring back America to its normal self again. This led to the newsroom receiving a letter which reindicted the Air Force Lieutenant and brought a sense of curiosity in the public. Essentially after the newsroom started to report on the red scare, it was like a match in a fuel tank and created a chain reaction.
McCarthyism and the Red Scare | Miller Center
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