JCOM Department to Show McCarthyism Film, Discuss Propaganda

The public is invited to a free screening of the 2005 feature film “Good Night, and Good Luck,” followed by a discussion of propaganda, at 7 p.m., Wednesday,  Nov. 1, in room 130 of the Eccles Science Learning Center on the Utah State University campus.

The event is part of the Media & Society Lecture Series sponsored by the USU Department of Journalism and Communication.

 

The film, starring David Strathairn as CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow and George Clooney as CBS news producer Fred Friendly, examines the threats to free speech and free press in the early 1950s, and details Murrow’s efforts to expose the fear-mongering tactics of Sen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin.

 

After the 90-minute movie, department head Mike Sweeney will lead a brief discussion and question-and-answer session with history professor C. Robert Cole, an expert on Cold War propaganda, and journalism professor Penny Byrne, an expert on media law.

 

“If you’re a student who loves the First Amendment, chances are Edward R. Murrow is your hero and you don’t know it yet,” Sweeney said.