Never Stay Silent

The Design of Political Language George Orwell said it best when he described political language as being “designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable.” While government missteps are often shielded by classification and fanciful language, many instances of wrongdoing have been uncovered.  In 2007, the US Military completed an operation in Iraq in which they made the unjustifiable mistake of targeting journalists who they assumed were carrying weapons instead of cameras.  What the US thought was a group of insurgents, was a group of journalists who worked for Reuters, the news company . Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh are just a few of the many who were tragically and mistakenly targeted under the assumption that they were a threat to American lives.  In the video capturing the operation, there are several aspects of the operation that could cause an ordinary viewer to be taken back. Despite the fact that it is a video of “collateral murder” and that alo...

 Good Night and Good Luck : a Space for Antiwar Voices In the decade after World War II, the United States continued to carry a strong sense nationalism and unity under the idea of spreading democracy around the world. Or, as some may put, a unity against the spread of communism. These ideas remained at the forefront of American politicians, especially in the 1950s at the start of the Vietnam War . One of the ring-leaders, Senator Joseph McCarthy, inspired a time period of McCarthyism across the United States, and advocated against the threat of Communist spies.  In Good Night and Good Luck , directed by George Clooney, he sought to track the CNN exposure of McCarthy and his target on citizens who had any slight linkage to the Communist party. McCarthyism is defined by  Dictionary.com  as "the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, especially of pro-Communist activity, in many instances unsupported by proof or based on slight, doubtful, or irrelevant evidence...

  Bernard Shaw: From Marine Corps to CNN Anchor Early Life Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1940, Bernard Shaw was a child of two blue-collar and hardworking parents. Though Shaw did not have a direct path into journalism, his interest in the news was evident from his visits to bookstores and reading of newspapers at a young age. He also participated in his school announcements going above the requirements set for him by seeking better techniques for broadcasting.  Aside from Shaw's journalistic endeavors, he was active in the US Marine Corps until 1962. During his service, Shaw worked in the Message Center as a specialist, and this position really allowed his interest in journalism to grow, especially in print. On weekends off, he often left his station to travel to Washington D.C. where he grew connections in the broadcasting industry. These trips introduced Shaw to Walker Cronkite, who was a CBS anchor at the time, and this relationship gave Shaw the chance to learn a lot abo...

Blogging, Vlogging, and Spontaneous Video... Oh My! One of the most interesting aspects of the growth of citizen journalism is seeing how it changed as technological advancements were made, and in turn, how the surge of citizen journalism pushed technology to keep up with the number of users around the world. Though citizen journalism dates even further than wartime letters sent back home from soldier s to family describing their firsthand experiences during World War I; blogging, vlogging, and spontaneous video have dramatically shifted the way we receive and perceive news. Credibility is an interesting debate I have read into when trying to learn more about our role as citizens or journalists to report. It would make sense for us to trust the most experienced professionals who have mastered journalistic skills, but there is a current outcry against the legitimacy of prominent media outlets. The “fake news” media platforms like CNN and Fox News have suffering reputations. Both platfor...

War and the Press: Propaganda, Political Activity, and Covert Operations The media is a powerful tool that journalists can use to affect major controversies and draw the attention of governments globally. Media has been used by governments to work in their favor, and journalists have used their platforms to expose corruption and wrongdoing by governments, but it is a common understanding that the press has an immense power when it comes to war or maintaining peace.    Media is such an indicator of the nation’s political climate to the government that the “Washington Post front page test” is often referenced in government decision-making.  When a movement or action the government takes is receiving good press or attention, the test has been passed. It is clear that because information can be shared across the world in a matter of minutes, the government has had to adapt to the kinds of information they chose to classify and at what level of classification, especially duri...

Joseph Pulitzer’s Rise We have all heard of the award aspiring journalists dream of obtaining one day, but many people outside of the field of journalism have never heard of its unlikely origin story. The story of the Pulitzer Prize.  Joseph Pulitzer was a sharp man of many talents, with a specialty for writing and negotiating deals. His rise to fame at the young age of 25, and prominence in the newspaper industry during the 1800s was attributed to his attention to detail and genuine passion for public service through his works. After moving to New York following his marriage, Pulitzer earned a job as an editorial writer whose pieces sparked debate amongst Americans of all demographics. As a prominent figure in news media in the 1880s, he negotiated the purchase of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The New York World.   This was an exciting time period in Pulitzer’s life because he was rising in popularity, stirring American political debate, and raising the level of competition...