They Won't Forget (1937) Movie Reflection

 

 

The movie entitled, They Won’t Forget, covers the story of the investigation/trial after a young girl named Mary Clay is killed. One of the biggest things depicted in the movie is the relationship between the media and the American Justice system. And how the media can spread false statements, rumors, and speculation.

Clay went missing on Confederate Memorial Day after there was an early school dismissal. She forgot something so she has to go back alone. She wasn’t seen again after that alive. They eventually find her body and immediately assume it was the janitor. The janitor is of color (African-American Male) and because of the time period, blaming him could’ve been a racial issue rather than logic since there was no proof. But nobody would have questioned it

 Andrew Griffin, the district attorney, used Mary Clay’s murder to gain public favor and to make himself look good and concerned. He wanted to be the one to solve the murder in order to be the people’s hero. He then arrested Mr. Hale who was Mary’s Teacher, even though there was no proof. But this was just the district attorney’s attempt to make a quick and easy conviction to win the town over. The case became well known throughout the U.S. and became top news everywhere.

The teacher ended up going to court with a lot of media following the case. It got very much “out of control” as the media began to spread stories and theorize. The jury eventually had to make their verdict known. However, they were threatened with their lives by an anonymous note to determine the teacher was guilty, which they did. On the way to jail or prison, Mr.Hale was kidnapped and killed by men who it is assumed were hurt or wanted revenge for Mary Clay’s death. In the end, the DA questions the teacher's guilt but it's far too late at that point. And the real killer walks free

Many people do not trust the media but sometimes the media can have a very large influence on how things go in society or how people think. Mr. Hale’s death was a perfect example of how spreading rumors and theories can be very dangerous.

Yellow Journalism and Muckraking

                                

Yellow Journalism (also known as the yellow press): a style of news reporting that prioritizes sensationalism over facts. Gives illegitimate news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Popular techniques include exaggerations of news events or scandals.

How it Originated

Yellow journalism is a term first coined during the famous newspaper wars between William Randolph Hearst (The NY Journal) and Joseph Pulitzer II (The NY World). Led by newspaper owners Hearst and Pulitzer, Journalism of the 1890s used melodrama, romance, and hyperbole to sell millions of newspapers, a style that became known as Yellow Journalism.

Yellow Journalism not only made the newspaper more exciting to read but it is fair to say that aside from positive financial gain, it also had major negative impacts. For example, the practice of yellow journalism is also what sparked the beginning of the Spanish-American war in 1898. (Below)

                                 

                                    

Muckraking: The Ideas Of Reform-Minded Journalists

The investigative techniques of the muckrakers include looking over and studying documents, conducting several interviews, and in some cases, going undercover. This is very different from yellow journalism, where newspapers sensationalized stories using simply an idea rather than facts. people could consider Muckraking to be a bad practice because of the journalists going undercover. The reason that someone may see going undercover as something negative is if they are a public figure or a political figure and they have secrets that they do not want to be uncovered. on the other hand, people may see yellow journalism as a negative practice because they are not fact-checking as it should be and is just sensationalizing an idea.

When it comes to labeling something as good or bad, personally it is not something I enjoy doing. However, logically and morally, Yellow journalism is the moral equivalent to lying. Yellow journalism robs the American public of knowing all the detail and information they deserve to know on particular topics while Muckraking has much more legitimacy to it. The ways to differentiate the two is that muckraking will have much more detail, research, and interviews surrounding the topic while yellow journalism will typically only have opinion pieces and publications rather than live interviews with professionals or any explicit details.

Muckraking is extremely similar if not identical to watchdog journalism. Thus, journalists should be involved in politics in the sense that they have a good knowledge of political processes and the officials in control of these processes. this is because then they can have some general understanding of what is going on and who they should speak to. I do not believe journalists should be personally involved in the politics they report on as that can lead to bias. Muckrakers are very similar to whistleblowers however muckrakers are journalists who expose the truths about public figures or institutions while whistleblowers are individuals who work for these institutions and decided to anonymously expose the things going on behind closed doors.

Muckraking is something that should be praised just as whistleblowing should be praised. this is because muckraking clear up the foggy window between our government and ourselves.

The American Whistleblower: An Editorial by Lauren Rollins (Midterm)

Editorial

Lauren Rollins

Sound the Alarm!

    In our society today, many people are forced to conform to the expectations set by those around them and of higher social standing than them. Regardless of these social “standards” it shouldn’t mean that we, the general public, should have to sit back idly and silently watch the indefinite wrongdoings of our counterparts, whether it be a coworker, a parent, or even our own bosses, without uttering a word to anyone in fear of the repercussions.

    The same principle applies to issues concerning our nation’s government because everyone, even a citizen with no government standing, deserves to know the truth, especially about things concerning our government, which affects and controls our everyday lives and safety. Unfortunately, there are very few people who are willing to speak up. No matter how many good and value-holding people there are working within the four walls of our government, there will always be a fear to speak out because of the risks of prosecution and the possible destruction of one’s reputation and entire career if they were to publicize the immoral inner workings of the United States government.

With high respect to that, I am grateful for all our nation's whistleblowers, past, present, and future for helping to remove the barrier between the government and the people they govern. Whistleblowers are typically people who work within the government in some shape or form, who use anonymity to spread confidential government information to outside sources who then take that information and inform the general public. These brave people put themselves and their careers at risk in order to make sure that the public knows the truth about the wrongdoings of our government officials, as we deserve. The government tries to uncover the identities of these individuals so that they can punish them to the fullest extent possible for exposing government secrets. This is something that I don’t think is fair or right morally and this is because if our government was honest with us about everything that goes on behind the doors of those government buildings and within every meeting that we have then perhaps we would all be more trusting and have more faith in our government.

    We the people should not have to live in fear because we don't know what's going on in our own country. So I pay my highest respect to all whistleblowers and I believe that if a whistleblower exposes government information that exposes a government official’s unacceptable, unconstitutional, or prejudiced behavior then I believe they should be protected by the law. The government works so hard to hide things from the public and make our biggest issues seem like ones that should be swept under the rug. But who on earth wants to be in the dark about things that affect all of us? I believe that as more whistleblowers come out and expose the wrongdoings and inner workings of the government, the more transparent our nation's government will be forced to be with us, the citizens.

Wars, the Press and the Public

 

Wars, the Press and the Public

The Fourth Estate

When thinking of the "Fourth Estate" as a label for journalism, the relationship between journalism and government comes into question. Journalists sit and speak with members of the government and cover press conferences given by government officials and then use that information to inform the American public. There should be a healthy and open relationship between the government and the journalists or the press. this is because having transparency with journalists and the companies they work for equates to being transparent with the American people whom the government wants to gain trust from.

Watchdog Journalism in Wartime

Watchdog journalism is a form of investigative journalism where journalists of a news publication interview public figures and politicians while also fact-checking to increase accountability. Journalists use watchdog journalism in wartime to be objective and to peel back the blinding veil between the soldiers of the war and the American people. Similar to the current issues between Ukraine and Russia. It s important for journalists to investigate themselves to find the truth behind the war rather than relying on the words of high-paying political figures.

Support For the War

                                

Throughout all of the wars America has seen, media outlets as well as the government seem to have the task of getting civilian support for the war. this is because getting people to support the war also gets people to support American troops and increases the chances of them going the extra mile of donating to charities that help the men on the ground get care packages and letters of support. during WWI the way that many people supported the war was by buying war bonds and saving stamps. this way, they were lending money to the government which would later be paid back to them with interest after the war was over.

The Business of News

News as a business has a large effect on journalists and what we do when it comes to whether or not we report on things and if we do report on them it impacts HOW we decide to do that. The business of News impacted Journalists' outlook on war because if they painted a negative picture of the U.S. they would be scrutinized for it but if they negatively depict the enemy they can be celebrated. During wartime, how journalists report and what they decide to uncover and share with the public are the ultimate tests of morals over monetization.

                                  

Reese Erlich, while being one of the most important reporters of his generation, is someone I never heard of prior to doing research for this post in particular. I believe we've never heard of him, nor his book, because he was blacklisted by the government. When a reporter exposes the government or things the government was trying to keep a secret, especially about war times and where taxpayer dollars are going, the government officials who would be blamed do what they can to silence that reporter which I believe is the case with Reese Erlich.

The Civilian Live Reporting Era

With the rise of social media and everyone's ability to pull out their phone and film or go live at any time to expose something, I would call this new era the Civilian Journalistic Era. At this point in time, ANYONE can be a reporter from anywhere with just the click of a button or the tap of a screen. This is what will open doors and many eyes in the U.S., making it difficult for the higher-ups in government or law enforcement to hide anything from the American people.