"Good Night, And Good Luck"

"Good Night, And Good Luck" was Edward R. Murrow's radio and television broadcast signoff. Now it's also the title of a feature film (official website here) which reenacts a showdown between the news media and former Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy.

From the movies.yahoo.com site:

'Good Night, And Good Luck.' takes place during the early days of broadcast journalism in 1950's America. It chronicles the real-life conflict between television newsman Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee. With a desire to report the facts and enlighten the public, Murrow, and his dedicated staff - headed by his producer Fred Friendly and Joe Wershba in the CBS newsroom - defy corporate and sponsorship pressures to examine the lies and scaremongering tactics perpetrated by McCarthy during his communist 'witch-hunts'. A very public feud develops when the Senator responds by accusing the anchor of being a communist. In this climate of fear and reprisal, the CBS crew carries on and their tenacity will prove historic and monumental.

You can see that a talented ensemble cast was assembled for this film. Interestingly, McCarthy's onscreen 'performance' is not performed by any actor -- rather it's comprised solely of historical footage of himself.

Given today's sociopolitical evironment of fear and its potential/actual effect on media I can only note that this is a very timely film, indeed. I'm going to see this one the day it comes out. Hopefully it's in a nearby theater -- it's scheduled for limited release on Friday, October 7th.