ABSTRACT
Edward R. Murrow was an American broadcaster. He and his colleagues defied corporate and sponsorship pressures to report and examine anti-communist witchhunts in 1950sAmerica. Murrow said to his audience ‘Good Night and Good Luck’ and he was portrayed by actor Richard Strathairn in George Clooney’s 2005 film with that title. A free media have their first responsibility not to politicians but to the audience
of listeners, viewers and online readers/contributors. This is known as public trust. Whether the media uses or abuses liberty and that trust will determine the esteem in which themedia are held by those they serve, whether commercial or public service broadcasters. That esteem could prove decisive in whether the balance eventually tips towards freedom or control. There used to be a consensus that if you see it, or hear it happening, then it must carry more authority than the written word alone. That’s a version of 20th century expressions like: The Camera Never Lies, or A Picture Tells A Thousand Words. These words didn’t prepare us for a world with media and image digital software which – in dishonest hands – will allow a picture to bend the truth, or be a fiction. Journalist Sam Leith∗ tells a story about his late grandfather, John Junor, who
was Editor of the Sunday Express, and a conversation Junor had with the owner, Lord Beaverbrook. One of Junor’s reporters said he’d been offered the clearest pictures ever of the Loch Ness Monster. The front page was cleared for this scoop. Junor then had a conversation with Beaverbrook. Junor expected praise, but the boss told Junor not to print the story. ‘Mr Junor.
The photograph is a fake.’ Beaverbook went on: ‘Because, Mr Junor, there is no
