Newspaper Movie: Kill the Messenger
As a newspaper obsessive, during the UK’s Covid lockdown, I’ve been compiling a list of films set in newspapers, you can find the others here.
One of the unexpected benefits of watching these films is it has prompted me to read further about some recent historic events of which I had embarrassingly little knowledge. One of the most startling is the story detailed in Kill the Messenger, of the CIA’s involvement in funding the Contra rebels in Nicaragua during the 80s. It’s a great movie, I highly recommend it.
If you have a newspaper-related movie to recommend, that I’ve missed, please let me know.
Kill the Messenger (2014)
Rating: 4 stars
Newsroom quotient: 3
Rolling presses vibe: 2
Newspaper featured: San Jose Mercury News
Newsroom used for filming: unknown
Kill the Messenger is the true story of Gary Webb, an investigative journalist working for the San Jose Mercury News. Webb was passed court papers implicating the CIA in supplying arms to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. This much I knew; what I wasn't aware of, or maybe I'd forgotten, was that the bulk of that funding came from the sale of cocaine imported into the US. The arms were being flown out, the planes were then loaded with drugs for the return journey.
Webb is initially heralded as a hero by his editors. TV talk shows are queuing to invite him as a guest, it's the investigative journalists' dream come true. Naturally, the CIA push back, denouncing Webb's account. The film alleges The Washington Post, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, embarrassed at being beaten to an international story, by a local paper, go out of their way to discredit Webb.
The truth, it seems, is somewhere in the middle. The CIA has since admitted to the fundamentals of the story. They did turn the other way as industrial quantities of cocaine were brought in to the US and sold to the citizens they are supposed to protect. It also seems Webb in his enthusiasm, wasn't as vigilant in his research as he may have been. He took the world of criminals and drug dealers without corroboration. Nick Schou’s book of the same name, on which the film is based, should cast more light on the issue.
What is true, however, is it makes a great movie. I rode the highs and lows. My inner, Bob Woodward, was pounding the keyboard into the early hours. I was as indignant as he when his mealy-mouthed editors refused to back him, and I felt just as dejected as he accepts his Bay Area Journalist of the Year Award to an almost silent reception. Watch it and let me know what you think?
As always, let's be careful out there.
