Newspaper Movie: Page One: Inside The New York Times
As a newspaper obsessive, I’ve been compiling a list of films set in newspapers, you can find the others here. If you have a newspaper-related movie to recommend, that I’ve missed, please let me know.
Page One: Inside The New York Times (2011)
Rating: 4.5 stars
Newsroom quotient: 5
Rolling presses vibe: 5
Newspaper featured: The New York Times
Newsroom used for filming: The New York Times
Andrew Rossi’s documentary focuses on the Media Desk at The New York Times. Shot in 2010 it covers, amongst other stories, the Wikileaks publication of the Afghan war logs. The standout star, for me, is David Carr, a writer and columnist who steals every scene he’s in. Carr is irascible, smart and at times, very funny. In fact, just how I want my New York journalist to be. His meeting with the founders of Vice is worth the price of admission alone.
The other newspaper movies I’m currently watching cover subjects that reflect every aspect of humanity; from the undermining of democracy and institutional child abuse to the genocide of the Killing Fields. However, the subject Rossi covers here in some way underpins all of that. How will independent journalism, and the newspapers that publish it, survive in an age of seemingly free online news and diminishing advertising revenues?
Page One was made before the election of Donald Trump. A time which has only further diminished the standing of journalism in the eyes of much of the public. Now newspapers are working under accusations of ‘fake news’ in a world that has ‘alternative facts’.
None of the stories told in any of these films would be uncovered without the dogged determination of investigative journalists. Journalists who shine light into the dark corners and the newspapers they work for who are not afraid to talk truth to power. Lose that, and we’ll live to regret it.
We enjoyed this film so much we watched it again the following evening. Highly recommended.
David Carr sadly passed away in February 2015, I’m sure he’s much missed by his colleagues at The Times. NY Times obituary
David Carr also featured in the 2013 documentary, Black & White and Dead All Over, which I’ve not seen as it’s currently not available in the UK. If you’re in the US and are interested in writing a brief review, please drop me a line.
