The film deftly makes a beeline for the eye of the storm or, depending on how you look at it, the inner sanctum of the media, gaining unprecedented access to the New York Times newsroom for a year. At the media desk, a dialectical play-within-a-play transpires as writers like salty David Carr track print journalism’s metamorphosis even as their own paper struggles to stay vital and solvent, publishing material from WikiLeaks and encouraging writers to connect more directly with their audience. Meanwhile, rigorous journalism—including vibrant cross-cubicle debate and collaboration, tenacious jockeying for on-record quotes, and skilful page-one pitching—is alive and well. The resources, intellectual capital, stamina, and self-awareness mobilized when it counts attest there are no shortcuts when analyzing and reporting complex truths." - Sundance Film Description
When it comes to newspapers, there are none more famous than the New York Times. The documentary, Page One: Inside the New York Times, takes a look at just that a year of the New York Times. Documentary maker Andrew Rossi, takes a look at what many describe as a struggling news industry.
In a year in which the 'death' of the newspaper was talked about more than ever, due to the Wikileaks website, there was one clear message from the movie, the news industry is not dying, there is and always will be a need for news.
The documentary has captured the industry at an interesting moment in its history as newspapers struggle to keep up with the growing presence of news on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The documentary also captures the introduction of the New York Times Paywall, a model that may just be the saviour of the newspaper industry.
If you're interested in the newspaper industry, take a look at the film, showing at the Schonell Theatre. If you don't have time to get there, have a look at this video, which features interview with those involved in the production -
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