Page One: Inside the New York Times Movie Review

By Mark Baratelli



Note: Mark Baratelli is not a professional film reviewer and does nto claim to be such.

Media is fascinating to me. One of my favorite podcasts is On The Media. How newspapers change, the rise (and fall?) of blogs, twitter, what's a journalist?, and on and on. Also, I'd lived in New York City and a always been fascinated with the hideous (to me) skyscraper the newspaper occupied.

So it's no surprise that I drooled my way through the media screening last month of Page One: Inside the New York Times. (Showtimes) It's full of topics like "Where's media going?" and "Will newspapers die?" and, it all takes place (for the most part) inside that hideous skyscraper.

Listen to our interview with the film's director

I won't tell you what transpires because I can't read my in-the-dark scribbles I made during the screening. I will however say the co-star of the show, the recovered alcoholic David Carr, needs his own radio show. Hilarious and smart.

The film delves shallowly into news gathering lore and process so that everyone can enjoy the stories without feeling like they're lost in a Journalism School lecture. 
The film takes you into the meeting they have each day with the heads of all the departments to decide what goes on the front page of the paper. Fascinating. We get to see a hilarious meeting with Vice Magazine, the house of David Carr, the interior of Gawker offices, and more. 
The paywall issue is discussed, and as we all know, it went into effect. 
One bit of local humor came when the film showed Sam Zell at the Orlando Sentinel saying "f*** you" to a Sentinel employee.  
For those media industry ooglers, this is a must-see. 
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