SXSW film review
Page One: Inside The New York Times
Director: Andrew Rossi Unprecedented access to the New York Times newsroom yields a complex view of a media landscape fraught with both peril and opportunity.
WHO'S IT FOR? Journalists, this should be required reading. For everyone else, this film gives a glimpse at how the mighty need to stay relevant.
OVERALL
I thought I was sitting down to watch a documentary about the slow death of newspapers. It was my responsibility as a journalist to do this. Thankfully, this film is more. In fact, dying isn't really what this doc is about. This film chronicles the coverage of media and how The New York Times plays a role in that coverage and can also become that story.
The stand out star of this film is David Carr. He's a recovering drug addict who needs the Times just as much as we the people need investigative reporters. Carr can't stand Twitter, then eventually succumbs. That's normally the mentally I have had with newspapers during these changes times. Eventually they realize they should have moved quicker. But I have to say, it seems this newspaper does know what it is doing some of the time. Hiring Brian Stelter from the blogosphere is a prime example.
Completely separate from this documentary (which takes us to about July 2010), but not the world it focuses on, is news about the New York Times jacking up the price of it's online content and apps. It seems like an incredibly high price to pay. While I do have to say this documentary makes me a believer in what the Times does, it doesn't make me a subscriber. Yes, my bank account is partially to blame. So while I'm not likely to star paying any time soon, Carr and Stelter, I'm now following you on twitter. Victory?
FINAL SCORE: 7/10