What starts out as an examination of the collapse of the American newspaper, as seen through a prism of the dwindling New York Times, ends up being a vanity piece on Times writer David Carr.
I don't imagine that too many New York Times writers past or present will find favor with the way director Andrew Rossi makes Carr his pet to represent the voice and face of the paper. The documentary attempts to make a case for the importance of the Times as a standard bearer for responsible news reporting in the face of the new media paradigm that has taken the wind out of its sails.
The specters of defamed New York Times hacks Jayson Blair and Judith Miller punch holes in the arrogance that Carr exhibits with astonishing frequency while professing the importance of the paper. Julian Assange's WikiLeaks serve as a point of pride for the paper that took advantage of the inflammatory material to a less than impressive result than the editors might have expected.
The WikiLeaks documents coincidentally point out the lessening importance of the paper since the damning information was leaked through the web first and foremost. It's interesting to get a peek inside the editorial process of the New York Times. Being a fly on the wall during story meetings proves fascinating. We realize the slow process and rigorous of good journalism that has been devalued in our current culture of cut-and-paste news.
"Page One: Inside the New York Times" reveals a systemic problem in America's widely accepted approach to everything. The Times, like our politicians, is only able to respond to external forces. It doesn't, as a news organization, move to get ahead of the curve. In the end, the debate over the future of the newspaper may just be a moot point.
Rated R. 88 mins.
