{"id":1073,"date":"2022-04-20T11:52:23","date_gmt":"2022-04-20T11:52:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextlevelpictures.com\/?p=1073"},"modified":"2022-05-05T15:35:34","modified_gmt":"2022-05-05T15:35:34","slug":"great-movies-about-journalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextlevelpictures.com\/screenwriting\/great-movies-about-journalism\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Great Movies about Journalism"},"content":{"rendered":"

What Do Journalists Do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today\u2019s \u201cJ-school\u201d graduate must know more than how to follow leads, interview people, compose articles, edit ruthlessly, adhere to word counts and satisfy editors. They must also meet impossible deadlines, chase go-nowhere leads and put up with pressroom egos. This is no career for shy folks.<\/p>\n

Where do Americans get their news these days? According to Pew Research, eight-in-ten people turn to digital devices; smartphones, computers and tablets. Electronics convey around 86% of today’s news while TV, radio, and print trail behind.<\/p>\n

What does this mean for future journalists eager to break the next big story? Acquiring as many digital skills as sleuthing skills, and it doesn\u2019t hurt to specialize. The following 10 films offer readers insights into this dynamic profession and for those who wouldn\u2019t dream of pursuing another career, every one of them is a gem.<\/p>\n

Great Movies about Journalism<\/strong><\/h2>\n

1. The Front Page<\/i> (1931)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"1.
The Front Page (1931) \u2013 Movie poster \u2013 Fair Use<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What began as a 1928 Broadway box office smash written by to industry lions Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, The Front Page<\/i> begins as an irreverent peek into the dingy press room hidden under Chicago\u2019s criminal courts building and behind Cook County gallows. There, journalists spend more time playing poker than digging up news.<\/p>\n

But when reporters are invited to witness the hanging of Earl Williams, reporter Hildy Johnson smells something fishy. Once the joking ends, reporters decide to cover one of the first of a generation of films showcasing local government corruption as unearthed by dogged reporters. Because both MacArthur and Hecht were award-winning journalists, this storyline rings true.<\/p>\n

Duration: 1h 41 min
\nRating: NR<\/p>\n

2. All the President\u2019s Men<\/i> (1976)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"2.
All the President\u2019s Men (1976) \u2013 Movie poster \u2013 Fair Use<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Because this movie takes place in The Washington Post<\/i> newsroom, the publication\u2019s media critic made an earnest effort to review this film accurately: \u201cImpartiality aside, no film blends the elements of journalism and Washington intrigue more compellingly than All the President’s Men<\/i>, the tale of two Washington Post<\/i> reporters who helped take down the No. 1 resident on Pennsylvania,\u201d wrote staffer Matt Slovik.<\/p>\n

For those who haven’t seen this award-winning film, it\u2019s a tale of colleagues Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, two-beat reporters assigned to cover a routine break-in at National Democratic Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex. Acting on a tip from a Washington insider, this film depicts the depths to which investigative pros will go to ferret out the truth.<\/p>\n

Duration: 2h 18 min
\nRating: Originally R; changed to PG by MPAA<\/p>\n

3. Network<\/i> (1976)<\/strong><\/h3>\n