Over the last decade the internet has become our main source for news. With the ability to be instantaneous and mostly free, newspapers have been closing their doors for good. But through it all, the New York Times stood strong, and stuck to its formula, surviving the presence of the web and continuing business as normal - well, sort of.
In Andrew Rossi's Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times, viewers are taken behind the scenes as writers, editors and printers work together to craft an unforgettable newspaper that will keep people interested, intrigued and subscribing. From unique angles on world topics to no-holds-barred investigating on national politics, the paper of all papers works hard to stay above the curve. In this sense, the film proved acceptable.
Yet, in hindsight, I was still disappointed with what I saw. For one, the film is titled 'a year inside the New York Times.' In the film, we never get dates, we never know how much time has passed, and I hardly believe that the cameras were only rolling for 365 days.
Additionally, the film focuses solely on world views, the war in Iraq and national politics. It would have been interesting to see what the newspaper was doing about sports and entertainment news, two avenues that bear the most competition from blogs, amateur websites and pirating. The absence of those issues left a hole in the film, creating more questions than answers.
I will say, director Rossi was able to capture some impressive moments within the Times building. From major conversations with potential sources to a slashing in jobs, Rossi was granted full access, allowing him to be there to capture the emotion and excitement at every twist and turn. The film is good, and I highly recommend anyone interested in journalism or the effects that social media are having on the economy to see it, I just think that at the end of the day, the film could have been ten times better than what it was.
