Having directed the restaurant documentaries “Eat This New York” and “Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven,” Andrew Rossi was more familiar with a menu than a newspaper. But that didn’t deter him from noshing on something a little more meaty like the New York Times.
For a year, he and partner, Kate Novack, were granted access to the Gray Lady, where they documented the state of broadsheet journalism in the age of the Internet. The result is the aptly titled “Page One: Inside the New York Times,” a composite look at the newspaper business using the Times as a portal.
A daunting task, to be sure, particularly in this day and age, when newspapers are shrinking faster than Kirstie Alley’s waistline thanks to a steady decline in readership and advertising. But, as we all know, the Times isn’t just any newspaper; it’s our nation’s paper of record, read everywhere from a kitchen in Queens to the palaces of kings. Yet, there was a time two years ago when reports began circulating that the Times was on the verge of bankruptcy. Like historic Yankee Stadium, which died a year earlier, it looked like New York was in danger of losing yet another of its most cherished landmarks.
It was at that time that Rossi met David Carr, the irascible media columnist for the Times. The two sat down and had a chat while Rossi was filming “Le Cirque” (in which Carr had a cameo), and eventually the conversation turned to the Times.
“All he could talk about was this Atlantic article saying the New York Times might go out of business,” Rossi said between fussing over his Blackberry during a recent visit to Boston. “So, at the end of our conversation, I asked him, ‘David, what about a movie about you and the New York Times going through all of the promise and perils of digitalization?’”
Carr agreed, and more astoundingly, so did the Times. But once he was in, Rossi had to figure out where to go first. Eventually, he ended up with Carr on the Times’ then year-old media desk, where editor Bruce Headlam and his staff cover everything from the advent of WikiLeaks to Comcast’s acquisition of NBC Universal.
“I thought it would be interesting to have all the stories that the media desk is reporting elucidate disruptions in the media landscape,” Rossi said. “And the fact is that the movie could have been made at other papers or journalistic institutions all across the country, whether it be the Wall Street Journal or the L.A. Times or Reuters or AP. But the really unique thing about the media desk at the Times is that one of its central figures is David Carr. And his back story as someone who suffered through drug addiction, is really something that broadens the story out from just an intellectual debate about journalism, but is instead almost like a metaphor for the paper.”
Some have criticized Rossi’s decision to limit the focus to the media desk in general and Carr in particular, but Rossi steadfastly defends his choices.
“I don’t know if it’s an important part of every newspaper, but the Times’ readership is global, but it’s also heavily New York, and that’s a beat New Yorkers care very much about,” said Rossi. “Also, by focusing on the media desk, I was able to branch out to other departments, like when the media desk writers went to the foreign desk when they were covering stories like WikiLeaks and the Iraq troop withdrawal. … It was a window into the paper, but by no means does the film have an ambition to be a full portrait of the Times. It’s really a keyhole we’re looking through in order to capture the implosion of media as reported by the media.”
Rossi also defends the accuracy of the movie, even though there have been suggestions that parts of it were fabricated, as pointed out in the Boston Phoenix this week.
“Everything that’s in the film represents 100 percent organic moments,” said Rossi, sounding somewhat miffed. But not as irritated and evasive as when I asked him about the dangers of entertainment conglomerates like Disney, owners of ABC; Comcast, owners of NBC; Viacom, owners of CBS; and Fox controlling the news flow and using their public affairs shows to subtly promote political agendas. I ask Rossi this three times, but the only answer I get is, “I don’t understand the question.”
Maybe that’s because his film is being distributed by Magnolia Pictures, which is partially owned by Mark Cuban, who also has a stake in HDNet, whose programming includes public affairs shows and investigative reporting. Who knows? Rossi also might have been so obsessed with his Blackberry that he was unable to concentrate on the question.
With that, he abruptly cut the interview short and claimed he had “important” calls to take. But before I leave, I manage to ask him to answer a question not fully clarified in the movie. And that is, just what is the future of print journalism?
“I think continuing to supply quality journalism is what’s going to distinguish the newspapers as a different product from everything we see online,” Rossi said. “I really believe the future is a hybrid one. I think it’s a place where ProPublica is able to live online and do investigative reporting because it’s not paying for the printing press in its basement and its trucks rolling out the papers, but is still able to publish added stories to places like the New York Times and ‘60 Minutes.’”
For a year, he and partner, Kate Novack, were granted access to the Gray Lady, where they documented the state of broadsheet journalism in the age of the Internet. The result is the aptly titled “Page One: Inside the New York Times,” a composite look at the newspaper business using the Times as a portal.
A daunting task, to be sure, particularly in this day and age, when newspapers are shrinking faster than Kirstie Alley’s waistline thanks to a steady decline in readership and advertising. But, as we all know, the Times isn’t just any newspaper; it’s our nation’s paper of record, read everywhere from a kitchen in Queens to the palaces of kings. Yet, there was a time two years ago when reports began circulating that the Times was on the verge of bankruptcy. Like historic Yankee Stadium, which died a year earlier, it looked like New York was in danger of losing yet another of its most cherished landmarks.
It was at that time that Rossi met David Carr, the irascible media columnist for the Times. The two sat down and had a chat while Rossi was filming “Le Cirque” (in which Carr had a cameo), and eventually the conversation turned to the Times.
“All he could talk about was this Atlantic article saying the New York Times might go out of business,” Rossi said between fussing over his Blackberry during a recent visit to Boston. “So, at the end of our conversation, I asked him, ‘David, what about a movie about you and the New York Times going through all of the promise and perils of digitalization?’”
Carr agreed, and more astoundingly, so did the Times. But once he was in, Rossi had to figure out where to go first. Eventually, he ended up with Carr on the Times’ then year-old media desk, where editor Bruce Headlam and his staff cover everything from the advent of WikiLeaks to Comcast’s acquisition of NBC Universal.
Some have criticized Rossi’s decision to limit the focus to the media desk in general and Carr in particular, but Rossi steadfastly defends his choices.
“I don’t know if it’s an important part of every newspaper, but the Times’ readership is global, but it’s also heavily New York, and that’s a beat New Yorkers care very much about,” said Rossi. “Also, by focusing on the media desk, I was able to branch out to other departments, like when the media desk writers went to the foreign desk when they were covering stories like WikiLeaks and the Iraq troop withdrawal. … It was a window into the paper, but by no means does the film have an ambition to be a full portrait of the Times. It’s really a keyhole we’re looking through in order to capture the implosion of media as reported by the media.”
Rossi also defends the accuracy of the movie, even though there have been suggestions that parts of it were fabricated, as pointed out in the Boston Phoenix this week.
“Everything that’s in the film represents 100 percent organic moments,” said Rossi, sounding somewhat miffed. But not as irritated and evasive as when I asked him about the dangers of entertainment conglomerates like Disney, owners of ABC; Comcast, owners of NBC; Viacom, owners of CBS; and Fox controlling the news flow and using their public affairs shows to subtly promote political agendas. I ask Rossi this three times, but the only answer I get is, “I don’t understand the question.”
Maybe that’s because his film is being distributed by Magnolia Pictures, which is partially owned by Mark Cuban, who also has a stake in HDNet, whose programming includes public affairs shows and investigative reporting. Who knows? Rossi also might have been so obsessed with his Blackberry that he was unable to concentrate on the question.
With that, he abruptly cut the interview short and claimed he had “important” calls to take. But before I leave, I manage to ask him to answer a question not fully clarified in the movie. And that is, just what is the future of print journalism?
“I think continuing to supply quality journalism is what’s going to distinguish the newspapers as a different product from everything we see online,” Rossi said. “I really believe the future is a hybrid one. I think it’s a place where ProPublica is able to live online and do investigative reporting because it’s not paying for the printing press in its basement and its trucks rolling out the papers, but is still able to publish added stories to places like the New York Times and ‘60 Minutes.’”
