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Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times
Technology’s impact on an 160 year old publication
With journalism on the verge of fading into the world of technology, there is no better moment for the release of a documentary that will shed light on this difficult time as newspapers all across the country go bankrupt.
Page One: A Year Inside The New York Times gives an in depth look at how one of the top newspapers in the world struggles to stay afloat in the media industry during a time of turmoil.
Page One gives the audience unprecedented access to the Times newsroom and the inner workings of the Media Desk. Three Times reporters and an editor track the transformation of print journalism all the while trying to keep their own newspaper vital and stable.
As obstacles are presented to Times’ editors and publishers such as WikiLeaks, new platforms (Twitter and tablet computers), and readers’ expectations of free news online, they struggle to continue to produce quality work under these increasingly tough circumstances.
However, through all the technological advances and economic upheaval, Page One exposes the Times’ passion and how it’s burning stronger than ever as a group of determined journalists bring some of the most important stories to light—even if that story is them.
The film dabbles with the question that is on everyone’s mind that has a soft spot for journalism: what will happen if the fast-moving future of media leaves behind the fact-based, original reporting that helps to define out society?
When The New York Times was struggling in 2009 due to a decrease in circulation and ad sales, more than 100 workers were asked to take retirement early. Other papers around the nation were going belly up and the Times started to question their own survival. For the first time in generations, people were concerned that the Times may go out of business.
That’s when filmmaker Andrew Rossi came up with the idea unexpectedly for Page One. He wandered into the editorial halls of The New York Times and was excited by what surrounded him – he thought: this is where the story is. “I saw the Media Desk as a prism through which to look at journalism at a moment of great peril, but also of great opportunity,” Rossi said.
Collaborating with his writing and producing partner, Kate Novack, Rossi spent the next 14 months inside the Times.
Reporters included in Page One include, David Carr, one of the Times’ leading media reporters. He writes a weekly column that focuses mainly on intersecting media with business, culture, and government. Carr is also one of the most outspoken and charismatic personalities at the paper. Rossi thought that Carr had all the qualities of an underdog movie hero.
Brian Stetler also is included in the project, he anonymously founded the blog tvnewser.com. The Times uncovered his identity in a front-page story and then hired him. Stetler currently covers television and other media for the Times.
Tim Arango is another media reporter for the Times. During the course of the filming, Arango volunteered to report from the war zone of Baghdad. He did such a good job that the paper soon appointed him Baghdad Bureau Chief.
Bruce Headlam is the Media Desk Editor for The New York Times. Each article in Page One was edited by Headlam, making him a central force in the film. He acknowledges that media is rapidly changing, but he also notes the reality at this moment in time is that “trees are still cut and papers are still delivered”-and he is determined that The New York Times will live up to its values of giving readers solid, reliable, verifiable information that illuminates the inner works of media, culture, government and business so long as that continues.
Magnolia Pictures, Participant Media and History present Page One: A Year Inside The New York Times. This film is directed by Andrew Rossi and produced and written by Kate Novack and Andrew Rossi.