There’s nothing journalists like more than talking about journalism. That’s the only explanation I can come up with for all the over-the-top blurbs “Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times” has received: “riveting,” “gripping,” “gotta-see,” “enthralling,” even “I cheered inside.” Those aren’t words I’d use to describe a film that, in its epilogue, informs us that one of its subjects, media reporter Brian Stelter, lost 90 pounds as he broadcast his diet on Twitter. Perhaps this nugget of information was given to emphasize the increasing influence of new media. It’s not as if Stelter’s weight was discussed during “Page One” — the film does have some heft to it.
“There’s been a death watch for the New York Times as long as I’ve been covering media,” says Sarah Ellison, who was a longtime reporter at the Wall Street Journal. “Page One” looks at the daily life of an American institution as it struggles to stay relevant in the face of competitors of an entirely new sort, while an economic crisis shrinks what’s been its major source of revenue, advertising. “We’ve looked at every conceivable possibility,” says executive editor Bill Keller, from a philanthropic savior to a membership model.
| On screen |
| ‘Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times’ |
| 2 out of 5 stars |
| Stars: David Carr, Bill Keller, Brian Stelter |
| Directors: Andrew Rossi |
| Rated: R for language including some sexual references |
| Running time: 88 minutes |
Is the New York Times worth saving? No one asks that question in this film. “Please. This is the New York Times we’re talking about,” former Times reporter Alex S. Jones says after asked about the possibility the paper could go bankrupt. But there is certainly ballast for critics here. One argues that the country was led into war in Iraq by the reporting of Judith Miller, who was given credibility by the Times imprimatur.
The disjointed doc doesn’t deliver on its promise to show us its “unprecedented access” to the newsroom, either. Clips of twice-daily story meetings give little insight into how stories are chosen for the front page. One of the paper’s early stories on WikiLeaks, for example, is put on the front page in the national edition of the paper, but not the New York edition. But Keller never explains his decision in front of the camera.
The film spends much time following media columnist David Carr, former coke addict and editor of the Washington City Paper, who details the troubles facing the industry he loves so much. He serves as a narrator at times.
But without any narrative arc, “Page One” is nothing like the sort of stories writers like Carr aim to craft. It isn’t a year in the life of one of America’s biggest news organizations. It isn’t a look at the life and work of one of its most colorful reporters. It isn’t an in-depth look at the life and (possible) death of an institution. It tries to be all three, without success. It’s too bad, because any one of those films might have been gripping. “Page One” hints at enough material to make any seasoned reporter grab a notepad and go.
