Page One: Inside the New York Times

Synopsis

From the Sundance Program Description:

"With the Internet surpassing print as our main news source, and newspapers going bankrupt, ... Page One chronicles the media industry’s transformation and assesses the high stakes for democracy ... The film deftly makes a beeline for the eye of the storm or, depending on how you look at it, the inner sanctum of the media, gaining unprecedented access to the New York Times newsroom for a year. At the media desk, a dialectical play-within-a-play transpires as writers like salty David Carr track print journalism’s metamorphosis even as their own paper struggles to stay vital and solvent, publishing material from WikiLeaks and encouraging writers to connect more directly with their audience. Meanwhile, rigorous journalism—including vibrant cross-cubicle debate and collaboration, tenacious jockeying for on-record quotes, and skillful page-one pitching—is alive and well. The resources, intellectual capital, stamina, and self-awareness mobilized when it counts attest there are no shortcuts when analyzing and reporting complex truths."

Stories and issues

Critical reception

The film was nominated for a 2011 Critics' Choice Award for Best Documentary and has also been nominated for two News & Documentary Emmy Awards.

The film received positive reviews from critics, with an approval rating of 80% at Rotten Tomatoes and an average score of 68 at Metacritic. It also received an A from indieWire. Katey Rich of Cinema Blend writes, "Even 30 years from now... Page One will remain a vital and fascinating portrait of the news and the people who make it." Entertainment Weekly described the film as an "unexpected gotta-see doc," while Vanity Fair called it "slick, fun, and surprisingly sexy." Somewhat less positively, Justin Chang of Variety says of the film, "Rossi's coverage of daily news meetings and interviews with editorial staffers aren't as juicy as one might have hoped or expected, but for journos (who will likely rep the film's most appreciative audience), simply being a fly on these hallowed walls will offer much to savor," but Eric Kohn of Indiewire counters, "Rossi captures the minutiae of the newsroom, from the rapid transcription of interviews to the rush of deadlines, as if observing an Olympic sport." Regarding David Carr, Tim Wu of Slate describes him as "a sympathetic hero for what turns out to be a riveting film," and David Fear of Time Out Chicago adds, "it's his H.L. Mencken–like attitude toward old-school reporting that offers the best example for why traditional news-gathering won’t ever truly die." Sebastain Doggart of the UK's Telegraph describes Carr as the "Keith Richards of the Fourth Estate," and adds that the film is "enthralling" and "inspiring."

A notable departure from the positive reception was Michael Kinsley's review in the Times itself. He noted: "Having seen Page One, I don’t know much more than I did before. The movie, directed by Andrew Rossi, is, in a word, a mess."

The film is currently the seventh most popular newspaper movie on Netflix streaming.

Awards