The Gray Lady lifts her skirt - just a bit - for documentary filmmaker
In the January/February 2009 issue of The Atlantic, Michael Hirschorn rang the death knell of The New York Times with End Times, a seemingly trendy but alarming article likening the wave of digital reporting through social media to a hurricane that could wipe out the sandy dunes of "old media," actual print newspapers like the Times.
"The Gray Lady," a nickname given the paper for its many words and few pictures, was facing drops in circulation, revenue and, ultimately, staff by way of layoffs. It hadn't quite got on board with integrating video and interactive features as it does today. Some at the time said, "Let it die," according to Andrew Rossi, director of "Page One: An Inside Look at the New York Times."
Rossi set out to gain access to the paper with his video camera, access that The New York Times did not agree to readily. After months of negotiation, he got permission to film, alone, using an observational style of documentary, meaning acting like a fly on the wall as if he weren't there. Rossi says, "I think what you see is a smart, robust group of people getting together to square off on stories, practicing the craft of journalism at a very high level." Journalist David Carr would ask Rossi, "Did you get your ending yet, Rossi? You're so f---ed"
Filming alone, Rossi had to juggle a camera and sound equipment while keeping up with the staffers at the media desk of The New York Times and the stories of the day. "I would go to the third floor, see David on the fourth, the tech desk on the second, texting - it was a lot but a thrilling process for me." Three months into filming, waiting for something to happen, WikiLeaks released on YouTube an unencrypted video from a U.S. Apache helicopter firing on what were reported as insurgents, but actually included a Reuters journalist and his driver, who were killed:
"Brian Stelter, author of the NYT blog, The Media Decoder, "was having a really emotional experience watching it," says Rossi. "He was immediately struck by the visceral nature of the video."
Meanwhile, the editor of the media desk, Bruce Headlam "was engaged in this debate about The New York Times and NBC becoming irrelevant in the conversation by [WikiLeaks] going right to YouTube." Initially it seemed that Michael Hirschorn's vision of "End Times" might have some merit.
Rossi didn't know that three months later, The New York Times would get access to logs from WikiLeaks and "make it a three-act play."
The film reveals how the fabled newspaper triumphs with WikiLeaks, echoing the bold risk-taking it had done previously with The Pentagon Papers. It also follows David Carr, a salty survivor of personal failings who acts as the breakfront for the "hurricane" of new media trendsetters, holding them at bay with quick and clever bon mots to show just where casual news production would be without the reporting of the Times.
"Page One: The Inside Story of the New York Times" opens in theaters later this week.