Page One: Inside the New York Times

2011 film by Andrew Rossi

Page One: Inside the New York Times

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Andrew Rossi
Written by| Kate Novack
Andrew Rossi
Produced by| Josh Braun
David Hand
Kate Novack
Alan Oxman
Adam Schlesinger
Starring| David Carr
Bruce Headlam
Richard Perez-Pena
Tim Arango
Bill Keller
Brian Stelter
Cinematography| Andrew Rossi
Edited by| Chad Beck
Christopher Branca
Sarah Devorkin
Music by| Paul Brill

Production
company

Participant Media

Distributed by| Magnolia Pictures

Release dates

* January 23, 2011 (2011-01-23) (Sundance)
* June 17, 2011 (2011-06-17) (United States)

Running time

| 96 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Box office| $1.1 million[1]

Page One: Inside the New York Times is an American documentary film by Andrew Rossi, which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Magnolia Pictures and Participant Media jointly acquired the U.S. distribution rights and released the film theatrically in Summer 2011.[2][3] The film grossed over one million dollars at the US box office and was nominated for two News & Documentary Emmy Awards as well as a Critics' Choice Award for Best Documentary Feature.[4][5]

## Synopsis

[edit]

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.[6]

### Stories and issues

[edit]

* Publication of Afghan war logs by WikiLeaks
* Release of the iPad
* Bankruptcy of the Tribune Company
* NBC Universal merger with Comcast
* The Jayson Blair scandal
* Judith Miller
* Gawker and its "Big Board"
* ProPublica and new models for investigative reporting
* Charging for news online
* Watergate and the Pentagon Papers
* Staff cuts in Network News and coverage of the White House
* The purported end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq
* CNN's partnership with Vice

## Cast

[edit]

New York Times Media Desk

* David Carr: Media columnist
* Bruce Headlam: Media editor
* Richard Pérez-Peña: Media reporter
* Tim Arango: Former media reporter, Baghdad bureau chief
* Brian Stelter: Media reporter

New York Times Business Desk

* Andrew Ross Sorkin: Financial columnist
* Larry Ingrassia: Business editor

New York Times Foreign Desk

* Susan Chira: Foreign editor
* Ian Fisher: Deputy foreign editor
* Joseph Kahn: Deputy foreign editor

New York Times Masthead

* Bill Keller: Executive editor
* Jill Abramson: Managing editor
* Dean Baquet: Assistant managing editor/Washington bureau chief

Featured interviews

* Sarah Ellison
* Clay Shirky
* Carl Bernstein
* David Remnick
* Nick Denton
* Jeff Jarvis
* Gay Talese
* Alex Jones
* Katrina vanden Heuvel
* Jimmy Wales
* Nicholas Lemann
* Seth Mnookin
* Michael Hirschorn
* James McQuivey

Others featured

* Julian Assange (In phone interview with Brian Stelter)
* Brian Lam
* Markos Moulitsas
* Noam Cohen: Special columnist

## Critical reception

[edit]

The film received positive reviews from critics, with an approval rating of 80% at Rotten Tomatoes and an average score of 68 at Metacritic.[7][8] It also received an A from indieWire.[9]

Katey Rich of Cinema Blend wrote, "Even 30 years from now ... Page One will remain a vital and fascinating portrait of the news and the people who make it."[10] Entertainment Weekly described the film as an "unexpected gotta-see doc,"[11] while Vanity Fair called it "slick, fun, and surprisingly sexy."[12] Somewhat less positively, Justin Chang of Variety said 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,"[13] 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."[14]

Regarding David Carr, Tim Wu of Slate describes him as "a sympathetic hero for what turns out to be a riveting film,"[15] 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."[16] Sebastian Doggart of the UK's The Daily Telegraph describes Carr as the "Keith Richards of the Fourth Estate", and adds that the film is "enthralling" and "inspiring."[17]

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."[18]

### Awards

[edit]

The film was nominated for a 2011 Critics' Choice Award.

* Denver Film Critics Society – Best Documentary[19]
* Phoenix Film Critics Society – Best Documentary[20]
* Oklahoma Film Critics Circle – Best Documentary[21]
* San Diego Film Critics Society – Best Documentary nomination[22]
* Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association – Best Documentary nomination[23]
* Broadcast Film Critics Association – Best Documentary nomination[24]
* News & Documentary Emmy Awards – Outstanding Informational Programming – Long Form nomination, Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Editing – Documentary and Long Form nomination[25]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times" BoxOfficeMojo.com. September 20, 2011. Accessed 2024-11-06.
2. ^ Fleming, Mike (January 24, 2011). "Sundance: Participant Media, Magnolia Team For New York Times Docu Page One". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
3. ^ Brooks, Brian (January 24, 2011). "Magnolia & Participant Team for Page One in the U.S." indieWIRE. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
4. ^ "'Armadillo,' 'Better This World' and 'Enemies of the People' Nominated for News and Doc Emmy Awards". 12 July 2012.
5. ^ "Critics' Choice Movie Awards 2012 Winners and Nominees". Archived from the original on 2017-01-18. Retrieved 2012-08-06.
6. ^ Tsiokos, Basil. "what (not) to doc, 2011 Sundance Docs in Focus: PAGE ONE: A Year Inside the New York Times".
7. ^ "Page One: Inside the New York Times (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
8. ^ "Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times". Metacritic. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
9. ^ "Sundance Review | Media Frenzy: Andrew Rossi's Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times". indieWIRE. January 26, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
10. ^ Rich, Katey (January 26, 2011). "Sundance Review: Page One Is A Riveting Year Inside The New York Times". Cinemablend.com. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
11. ^ Breznican, Anthony (January 26, 2011). "Sundance doc: Stop the press? Page One explores journalism's last stand". InsideMovies.EW.com. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
12. ^ Lopez, John (January 28, 2011). "Sundance 2011: Bobby Fischer Against the World and Page One | Little Gold Men". Vanity Fair. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
13. ^ Chang, Justin (January 27, 2011). "Variety Reviews – Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times – Film Reviews". Variety.com. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
14. ^ "Sundance Review | Media Frenzy: Andrew Rossi's Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times". indieWIRE. January 26, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
15. ^ Wu, Tim (January 28, 2011). "Brow Beat : David Carr, Page One, and the Future of the "New York Times"". Slate.com. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
16. ^ Fear, David (January 25, 2011). "Sundance Film Festival 2011: Page One, Reagan and Beats, Rhymes & Life | The TOC Blog". Time Out Chicago. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
17. ^ "Inside the Grey Lady". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on February 19, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2011.
18. ^ Kinsley, Michael (16 June 2011). "A Hyperactive Fly on a Newsroom Wall". The New York Times.
19. ^ "Denver Film Critics Society Announces 2012 Award Winners". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
20. ^ "Page One: Inside the New York Times - IMDb". IMDb.
21. ^ "2011 Film Awards and Nominations". Metacritic.
22. ^ "2011 Film Awards and Nominations". Metacritic.
23. ^ "2011 Film Awards and Nominations". Metacritic.
24. ^ "2011 Film Awards and Nominations". Metacritic.
25. ^ "The Emmy Awards - - 33rd Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards nominations". Archived from the original on 2013-06-02. Retrieved 2013-05-18.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Page One: Inside the New York Times at IMDb
* Page One: Inside the New York Times at Sundance Film Festival
* C-SPAN Q&A interview with Rossi about Page One, June 19, 2011