"The Paper": A Journalist's Sacrifice

Ron Howard’s film “The Paper” tackles the arduous profession of journalism and the sacrifices journalists make through every detail and story published. The movie had followed the life of Henry Hackett, an editor for the New York Sun, a newspaper publisher, through 24 hours of his personal life and his work life. The story progresses through finding the details about the recent killing that had taken place in New York, where two African American teenagers had been framed. All the news firms had been hoping to be the first to deliver the news and all its content, a conflict seen in Henry’s engagement with New York Sentinel, the rival of his own firm. Beyond rivalry and the thirst for details, the film had shown the productive chaos a news firm undergoes. The story had reflected the unforgiving environment of news and media, and how every detail and headline is a face for the sacrifices and decisions made by the contributors and editors.

Taken from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110771/mediaindex

The movie depicts some of the situations faced by many reporters in the real life, with all the deliberate content, strenuous and challenging decisions made, and how important it is to release the correct content over just plain content. In the film, the term journalistic integrity had been mentioned, referring to the duty of a journalist to deliver reliable and credible news. The movie had been a reminder to think critically of every word and detail released to the public. Many times, the content of a news firm are compromised by external factors, which may affect the quality and credibility of a story. This encourages caution and being careful towards the priorities placed between the individual and their profession, alongside the duties and responsibilities that come with this. “The Paper” sends a message of caution, to stay true to your profession. Hackett had said to Alicia Clark, the managing editor of their firm, that she had become “everything you used to hate”, standing as a reminder to know your purpose and place in your job, and especially in the industry of journalism. A headline and any case of misinformation could change the perception of a population on the subject of the story, impacting what we would believe as credible or not. As a main message, the movie urges the audience to refrain from just delivering a story, but to deliver the correct one.

Taken from https://mubi.com/films/the-paper-1994

The most apparent issue across the characters were the effects of their profession and practices on their personal life to succeed in their profession. The life of Henry Hackett, as an example, was far from a healthy and balanced one, because of the demand his job entails over his personal life. From pressuring deadlines to financial difficulties of being in the industry, every step and process involved had shown sacrifice. Beyond this, journalists have had the tendency to practice the unethical ways of collecting news and information. Through going undercover to sending people to unsafe environments, many of these would not be in the best interest and behavior of journalism. Most importantly, the movie had shown the struggle in balancing their duty to the pressure and demand of journalism. As Hackett was rushed to deliver the story and headline he had wanted, sacrifices such as extending deadlines, practicing unethical approaches, and even getting a bit violent just to deliver the truth had been very restrictive and difficult. While Clark had wanted to follow the deadline and release whatever content they had, whether verified or not, Hackett believed they had to change this and deliver the truth, knowing the implications and impact of their headline. The most impactful lines had been the exchange between the two characters regarding the headline, when Hackett had said that releasing the wrong story could permanently change the people’s perception of two innocent young men with promising futures all because of a headline. Clark replies with ignorance, saying they could “Make them look good on Saturday”. It is through this that the responsibility of journalism is recognized within society.

Taken from https://cinapse.co/make-it-a-double-spider-man-homecoming-the-paper-c605d52ef56e

Beyond the messages the movie had made, the film offered an interesting depiction of how headlines and stories are decided on. In one scene, it had shown a pitch session across the office, delivering news from all over the world, adapting the content to their target market. From the story chosen, they choose headlines followed by the appropriate visuals with every published paper they have. The immense pressure and demands of the daily grind in releasing content creates such a chaotic environment for the writers, with all news firms fighting to be the first and the best. This then creates a dilemma between releasing the story first, or releasing the correct story. These struggled come with the challenge of sourcing information, where looking for credible and reliable sources are rarely accessible and how each detail would require research and analysis.“The Paper” was a film of criticality, teaching the audience that everything has an effect on everything, how words influence and impact society, and what a single headline or story can do to change lives.