Page One: Inside the New York Times

When the New York Times decided that they needed to charge for the digital version of their paper, I was undecided. I could view 20 items a month, but quickly realized that would take me through a few days. I love the Times, and signed my contract. I read the New York Times everyday, but I had only a passing understanding of how a newspaper really works. I had seen all the films, read all the books by the famous journalists, but watching this documentary, gave me such a different view of the New York Times.The documentary gives an overview of how the best newspaper in the world, functions and runs its daily business. It concentrates a great deal on the financial crisis of 2008 and on. This time was probably the most critical time in the face of journalism, many newspapers went under, thousands of lay offs occurred across the US. We are given a first hand look at the media desk, and a sampling of journalists, but not the nitty gritty of newspaper life. We follow David Carr as he discovers a great story about the Chicago Tribune and the scandals involved. David Carr is a superb journalist and we see how he works and how he gathers his information. We follow him on several speaking events. This documentary also focuses on the Pentagon Papers, Judith Miller, and Jayson Blair. We meet Bill Keller, the executive editor, but don't really see him at his job. We meet Brian Stelter who garnered his job from a blog that became so popular that Brian Williams read it everyday, and he was offered a job at the New York Times. I follow his tweets and learn a great deal from him about the news of the world.This documentary gave me a bird's eye view of the New York Times, but I felt I was missing the real guts and glory of the paper. I came away feeling more impressed with the New York Times. A second edition documentary would be a great investment.Recommended. prisrob 04-07-12 The Night of the Gun: A reporter investigates the darkest story of his life. His own. Is it a show or a commercial? Increasingly, it's both, as advertisers find new ways to pitch their products inside TV programs.(MEDIA): An article from: New York Times Upfront

For all it's warts and shortcomings, the Times has been a steady beacon delivering "all the news that's fit to print" for most of the country's history. Founded in 1861 and winner of 112 Pulitzer Prize awards for journalism, the Times has weathered a lot of storms, and has been covering every corner of our vast country, and world, setting the benchmark for journalistic excellence for all other papers to follow.That was yesterday. Today the Times is holding on for dear life. As noted in the film, it costs more to by one copy of the paper on the newsstand than to buy one share of the company's stock. It gets worse. The Internet's disruptive technology, which has already decimated the music recording industry, and has been aiming at doing the same to film and art, now has spilled over to journalism.Our nation depends on a strong journalistic presence to keep the government honest, and to give context and perspective on the issues of our times. And just when Wall Street has gone rogue and the Supreme Court has backed Citizens United, we are at a very crucial juncture in our country. Everything, including our weather and shifting climate, has become politicized. The Times is running as fast as it can to stay in place, yet it still losses ground.The documentary does not bother walking through the long dark smoke-stained hallways of the past, it lives in the ever disappearing present where everything on the Internet is just one big hustle to get a piece of the advertising bucks. Competing websites to the Times most often aggregate news from all over the web, and in a very funny moment at a journalism conference, David Carr illustrates just how dependent all other media outlets are on the Times.I found this documentary to be a wake up call. If it goes under, as fewer people are willing to pay for news, nothing could replace it. In 1861 in reported on the Civil War. Today it covers every inch of the globe, and rarely gets it wrong. Tomorrow it could be toast. The only viable alternative route might be to become a non-profit organization supported by large foundations and individual gifts. America needs the Times. The world needs the Times. You watch and decide for yourself. It's a riveting documentary that you can't shake off very easily.

It's about traditional media vs. new media. It's about the demise of newspapers. Most of all, this is a look at the way journalism is capable of working. I really didn't hear a lot "complaining" about new media. There was a lamination by people who care about their job and what they do under attack by a culture not interested in learning about the world.I really enjoyed Page One. This is the first time I had the chance to watch editors pick apart stories as they happen; this was the first chance I had to actually watch a reporter fact check a story for balance and accuracy. It explores numerous questions, and doesn't pretend to have a single definitive answer.What is the visual of the end of the war, when there is no end of the war?(Concerning the troop width-drawl from Iraq)What does a community loose when a local newspaper closes?There is a lot going on in this, and I'll watch it a few more times.

This documentary isn't for everyone, which is why I rated it a 4 not a 5. But for someone interested in journalism today, I think it's very interesting. I thought the filmmakers did a good job of balancing perspectives about topics like the shrinking of print journalism, who will pay for the news? (real news...you know, with facts and such), and the Gray Lady herself. I found David Carr (who's Carpetbagger series bored me in the NYT online) a very interesting character. Then-Editor Bill Keller was very open and thoughtful. The younger guns who are neck deep in new/social media were sharp and insightful. And the timing of the announcements at the end was very cool. Great stuff.

I purchased this to share with students in my journalism class. It was well worth the money to get a look at the state of journalism at one of the largest newspaper in the country.

A must see film for everyone and not for journalists. This film shows you, with an unexpected access to a glorious paper and some unique characters, the crucial moment when digital take place of printed press and puts everything in a big (also intellectual and moral) crisis. You feel the end of an era but you can listen to some very clever statements about what's good and bad about the new press scene. I love when David Carr (the most interesting of the whole crew) criticizes Vice reportages, saying that, at the end of the day, they are just hipsters superficially covering situations that they don't know and don't care about....

Having really enjoyed the excellent documentary about The New York Times photographer, Bill Cunningham, I was possibly expecting too much from this. Having worked in the commercial/advertising side of media for many years I have some insight in to how a newspaper works. But nothing I experienced could compare with the size and scale of The New York Times operation. There is much to admire in both their corporate and editorial structures. I would have appreciated a lot more on these aspects rather than featuring one journalist - even if he is a delightful maverick. Worth buying.

This doc had its moments,but I really thought it was going to delve more into the Day to Day workings of the Newspaper instead of Honing in on One or Two individuals and their opinion of where the printed paper word is heading in a world of 24 Hour news channels and internet Bloggers.Interesting all the same but not a story of Journalists and News print.

This is an excellent piece of film-making, a true fly-on-the-wall documentary of life in the newsroom and the turbulence affecting journalism as a profession due to the decline in print and increase in on-line reporting. Great for general interest or students of journalism and media. 5 star film-making.

the dvd has two points corrupted but not so much to stop the view. And subtitles are not in english