Page One

Helo my fantastic followers. I hope you are well. For my journalism class I had to see the movie Page One this weekend and blog about it. So, here it goes.

I went to the 7:00 PM show at Cinematheque on Saturday, September 24. I went with a girlfriend of mine who I haven't seen in a long time. Page One is about the life cycle of the newspaper The New York Times. I didn't really know what to expect going into the movie. I did find it a bit long but it was very interesting not just because I am a journalism major either. The friend who I was with also found the topic interesting and she is a realtor.

The interesting thing is during the day on Saturday, I received a phone call from a telephone solicitor from the Globe and Mail. The telemarketer on the other end was informing me that I could receive the paper for 30% off and asked me if I would like to take advantage of these wonderful savings. I declined the offer because I am a student and do not have the financial means to have the paper on a monthly basis. I thought about it at the time and felt guilty that I wasn't able to get the paper considering I am a journalism student. I felt I was doing something wrong and that I should be supporting the newspaper industry now more than ever before. However, circumstances dictate what I can and cannot afford. Then I began to think, since when is news considered a luxury and not a must have or a need. I wonder how many othe people have to make this choice.

After seeing the movie Page One though, I thought it was very fitting to have had that call on the same day. That just proves to me that the newspaper industry is struggling and they are trying very hard to do what they have to.

What was interesting was the discussion about as a people, we have perceived the information we receive online is free. I realized that I do expect websites online where I find my news to be free. If I am not buying a hard copy of the newspaper, would I as a consumer be willing to pay for accessing a website to read news information? I wouldn't.

I also thought it was interesting how even the best of the best are not immune to the challanges within the newspaper industry. News is a business. I sometimes wonder when revenue can dictate what is covered in the news, this does convolute the values of traditional journalism. I am making this change to study journalism later in my life and I question if I am still interested in the subject. It makes me question, am I a writer or journalist or am I a salesperson like I have been before. Am I actually going back to school again to become what I have been all along? what I did realize was the newspaper game is a complicated web of relationships all needing each other to survive.