This year must have been the one which compelled us to hold back on our festive plans, but there has been that traditional thing which the entire world follows: to settle down comfortably on your sofa and watch movies. The newsroom is something a lot of journalists might have been missing throughout this pandemic. The rush of being around the virtual news desk, the quick tapping sound of the keyboards and the papers, and the constant ringing of the phone have been restricted to sitting in your room or on the couch and working extended hours writing articles.
But this Christmas and New Year, for those who are lucky enough to be home, it is best to spend your time watching some of the old classic, Journalistic movies that you might’ve missed because of your packed schedule.
Now movies that are based on true stories are some of the best ones I’ve ever watched:
Spotlight (2015):
The Boston Globe’s popular investigative team known as the Spotlight in 2002 revealed the issue of Child Abuse in the Catholic Church of Boston. The movie was praised universally for authenticity and harrowing scenes of interviews showing how much hard work reporters put into their work.
This journalistic movie has won the Pulitzer Prize and had their work celebrated in an Oscar-winning film.
All President’s Men (1976):
Voted as the most popular journalistic movie by the Press Gazette in 2012. All President’s Men had been the most pivotal point in my journalistic experience, where I understood the meaning of true reporting and the ethics of it.
This political thriller is based on the book written by popular journalists of the Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein which brilliantly captures the twists and turns of the Watergate Scandal.
The Post (2017):
The Washington Post turned out to be a broad room drama but it still manages to be a delightful movie about a newspaper that is popular for its coverage of the Watergate scandal. Even though Watergate happened pretty, later on, this movie is about portrays how a woman can be the owner of such a big news agency.
Zodiac (2007):
Played by Jake Gyllenhaal portrays an obsessive journalist taking his interest in a story that is too far. This movie is very dark and gritty and it takes us inside the San Francisco Chronicle in the 1970s, showing us the power of local press back then.
There are also some of the not-so-true journalistic movies which were equally exciting to see a different angle of journalism.
Nightcrawler (2014):
A shady figure selling footage of crime scenes for the local TV station and further eventually going to extreme lengths to get it which raises questions on the industry’s ethics.
Anchorman (2004):
This is one of the funniest journalistic movies I’ve ever enjoyed. Starring Steve Carrell, Paul Rudd, and Will Ferrell, the Anchorman is a brilliantly absurd send-up of the US broadcast news world and rival between stations, and at the same time rival between presenters on the same show.
Spiderman (2002/2004/2007):
JK Simmons’s loud voice that says “Get me those front-page pictures of Spider-Man, Parke!” has been the most alluring in all these three movies. It is an iconic role of J Jonah Jameson, and to be fair with him, he knows exactly what sells papers.
