This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Filmmaker Andrew Rossi describes it as a "light-bulb moment" that led to him making "Page One: Inside The New York Times," a documentary that examines the precarious state of American journalism and the legendary newspaper's efforts to cover it.
Rossi had been collaborating with David Carr, the reporter and media columnist for the Times, on a project about new media and Internet entrepreneurs. One day when Rossi was interviewing Carr, an article by Michael Hirschorn had just appeared on The Atlantic's website, suggesting that The New York Times was on death's door.
"David was inflamed," Rossi said. As Carr talked passionately about how so-called "legacy media" — like newspapers — would find a place in new media, the light bulb lit in Rossi's head.
The story about old media and new media "just came alive in a way through David, and I got the idea of filming that story over his shoulder while he reported on the media," Rossi said in a recent phone interview.
Through Carr and his colleagues at the Times media desk, the movie delves into everything from WikiLeaks to Twitter, from bottom-line attitudes at America's newspapers to news aggregator sites that pinch stories first reported in "legacy media."
At first, Rossi said, Carr had reservations about being the star of a documentary. So Rossi widened his scope to include media reporters Brian Stelter and Tim Arango, and their editor Bruce Headlam — straight-arrow journalists who are a contrast to the gruff, gravel-voiced Carr, who wrote in his memoir Night of the Gun about his earlier life as a crack addict and a single father on welfare.
And while Carr may not look or sound like stereotypical Times journalist, he's shown in the film frequently defending the Times from criticism.
"I think that David occupies a very interesting position as somebody who is a fierce defender of the Times, but at the same time, through his wicked sense of humor, his textured life, doesn't put up with a lot of bull——," Rossi said. "He's capable in one moment of taking someone down who has specious arguments, but at the same time can speak frankly about the limitations of the institution."
"The movie could have been made about any organization that has boots-on-the-ground reporting," Rossi said. "It could be The Salt Lake Tribune, or the Los Angeles Times or AP or Reuters. A distinguishing characteristic of the Times media desk is that it has David Carr."