I went to journalism school, so there are few cows more sacred to me than the New York Times. Like all my other nerdy j-school friends, I was pretty stoked to see “Page One” a documentary focused on how America’s most important newspaper is struggling to survive in the era of digital media. Or, at least, I was until none other but the Times itself eviscerated the film in a review today.
Seems like a conflict of interest, right? Psh, come on. We’re talking about the New York Times here. They wouldn’t fall for that. So they ran out and got an unbiased third party, former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley. Kinsley writes, “Like a shopper at the supermarket without a shopping list, ‘Page One’ careers around the aisles picking up this item and that one, ultimately coming home with three jars of peanut butter and no 2-percent milk. “
I’ll probably see the movie all the same, but I’m a total sucker for a good grocery store metaphor.
p.s. Watch what happens when executive editor Bill Keller let Jason Jones into the Times newsroom in 2009. I’ll maintain it’s one of the best Daily Show segments ever.
