FILM

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents MFAH Film Premieres. Enjoy these critically acclaimed, award-winning international films as they make their Houston debut! Page One: Inside the New York Times. Directed by Andrew Rossi, 2011, USA, Color, 91 minutes.

In the tradition of great fly-on-the-wall documentaries, Page One: Inside the New York Times deftly gains unprecedented access to The New York Times newsroom and the inner workings of the Media Desk. With the Internet surpassing print as society's main news source, and newspapers all over the country going bankrupt, Page One chronicles the transformation of the media industry at its time of greatest turmoil. Writers such as Brian Stelter, Tim Arango, and the salty but brilliant David Carr track print journalism’s metamorphosis even as their own paper struggles to stay vital and solvent. Meanwhile, their editors and publishers grapple with existential challenges from players like WikiLeaks, new platforms ranging from Twitter to tablet computers, and readers’ expectations that news online should be free.

But rigorous journalism is thriving. Page One takes an up-close look at the vibrant cross-cubicle debates and collaborations, tenacious jockeying for on-the-record quotes, and skillful page-one pitching that produce the “daily miracle” of a great news organization. What emerges is a nuanced portrait of journalists continuing to produce extraordinary work—under increasingly difficult circumstances.

At the heart of the film is the burning question on the minds of everyone who cares about the American press, Times lover or not: What will happen if the fast-moving future of media leaves behind the fact-based, original reporting that helps to define society?