What is the role of the news media 3: Journalists in Film

Watch ONE of the two famous films about journalism and the role of journalists below:

Either

All the President’s Men  (Links to an external site.)

Pakula, A., Goldman, William, Coblenz, Walter, Hoffman, Dustin, Redford, Robert, Holbrook, Hal, . . . Warner Bros. Pictures , production company, publisher. (1976). All the president’s men. Burbank, Calif.]: Warner Bros

OR

Spotlight

McCarthy, T., Singer, Josh, Sugar, Michael, Golin, Steve, Rocklin, Nicole, Faust, Blye Pagon, . . . Universal Pictures , production company. (2016). Spotlight. Universal City, CA: Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

This film is on reserve and available to watch in the library or is available for streaming on many online services for about $3.99

Please note that Spotlight is about the Roman Catholic Church and the Boston child sexual abuse cases. This content  can disturbing. If you believe that you will find the film to be traumatizing, you may choose All the President’s Men.

Watch your chosen film and take notes as indicated below in Part A.  Then write a two to three page, evidenced based paper as indicated in Part B. Be sure to upload two files: your notes and your two page paper.

Part A

Take Notes on the Following

1. Title of the film
2. Director
3. Genre
4. Main cast
5. Write a short paragraph in which you explain where and when is the film set? What clues are provided to tell you about what the setting is like?
6. What is the narrative arc?
   1. Describe in two or three sentences the initiating event(s) that set up the conflict or problem in the film?
   2. Explain clearly what is the main conflict or problem that is the focus of the film?
   3. List attempts to resolve the main conflict or problem that is the focus of the film? Explain why they failed
   4. Describe how is the conflict or problem is ultimately resolved by the end of the film?
   5. Describe the reaction to the resolution?
7. Characters
   1. Main character:
      1. Describe who he/she is. Provide a physical description, any important mannerisms that she/he has.
      2. Describe his/her personality
   2. Who embodies what the main character is up against?
      1. describe this/these character(s) physically, their personalities and any important mannerisms they have.
8. Journalism
   1. Activities: what are the main journalistic activities that we see represented on the screen? In other words, based on this film – what do journalists do in their work day? and why do they do it?

Part B

Write a two  to three page paper:

Drawing on your notes above, explain what you believe to be the film’s central message about journalism? Use evidence from your notes to explain why  you think this is the central message. Compare this message to your Carah and Louw reading and the information you derived from reading the codes of ethics.