In the Spotlight

This is sort of a review of the (relatively) new film, Spotlight. Go see it (or wait for it in some other format, it doesn’t need to be seen on the big screen to be appreciated). I expect it to have more than a few nominations when it comes to awards season. That, however, is NOT why I’m writing this review.

The movie is the story of the Boston Globe’s coverage of the sex abuse scandal in the archdiocese of Boston. Although the abuse went back decades, the story itself plays out during 2001-02. The best journalism-based movie since All the President’s Men, with lots of good character actors, many recognizable from popular television shows, Spotlight is a compelling story that does a fine job of showing the nuts and bolts of investigative journalism, as well as clearly demonstrating the importance of those nuts and bolts. Finally, and most important in my view, the movie should sound an alarm.

That is my main point in writing this. The precipitous decline of print journalism, of the daily newspaper (and news magazine, RIP Newsweek) , almost ensures that we may never see this kind of reporting again. With print journalism being either a small “profit center” of a larger media conglomerate or a fragile independent entity that has almost no chance of remaining economically viable, stories like this will be more likely to stay in the shadows.

That worries me. I’m a dinosaur who continues to subscribe to my daily paper, at least in part because I think it’s important. There aren’t enough of us to sustain what Post-Dispatch columnist Bill McClellan calls the “buggy whip factory.” I fear the print journalism industry has long-since reached critical mass, with declining readership requiring more cuts, resulting in skimpier product, resulting in even fewer readers and more cuts.

Add to that the seemingly increasing need of people to live in echo chambers, to only see and hear what they already believe. Disagree with an editorial position? Cancel the subscription. See an article critical of a pet politician or cause? Cancel the subscription. Think the paper has it in for people like you? Use that confirmation bias to cancel your subscription. Why entertain contrary points of view when you can limit yourself to Fox News or MSNBC?

But we all lose. As creepy as the Catholic Church abuse scandal was, it needed to be covered. That story needed resources (think reporters, time, and money) dedicated to unveiling the layers of secrecy. But that story, in and of itself, is not the point. The point is, there are more stories, at least equally important, out there, stories that remain shrouded because there is no more newspaper willing or able to help us see what’s behind the curtain. Instead we’re left with agenda-driven bloggers with questionable ethics and objectivity. As a former journalism teacher, this frightens me in terms of the future of information in this country.

Whenever and however you see it, take the time to view Spotlight so that you at least remember what you’re missing.