Frank Capra And The Image Of The Journalist In American Film

From cynical portrayals like The Front Page to the nuanced complexity of All the President’s Men, and The Insider, movies about journalists and journalism have been a go-to film genre since the medium's early days. Often depicted as disrespectful, hard-drinking, scandal-mongering misfits, journalists also receive Hollywood's frequent respect as an essential part of American life. Matthew C. Ehrlich tells the story of how Hollywood has treated American journalism. Ehrlich argues that films have relentlessly played off the image of the journalist as someone who sees through lies and hypocrisy, sticks up for the little guy, and serves democracy. He also delves into the genre's always-evolving myths and dualisms to analyze the tensions—hero and oppressor, objectivity and subjectivity, truth and falsehood—that allow journalism films to examine conflicts in society at large.

Whether it's the rule-defying lifer, the sharp-witted female newshound, or the irascible editor in chief, journalists in popular culture have shaped our views of the press and its role in a free society since mass culture arose over a century ago. Drawing on portrayals of journalists in television, film, radio, novels, comics, plays, and other media, Matthew C. Ehrlich and Joe Saltzman survey how popular media has depicted the profession across time. Their creative use of media artifacts provides thought-provoking forays into such fundamental issues as how pop culture mythologizes and demythologizes key events in journalism history and how it confronts issues of race, gender, and sexual orientation on the job. From Network to The Wire, from Lois Lane to Mikael Blomkvist, Heroes and Scoundrels reveals how portrayals of journalism's relationship to history, professionalism, power, image, and war influence our thinking and the very practice of democracy.

Songs of Innocence and Experience: Romance in the Cinema of Frank Capra is a study of the director’s chosen movies from the perspective of three types of comedies: paradisal, purgatorial and infernal, as assigned by Dante in his Divine Comedy. Magdalena Grabias views Capra’s films in two broader categories of “innocence” and “experience,” where “innocence” represents Dantean paradisal level, and “experience” combines the levels of purgatory and inferno. Such a division constitutes the means to interpret Capra’s filmic universe and to describe the ever-evolving directorial vision of Frank Capra. The main purpose of the book is to demonstrate how, in the light of the theory of literary romance as presented by Northrop Frye in his seminal works concerning the subject, the films of Frank Capra fit into the genre of romance. Romantic elements in Frank Capra’s movies can be found in both “innocence” and “experience” categories and, hence, consequently in his paradisal, purgatorial and infernal comedies. However, in both categories, and all three comedy types, the romantic reality of each examined film is structured and developed in a different manner. The book offers an insight into Frank Capra’s films and the complex process of creating his multidimensional romantic universe within them.

When "talking" pictures first appeared in cinema theaters in the late 1920s, films about newspaper journalists quickly became a Hollywood mainstay. These were a variety of responses from working reporters, editors, and photographers. The newspaper film was a popular genre in the 1950s, and famous films such as All the President's Men (1976) and Spotlight (2015) have depicted the power of the press. Journalists have also been portrayed in films that are not specifically about newspapers, appearing in noir films like Woman on the Run (1950), Westerns such as Fort Worth (1951), comedies like The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966), musicals like Wake Up and Live (1937) and historical epics like Lawrence of Arabia (1962). A film historian and former newspaper writer, the author investigates how accurately films have portrayed journalists across the decades. The book also details what journalists thought of the depictions at the time, contributing to brief histories and analyses for each film. Featured journalist archetypes include airy reporters, screaming editors, photographers, sportswriters and war journalists. Classics, misfires, Westerns, obscure treasures and films the press both adored and detested are all included in this comprehensive here.

The six-volume Encyclopedia of Journalism covers all significant dimensions of journalism including: print, broadcast and Internet journalism; US and international perspectives; history; technology; legal issues and court cases; ownership; and economics.

From All the President’s Men to Zodiac, some of the most compelling films of the last century have featured depictions of journalists in action. While print journalism struggles to survive, the emergence of news from social media outlets continues to expand, allowing the world to be kept informed on a second-bysecond basis. Despite attacks on journalists—both verbal and physical—a free press remains a crucial bastion for civilized society. And just as the daily news reflects the current state of affairs, films about journalism represent how reporting has evolved over the last few centuries. In Encyclopedia of Journalists on Film, Richard R. Ness provides a comprehensive examination of the fourth estate in cinema—from newspaper reporters to today’s cyber journalists. In this volume, Ness provides in-depth descriptions and analyses of more than five hundred significant films, from the silent era to the present, including international productions and made-for-television movies. The entries focus on the image of the press on screen and ethical issues or concerns raised about the practices of the profession. Collectively, the entries demonstrate that there is a recognizable genre of journalism films with definable plot patterns and iconography. Each entry features: Major credits including directors, writers, and producers List of characters and the actors who portray them Running time Plot synopsis Analysis of the role of journalism Many of the entries feature critical reviews as well as cogent selections of dialogue. Films discussed here include comedies such as His Girl Friday (1940), nail-biting thrillers like Foreign Correspondent (1940) and The Parallax View (1974), social commentaries like Network (1976) and The China Syndrome (1979), dramas like Citizen Kane (1941) and The Post (2017), and of course, Academy Award winners All the President’s Men (1976) and Spotlight (2015). A definitive study of a film genre, Encyclopedia of Journalists on Film will be of interest to film scholars, researchers, journalists, and students of popular culture.

How far should a reporter go for a story? What's the role of the press at the scene of an emergency, or a murder? Why has journalism suddenly become so susceptible to plagiarism? Here's a book that poses these and other urgent questions--and offers candid answers. At a time when professionals and the public alike worry that journalism has lost its way, Journalism Ethics Goes to the Movies is available to provide much-needed, accessible guidance. Its twelve chapters, written by some of the nation's leading journalism scholars, explore issues that should concern anyone who aspires to a career in journalism, who works in the field, or who relies on news for daily information. Best of all, as the title suggests the contributors conduct their dynamic and engaging investigations at the movies, where sportswriters, war correspondents, investigative reporters, crime reporters, spin doctors, TV anchors, and harried city editors tackle these pressing issues. Journalism Ethics Goes to the Movies isn't your typical textbook. Using popular movies from Wag the Dog to Good Night, and Good Luck to illustrate the kind of ethical dilemmas journalists encounter on the job, this student-friendly book is sure to spark interest and stimulate thinking.