UNITED STATES
Poynter.org
by Bill Mitchell
Published Nov. 6, 2015
The new Spotlight movie opening in select cities this weekend is such a big deal in Boston that several university journalism programs staged special advance screenings earlier this week.
After failing to worm my way into any of those events, I showed up at Spotlight’s first public unveiling Thursday night. It’s showing at a theater just down the street from a couple of notable scenes in this stunning account of the Boston Globe’s investigation of clergy sexual abuse.
Crossing Tremont Street from the Boylston stop on the Green Line, I confessed to my wife, Carol, a parochial question I imagine one or two other journalists might share.
And that’s this: When the film comes up in discussion with family and friends at Thanksgiving Dinner in a few weeks, what impact will it have had on the public’s perception of journalists?
By the time the credits rolled, I had to agree with reviewers who’ve concluded that ink-stained, web-whipped wretches haven’t looked this good since All The President’s Men. That’s true as a result of both similarities and differences in the two movies. It’s the differences that render Spotlight a must-see not only for journalists but for the people they serve. …
Bill Mitchell is a Poynter affiliate who launched the Clergy Abuse Tracker as director of Poynter Online and ran it from March 2002 until December 2003. The tracker is now hosted by BishopAccountability.org and is updated daily by the editor Mitchell recruited in 2002, Kathy Shaw.
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