FLORIDA
Naples Daily News
By Eve Samples, Treasure Coast Newspapers
There’s a scene in the movie “Spotlight” that Marty Baron gets asked about all the time.
It’s his first day on the job as editor of The Boston Globe. The year is 2001. Baron (played by actor Liev Schreiber) is in a news meeting, and other editors are describing the stories their reporters are chasing.
Baron asks, rather directly, how the newsroom plans to follow up on a column about secrecy surrounding the case against a priest, Rev. John Geoghan, accused of serial sexual abuse of children.
Baron suggests challenging the Catholic Church in court to unseal legal documents that could reveal the role of church leaders.
Silence follows.
“The general response when there’s silence is, ‘Why don’t we talk about it after the meeting?’ ” Baron said, recalling the real-life scene.
During a telephone interview last week, I pressed Baron on this.
How did he have the guts, on Day 1, to challenge the most powerful institution in his new city?
He didn’t see the move as gutsy. It’s the essence of a journalist’s job.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.