Mike Clark: Why the movie “Spotlight” hit the mark on several levels

FLORIDA
Florida Times-Union

I choked up the first time I watched the movie “Spotlight.”

And the second and the third.

The Oscar-winning movie hit home in three areas.

First, it’s about journalism. That’s been my only career since realizing in high school that this is what I wanted. I’ve been a lucky guy to love my work.

Second, it’s about the Roman Catholic faith. I am a cradle Catholic. I would ascribe any success in life to intense loyalty to faith and family — the two are intertwined. I spent 12 years in Catholic schools, including one year in a Franciscan seminary. My faith keeps me centered.

Third, I am a former movie reviewer, so I appreciated the difficulty of putting the unglamorous work of investigative journalism onto a big screen. Digging through dusty old rosters of priests is real life.

So please allow me to offer a few thoughts about the movie and the issues it raised.

Accuracy: The issues involved in newsgathering were illustrated honestly, warts and all. The Boston Globe had an earlier opportunity to investigate the sex abuse within the church and simply missed it. But as long as that investigative team existed, there remained an opportunity to follow up.

The movie also revealed the difficult decisions involved in when to publish.

All towns are small towns: Within the power elite, at least, all towns are led by a relative few. Every city has its sacred cows. A good newspaper must be willing to take on a local institution, even if it is beloved, when it’s called for.

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