The phrase “new access to accountability” sounds confusing at first but makes sense in the documentary Page One as the means to an end of traditional journalism versus new media. The purpose of a newspaper in a free society is mainly to question authority and Page One: Inside the New York Times (the film’s full title) goes a long way in establishing that the paper of record has a valid if ever decreasing role in today’s brave new world.

One of the Times reporters, David Carr, carries the moral spine of this movie on his back as he’s on-screen much of the time. Is the iPod a bridge to the future or a gallows asks Carr. Other editors, reporters and execs are featured in talking head style but it’s Carr who becomes the central character, even going so far as to reveal his addiction addled past, his recovery and his level headed devotion to his job. Another character that balances out Carr is reporter Brian Stelter, a newcomer at the Times who was hired because his instant news website and Twitter hipness was deemed so important that his relative inexperience didn’t matter.

Wikileaks (wikileaks.org) gets equal airtime since they are essentially providing the same platform to “let the people know” that the Times furnished to America when they covertly published The Pentagon Papers during the height of the Vietnam War. Archival clips show then President Nixon discussing the legality of prosecuting the Times for that historic publication. Nixon pops up again when the subject of Watergate is covered, and The Washington Post gets its moment in the sun.
Worker layoffs, covering war zones and upstart internet news websites are given narrative consideration. Cutting to the chase, Page One deserves your attention for being solidly made but for also giving the front ranks of journalism a heroic edge. Page One plays exclusively this holiday weekend (Thursday through Monday) at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Brown Auditorium.

- Michael Bergeron