What Kind Of Paper Is The Paper?

Jade Garcia
jg489111@ohio.edu

The movie The Paper really put me to thinking about what it would be like to be a Journalist at a big time newspaper. While I am not a journalist nor do I intend on being one, I had to wonder what it would be like to make the kinds of moral decisions that the characters in the movie had to make.  These decisions that the journalists make are no small task, they affect hundreds of thousands of people every day and can change people’s lives in a matter of 24 hours. That is why it is so important for journalists to have a good moral code and know how to approach every situation that arises on the job.

The ultimate test of moral code in the movie came with the hard hitting story of two young African American teenagers who were accused of murdering two wealthy business men. The story presented to the public was that the two young teens were guilty on account of the fact that they were found at the scene and would go to prison for their actions. It would be easy for any news organization to pick up the story and run with it, but instead of just printing the information that The Sun was being fed from the police, Henry Hackett decided to dig deeper into the case. By chasing down leads and securing quotes from prominent sources, Henry was able to prove the boys innocence. His actions represent the kind of journalists that we need in today’s society and also brings to light those journalists that have no moral code and would have acted as Alicia in the movie and let the paper run.

 Henry and his team could have let the story run as is and let the innocent boys pay for the actions of another man but they felt that there was something more to the story that wasn’t being told. The actions made by Henry and his team are the type of moral obligations that journalists are responsible for. Not only are they responsible for informing the public with truthful information but they are also responsible for those stakeholders involved in their reporting such as the young African American teens. When the paper with the wrong headline starts to begin printing to be sent out the next day Henry fights against the editor Alicia , who wants to let the presses roll out with false information pining the murder on the boys. While Henry ultimately wins it shows us the kind of behavior that happens behind the closed doors of newsrooms. There are always going to be journalists out there such as Alicia who care more about money than the real issues at hand such as an innocent man’s freedom and we have to be conscious and aware of the news we take in from these toxic reporters.