Thursday, November 6, 1997
Don’t believe all you see on the big screen
FILM: TV and newspaper reporters speak out about the inaccurate
portrayals
By Aimee Phan
Daily Bruin Staff
The ruthless, ambitious journalist has long been a Hollywood
cliche.
For years, films have been trying to capture the hectic lives of
television and newspaper reporters, either glorifying their
profession as crusaders for social change or criticizing their ugly
tactics and comparing them to the paparazzi.
With the UCLA Film and Television Archive’s program of tabloid
films beginning this weekend and "Mad City" starring Dustin Hoffman
as a manipulative reporter coming out tomorrow, are the real lives
of serious journalists being unfairly represented?
From the romanticized ("Up Close and Personal") to the viciously
satirical ("Network"), the methods and adventures that reporters go
through every day to find the scoop have proved to be great subject
matter for film in the last 30 years.
But some of the myths and images that these films have created
in their depictions of the newsroom world have real-life
journalists a little upset. Whether it is trivializing the
hardships that reporters face or unfairly portraying journalists as
ruthless and unethical, some journalists would like to clear some
of these misconceptions up to show what their lives are really
like.
One of the most popular images of reporters in film today is the
annoying, in-your-face, television journalist who imposes himself
into dangerous situations in order to get a "live-action" shot. Not
only does the reporter annoy the heroic characters in the movies,
but the audience is annoyed as well.
Tony Ramirez, a reporter for the New York Times, believes that
journalists are somehow coming off as villainous extras in movies
because they are always shown as constantly harassing the
sympathetic characters and generally making a nuisance out of
themselves.
"There are so many images of TV journalists as obnoxious and
dangerous so that in a movie like ‘Die Hard’ when one of the main
characters punches a journalist in the face, the whole audience
cheers," Ramirez says.
Gordon Tokumatsu, a television reporter on KNBC-TV Channel 4,
agrees that this notion is overblown.
"They portray us as aggressive to the point of being obnoxious,"
Tokumatsu says. "These movies suggest that we are opportunists who
invade people’s privacy and destroy lives, and that is completely
untrue."
Another common myth that is often linked to journalists in
movies is that an ambitious reporter will do anything it takes to
get a story and get ahead.
Many older films, such as "Sweet Smell of Success" and "Ace in
the Hole," show newspaper reporters pushing aside any human decency
for the promise of a good scoop.
"It’s a Hollywood view of what our jobs are," says Marie
Shanahan, a reporter for the Hartford Courant. "Yes, there are
probably journalists who are more into sensational work ethics, but
there are also serious and objective journalists out there. There
are those who went into this profession to try to expose the wrongs
of society and bring about social change."
Ramirez thinks that the sensationalized representation of
journalists stems from the public’s resentment toward the paparazzi
and gossip shows disguised as news shows.
"It has less to do with newspaper and television journalists and
more to do with the morning and afternoon talk shows," Ramirez
says. "This is what people are objecting to. But since shows like
‘Geraldo Rivera’ and the ‘Ricki Lake Show’ are in the media, people
think it’s all the same."
There are films though, that have tried to show newsrooms in a
better light, dealing with the chaotic atmosphere and pressing
deadlines reporters often deal with on a daily basis.
"’The Paper’ is pretty realistic," Shanahan says, recalling the
1994 Ron Howard movie about a day in the life of a New York tabloid
newspaper. "It touches on the message of why everyone wants to be a
journalist."
However, some films move from realistic portrayals to glorifying
the adventures of journalists whose exposes help to make society a
better place such as "All the President’s Men" (Robert Redford and
Dustin Hoffman) and "Deadline U.S.A." which stars screen legend
Humphrey Bogart.
"’Deadline U.S.A.’ is a terrific movie that paints the way
journalists like to think of themselves," Ramirez says. "The
director was a former newspaperman, and the journalists get to do
fun and heroic things. What’s not to like?"
While these films have dealt with the ethical struggles
journalists face, other movies have given inaccurate and sometimes
rather silly misconceptions on what a reporter’s life is really
like.
According to movies and television shows like "Suddenly Susan,"
journalists often lead glamorous and exciting lives complete with
designer clothes and spacious apartments.
"Yeah, and all people in New York have an apartment like the one
on ‘Friends,’" Ramirez says. "It’s like really believing that every
reporter has a penthouse like Lois Lane did in ‘Superman.’"
These odd misconceptions were present and exaggerated in the
1994 romantic comedy "I Love Trouble" where Nick Nolte and Julia
Roberts lived the cushy life as dueling Chicago newspaper
journalists with unlimited expense accounts and no editors to
answer to.
"That is very, very untrue," Shanahan says. "We would probably
be fired if we spent extreme amounts of money. They book us at the
cheapest hotels and always encourage us to spend money very
reasonably."
Shanahan pauses for a second, trying to recall a time when she
got to live the good life on the newspaper’s bill.
"Once I got to stay in a Sheraton," Shanahan says. "But that’s
because all the other cheap hotels got booked, and there was no
other place. And even then I had to share the room with the
photographer."
Another film that had reporters crying foul was the Michelle
Pfeiffer-Robert Redford movie "Up Close and Personal."
In one of the most dramatic scenes, reporter Pfeiffer and a
cameraman are trapped in a prison basement during a riot. Pfeiffer
turns the situation into the biggest scoop of her life as she
begins to report a live segment inside the prison, not only helping
to end the rebellion, but also gaining critical acclaim from the
network. Too bad the scene defied modern technology.
"The camera wasn’t hooked up to a cable or satellite setup or
any kind of connection," Tokumatsu says. "Yet, here she was getting
this signal out of the prison. That movie is a fine example of
technological inaccuracies. It’s laughable. They could have hired a
consultant who knows how these things work."
While these working journalists are able to laugh over these
silly and inaccurate portrayals of their profession, they all
expressed interest in having future movie reporters represented
more responsibly. But would it be considered interesting by
Hollywood standards?
"I don’t think there has been a really accurate movie on
journalism," Ramirez says. "And probably no one would watch it.
Most people’s lives aren’t that dramatic."
For now, they’d just be satisfied with a more reasonable image
of what their jobs are really like.
"We’re not this cruel group of self-interested louts who don’t
have feelings or hearts," Tokumatsu says. "Despite the
tough-as-nails exterior, we are human beings."