In 2003, the Boston Globe's Spotlight team won the Pulitzer Prize for their reporting on the scandal, secrecy, and cover-ups of abuse within the Boston Archdiocese. After uncovering that nearly 90 Boston clergymen were somehow wrapped in the crimes, the investigation of Archdiocese and their cloaking of the mistreatment of young children, particularly boys, including molestation, rape, and both mental and physical abuse fiercely swept across the nation. Open Road films took it upon themselves to bring this story back into the limelight 13 years after the stories were published.
The film, released in theaters November sixth, is comprised of a star-studded cast including Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Stanley Tucci, and Liev Schreiber. It's apparent that the actors did their research for these roles by their comfort in the news room, their passion for the case and their dedication to the research. The Spotlight team at the Boston Globe focuses specifically on investigative journalism, researching topics and uncovering stories that go deeper than just current event daily news. The Spotlight team's research can take months, as it did with the Archdiocese piece, but the impact of each piece is felt much deeper than by those who read the paper every so often or even daily. Stories published by the Spotlight team change lives as well as laws.
"Spotlight" opened in theaters to rave reviews and has even been said to go down in history as one of the great journalism films of its time, ranked in high company with other films such as "Citizen Kane," "Broadcast News," and "All the President's Men.''
But what does "Spotlight" do that those films did not? It's reminding America that we need journalism, now more than ever.
It's no secret that the newspaper industry is dying. Print media in general is on a downward spiral. People have begun reading their subscriptions online or on their smartphones for their news and recreational readings. But "Spotlight" fights the stigma that "journalism is a dying industry." "Spotlight" offers an incredible insight to the hard-working reporters that journalists are. It doesn't portray these journalists as heroes, though some might argue what they did was heroic; it simply shows the world the importance of journalism.
The Spotlight team at the Globe took on an entire system. The reporters didn't go after just one priest or interview just one victim, they knew they had to go deeper. In the film, viewers discover that there had been a piece previously published by the Globe years prior, but not through the Spotlight team. It took a different type of thinker to realize this story, this piece, this crime, had to be further explored. Thankfully they did, because these reporters gave voices to the victims and finally removed the criminals from the church system—something that wouldn't have been done without the help of outsiders.
"Spotlight" shows how journalism is one of the most important industries in America by including the reporters in the news room, the in-person interviews, the rejection from the public about talking about a taboo topic, the fight for legal documents, the distribution of the paper, the completed front page, and the immense reaction the public had after realizing this scandal did happen and that those affected were not alone.
Without journalism and journalists, the public will not get the news they deserve. It takes a special kind of person, a certain eye and mind to see the deeper stories, to see beyond what the public is talking about, to really get the gut grabbing news: those people are journalists. America is not finished with journalism, and journalism is not finished in America.
Check out the trailer for "Spotlight" below, and see the Boston Globe's original piece, as well as their reaction to the film, here.
