Why Journalism Matters: A Case Study on “Spotlight”
This article contains spoilers for Tom McCarthy’s “Spotlight”.
Picture this: you’re sitting around the dinner table with your family. You tell them about an interesting article you read and they respond with ‘I don’t believe that.’ And that’s the end of the conversation.
It’s a feeling we can all relate to, the frustration when people dismiss good journalism because they don’t agree with the facts. In today’s society, it feels like people are more anti-journalism than ever before.
And let’s be honest, the consumers are not the only people to blame. Publications like CNN and FOX are constantly at each other’s throats calling the other liars. Some media has become so partisan that people don’t know what to believe.
We’ve all become familiar with the term ‘Fake News’ (and if you haven’t, how does it feel to be blissfully unaware of our nasty politics — I’m jealous).
Fake News makes it so journalists have to work twice as hard to get people to listen to their facts, and even then people can just claim that it’s fake and refuse to believe it.
However, journalism continues to be a crucial part of society. Good journalism can uncover injustices, hold people accountable, and serve justice to victims.
For an example of what good journalism looks like, we can turn our attention to Tom McCarthy’s “Spotlight”.
In case you haven’t seen it (which you should): this film follows the Spotlight team from The Boston Globe as they uncover a large coverup scandal in the Catholic Church. The team finds proof that over 70 priests molested children and Cardinal Law and other church officials knew about it and buried the story.
The movie is based on a very real story that led to a very real article being published in 2002. The story led to dozens of other scandals being uncovered internationally — including one in Denver.
In the movie, after the article is published, the newsroom begins to scramble as they receive countless calls from victims. As they realize the scope of the issue and how many children have been molested by priests, the characters get very emotional (note: this author may or may not have started ugly crying during this part).
It’s this strong reaction that makes “Spotlight” a fantastic example of why journalism is so important. The article made a massive difference in countless lives across the globe — the church was held accountable and the victims were finally given some sense of justice.
Throughout the movie, the journalists face the ethical question of when to publish their article. They can either publish is sooner — and perhaps only be able to prove a fraction of the wrongdoing and let the others go — or they can wait to publish it and run the risk another publication will get to it first and butcher the facts.
Throughout this discussion, it’s obvious that the Spotlight team’s first priorities are the story and the victims. They are never worried about the timeline because of money or viewership.
They never discuss publishing the story before other papers for monetary reasons — it’s simply because the Spotlight team had more resources, facts, and sources than other papers. AKA — they could report a more accurate and factual story that would be a lot harder to bury or dismiss.
This is a perfect example of why journalism matters, and what journalism should be. I think we can all take notes about how to conduct ourselves in an ethical way. Our stories should serve the purpose of factual education instead of getting bogged down by a hidden bias and agendas.
Too frequently, journalists get wrapped up in politics and partisanship. We all need to strive to be a little more like the Spotlight team and keep our sources and stories as our number one priority.
If you or a loved one has been impacted by sexual abuse in the Catholic church, please visit Catholic Whistleblowers or Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) for more resources.
