I read some exciting news yesterday: Sarah Jessica Parker has signed on to star in a TV adaptation of Busted, a memoir by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalists for the Philadelphia Daily News. This will be Parker’s second role as a journalist. She’s perhaps best known as playing the New York City columnist Carrie Bradshaw in HBO’s Sex and the City.
This got me thinking about some of my favorite portrayals of journalists (fictional or otherwise) in film and on television. Journalists on the big and small screen aren’t always accurate or ethical, but they’re certainly entertaining. Here are a few of my favorite portrayals:
All the President’s Men — This is the film adaptation of Woodward and Bernstein’s book about the Watergate scandal and taking down President Nixon. I’m a much bigger fan of the book, but it’s fun to watch “Woodward and Bernstein” unravel the biggest story of the century.
The Wire — Season 5 of HBO’s incredible show about Baltimore centers on local journalists. Created by former Baltimore Sun reporter David Simon, The Wire portrays newspaper journalism with gritty realism.
Almost Famous — The naive young reporter in this film does just about everything wrong, but Philip Seymour Hoffman is superb as his grizzled editor.
Page One — This documentary goes behind the scenes at the New York Times, perhaps the world’s most esteemed newspaper, as its business model and mission are rapidly changing. Media columnist David Carr totally steals the show.
What are your favorite movies and TV shows about journalism?