What State of Play says about the state of journalism
I’ve just stepped out of the cinema. Despite my dislike of Russell Crowe (well, he hates journos, so why should I like him?), I went to see State Of Play in which Rusty is our heroic hack.
I enjoyed it a lot – as will any journalist because for once we’re the, albeit slightly compromised, good guys.
But it was also with a growing sense of nostalgia. I think this will prove to be the last big movie about newspaper journalism. And the makers realised it, with an underlying theme of the transition between expensive print and cheap online.
I went in expecting to be disappointed. Originally, State of Play was a UK television mini series starring John Simm. So I was ready to dislike Rusty for that too. And Bill Nighy had made a brilliant editor, so I couldn’t see how Helen Mirren was going to take that role either.
I enjoyed the bickering between the online and newsprint journalists. But it did prove that online journalists are better looking.
yeah it made me hate myself in the way that I’ve stopped buying so many newspapers and have succumbed to 21st century nervous twitches like bloggering, twittering, and commenting on blogs like this.