2008 Woodie Awards
Doc proofreads current state of college media
By: Anthony Barsanti
Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: Lifestyle
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The condition of the American media is one of the most difficult and divisive national trends to wager; it is also the most important. Documentarian Aaron Matthews has dared to explore this potential powder keg in his new film "The Paper," which may garner him another Best Documentary Award at this year's St. Louis International Film Festival (his first was in 2004 for "A Panther in Africa").
Matthews focuses his attention not on pressing national issues nor on newspapers like The New York Times, The Washington Post and others that signify the preeminence of American journalism, but rather their birthplace at the collegiate level.
Pennsylvania State University's daily student newspaper, The Daily Collegian, and the young men and women who operate it provide an intriguing look inside the development of a future
journalist's worldview.
Following the Editor in Chief James Young and the many other people who make the daily paper possible, Matthews attained an entire school year's worth of footage detailing the controversies and struggles the nation's No. 5 university newspaper faces.
Plunging circulation, inaccessible administration and athletes, and conflicting political, racial and gender values all contribute to a tense atmosphere for budding professionals.
The timeliness of this story is compounded by the similar problems all the nation's major news publications are experiencing. As one reporter puts it, "people just want to be entertained," referring to the seeming loss of interest in the "serious" issues the paper is used to covering. After many board and editor meetings, solutions to the circulation problem (The Daily Collegian experienced its lowest numbers in years) ranged from putting out more on-campus dating to celebrity look-alike stories. Other excuses are that there is no news to report, and there are also allegations of the exact opposite - that reporters are not covering the real stories people care about and are affected by, such as on-campus sexual assaults.
Matthews focuses his attention not on pressing national issues nor on newspapers like The New York Times, The Washington Post and others that signify the preeminence of American journalism, but rather their birthplace at the collegiate level.
Pennsylvania State University's daily student newspaper, The Daily Collegian, and the young men and women who operate it provide an intriguing look inside the development of a future
journalist's worldview.
Following the Editor in Chief James Young and the many other people who make the daily paper possible, Matthews attained an entire school year's worth of footage detailing the controversies and struggles the nation's No. 5 university newspaper faces.
Plunging circulation, inaccessible administration and athletes, and conflicting political, racial and gender values all contribute to a tense atmosphere for budding professionals.
The timeliness of this story is compounded by the similar problems all the nation's major news publications are experiencing. As one reporter puts it, "people just want to be entertained," referring to the seeming loss of interest in the "serious" issues the paper is used to covering. After many board and editor meetings, solutions to the circulation problem (The Daily Collegian experienced its lowest numbers in years) ranged from putting out more on-campus dating to celebrity look-alike stories. Other excuses are that there is no news to report, and there are also allegations of the exact opposite - that reporters are not covering the real stories people care about and are affected by, such as on-campus sexual assaults.
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