Film series showcases journalism in troubled times

With the construction of the new Lumina Theater in the Fisher Student Center, the UNCW campus film community was given an avenue to showcase a wide variety of film series. Many academic departments have joined forces to help promote these series, the newest of which is the Media in Crisis film series, presented by Student Media.

The series, which has been running for the past three weeks, concludes this Wednesday with a screening of the Robert Redford / Dustin Hoffman classic "All the President's Men."

The film series was designed to showcase films that looked at how the media are affected by troubled times, and how the media in turn have their own effect on the times. Looking at media at its worst and at its best, the organizers of the series hope to show just how important the news media have always been and still are in our current troubled times.

Student Media coordinator Bill DiNome organized the series with the help of a committee consisting of teachers and students.

"Right now, the news media is in such bad disrepute with the average American," DiNome said. "Something is deeply wrong with the picture here. Some of it is deserved by the news media that have screwed up, but some of it is just absurd."

"All the President's Men" was one of the most requested films among the committee who chose this lineup of films, and is generally the first movie mentioned when one talks about journalism in film.

"It's nearly impossible to watch an older film like this one and not draw comparisons to our current situation," communications professor David Weber said. Weber was on the original selection committee for the series and is one of four speakers participating at Wednesday's screening. Weber notes the similarities between the Nixon administration portrayed in "All the President's Men" and our current administration.

"It's very difficult not to recognize that [Nixon] was reserving a great deal of power for himself and the executive branch, power that one could argue was not his to have," he said. "That's a very pertinent issue today. You have Bush and his supporters who are proposing a unitary executive, which means a great deal of power for the executive branch. For the moment, let's not say that it's a good or a bad choice. What is true is that you have to do some finessing in your interpretation of the Constitution in order to make it make sense and justify it. The film reveals to us the dynamics, the machinery, of how an executive body goes about 'rigging the game' in its favor."

DiNome believes it is in situations like these where the media hold most importance. "If the government is not going to look after itself, then who will?" he asked. "This is the media's job."

Weber noted this administration has been especially intimidating when it comes to dealing with journalists. "Many journalists report being fearful of doing or saying something that is going to make this administration take special note of them and possibly even punish them or their organization," Weber said.

This was the biggest problem facing journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward in "All the President's Men." How much would they be willing to risk in order to uncover the truth?

"With a family at home, I may not want to get too revolutionary or too confrontational, because I don't want to lose my job," Weber said.

"None of these questions have easy answers," Weber said. "Too many think that once you reach an easy answer, your work is over. The reality is, your work has just begun."

The Media in Crisis series concludes on Wednesday, Feb. 7. "All the President's Men" begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Lumina Theater, and admission is free.