Behind the Scenes on Major Stories
Meet the press.
As an unwritten rule, journalists should not write themselves into the story. But apart from law, medicine and police work, few industries produce more compelling narratives. Whether it’s fact or fiction, what happens behind the media we consume can be illuminating, enhancing our appreciation for those who speak truth to power. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite stories behind the stories (we’ll spare you our own BTS drama as we tried to get a seat by an outlet at Tatte in order to write it).
Rosebud.
There’s a reason “Citizen Kane” is routinely listed as the greatest movie of all time, but if you haven’t seen it, you may not know that Welles’ masterpiece is a thinly-veiled depiction of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. In a meta move, Hearst even tried to use the very power the fictional Charles Foster Kane abused to suppress the film itself and prevent its release. Luckily for us, the powerful Hearst was unsuccessful and we have this gem of a film.
Read between the lines.
In his podcast Recode Media, host Peter Kafka explores the intersection between media, technology and entertainment. It turns out that if we reveal the blurred lines in the media we consume, we can better contextualize stories, trends and narratives. Coverage of the Elon Musk and Twitter drama are among the best eps.
Black, white & red all over.
If you missed the quiet but powerful film “Good Night, and Good Luck,” you will surely thank us for boosting it to the top of your feed. George Clooney (PS, what can’t he do?) directs this look at the early days of broadcast news, and in particular famed journalist Edward R. Murrow’s feud with Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Red Scare. Beautifully rendered in black and white, the movie’s soundtrack is also worthy.
The story behind the scam.
There is no shortage of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos material out there, but if you haven’t read John Carreyrou’s Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Start Up, you’re missing a big piece of the story. Carreyrou was the first to expose Theranos and became an important piece of the narrative itself, when Holmes and her lawyers ultimately went after him and tried to discredit his work. Luckily his editor stood by him, and we now know he exposed—and curtailed—a massive fraud.
Spotlighting a scandal
The Academy Award-winning film “Spotlight” follows The Boston Globe’s Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting team that exposed the years of sexual abuse and cover-ups by the Catholic Church. The story predates widespread use of electronic databases and resources, which makes the team’s meticulous work all the more impressive.
The “gate”keeper.
There may be no more consequential piece of journalism than Woodward and Bernstein’s coverage of the Watergate scandal that brought Richard Nixon’s presidency to an end. You may know the short story, but this book, published months before Nixon’s resignation, exposes the infamously bungled burglary attempt that went all the way to the highest office.
