The Paper, a verite-style documentary by Aaron Matthews, takes an in-depth look at the pressures and problems of modern journalism as faced by the staff of a university newspaper embroiled in controversy. Chronicling a year in the life of Pennsylvania State University’s Daily Collegian, the film features first-time journalists tackling the foremost challenges of today’s news media. The Collegian’s circulation is plummeting and its investigative reporters can’t gain access to sources. Amidst this drama, students -- and even the newspaper’s own reporters -- question whether the newspaper is adequately covering the communities it is supposed to serve. Interweaving the drama of pressure-cooker journalism with the energy and idealism of young people, The Paper explores the media from the fresh perspective of tomorrow’s journalists.
(State College, PA) From gay rights to racial bias, from plummeting circulation to “infotainment,” from burnt-out reporters to hard-bitten editors, THE PAPER goes inside the newsroom to reveal the drama of deadlinejournalism. But this is not some big-city major daily. It’s The Daily Collegian, published by students at Pennsylvania State University who, in the course of one crisis-filled year face crashing deadlines, ethical dilemmas, doubts and disagreements, all the while shouldering courses, homework and exams.
THE PAPER is by turns inspiring and astonishing in its exploration of tomorrow’s journalists wrestling with today’s national media questions. Do you lure newspaper readers by entertaining them or offering them hard news? How do you deliver the news when you are obstructed by wary public officials and misleading public relations campaigns? What is the media’s responsibility to serve the public interest in all its diversity? The film addresses these urgent questions in a gripping story that interweaves the drama of pressure-cooker journalism with the idealism of youth.
In Depth Look At Media
STATE COLLEGE - At no other time in recent history has the American media been more under fire, nor have the stakes been so high. With the the fighting of a controversial war in Iraq, a polarized populace, and a decline in the coverage of hard news, the country is in need of basic information about the actions of its government and the reactions of its citizens. But at this crucial moment, the media is impugned by both liberals and conservatives.
Conservatives accuse it of being biased, aggressively seeking negative information about candidates, or slanting coverage against political programs. Liberals label it as timid, even lazy, and accuse it of stenography rather than reporting. Journalists worry that in the last few years, their compact with the public has been severely damaged. The Paper represents an attempt to bring this crisis of coverage and confidence to light. The film is both timely and urgent, exploring the American newspaper in a way that no documentary has done before. The Paper sets in motion the debate about the role and responsibility of the media as it raises vital issues about a changing American society.
Acclaim
"Remarkable... Wonderful... Matthews' gripping story helps us understand the human dimensions of a problem with massive political, social, and economic implications."
- Jed Dietz, Director of the Maryland Film Festival
"What we see at the Collegian is a resonant microcosm: This paper's crucible is every paper's."
- The Boston Globe
An absolute must-see for ... any person interested in the workings of news media.
- Short End Magazine
Broadcast and Screenings
The Paper is now showing in the following venues
Broadcast:
The Paper will have its national broadcast premiere on PBS's Independent Lens series December 11, 2007.
Screenings:
April 7,8,19
Philadelphia Film Festival
April 21, 24
Atlanta Film Festival
April 27, 28
Independent Film Festival of Boston
May 4, 5
Maryland Film Festival
Meet the Crew
Key Personnel and Biographies
Aaron Matthews: Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor
Aaron Matthews made his feature documentary debut with the highly acclaimed My American Girls, which chronicles one Dominican family’s immigrant experiences in Brooklyn. The film was nationally broadcast on PBS’s P.O.V. series in 2001 and 2002, won the Best Documentary Award at the San Francisco Latino Film Festival, and aired throughout Europe and Latin America. It is currently being broadcast nationwide on the Discovery Times Channel. Matthews’s next film, A Panther in Africa, explores the legacy of the 1960s through the eyes of former Black Panther, Pete O’Neal, living in exile in Tanzania. The award-winning film was also broadcast on P.O.V. in 2004, received a Cine Golden Eagle Award, and won Best Documentary at the St. Louis International Film Festival. Matthews began his career making short documentary films. Taddo, (about the oldest barber in Brooklyn) and The Art of the Moment (an in-depth look at three professional New York City improvisers) played at numerous festivals around the country and were broadcast on The History Channel, as well as public television. Matthews has received grants from The Sundance Institute, ITVS, The Jerome Foundation, The New York State Council on the Arts, The Latino Public Broadcasting Company, and The Brooklyn Arts Council. Born in Venezuela, Aaron Matthews grew up in Brooklyn and graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in English literature.