Journalism in the movies

"Matthew C. Ehrlich's Journalism in the Movies is the story of Hollywood's depiction of American journalism from the start of the sound era to the present." "The movies have portrayed journalists both as upstanding citizen-heroes and as scruffy outsider-villains. In either case, Hollywood has reproduced myths in which the press is always at the heart of things and always makes a difference. Ehrlich argues that films have relentlessly portrayed the journalist as someone who sees through lies and hypocrisy, sticks up for the little guy, and serves democracy. Even when this image is reversed, the suggestion is that it's only because the journalist and the press have lost their way; they were true once upon a time and could someday be true again." "Focusing on films about journalism, including The Front Page, His Girl Friday, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, All the President's Men, and The Insider, Journalism in the Movies draws upon scholarship on the relationships between movies, myths, and culture, and presents a unique opportunity to reflect on how movies relate not only to journalism but also American life and democracy."--BOOK JACKET.