"The Front Page"

Let's Take a Look at "The Front Page" 

Anything and everything that involves journalism and writing, is an absolute amazement to me. This movie is great insight into the world of journalism and how it has shifted through the generations.

Being set in 1924, this film really captures what the life of a journalist is like. Any professional that I have talked to say that the people that are the most committed to their jobs, get very wrapped up in it. They eat, sleep and breathe journalism.

The first thing that I learned when deciding to become a Journalism major is that news is a 24/7 thing. It does not matter if it is 1 p.m. or if it is 3 a.m., someone has to write the story. This can really be seen in "The Front Page" because of the urgency behind writing that story.

News outlets want to be the first covering a story. All media competes with each other to be the first to report important details and developments. It is a constant battle for newspaper circulation and broadcast ratings. 

"The Front Page" demonstrates that race to be first, and while their actions and emotions may have been a little dramatized, I would say that that is how all journalists feel. Of course, in modern day it is a lot easier to access information because of technology, so there may not be as much of an anxiety-ridden rush. 

I think that it is very addicting when you are in the fast-pace nature of journalism. Hildy Johnson wanting to hang up his hat and retire from reporting, was not very surprising. It is a very time-consuming and stressful job, so it is reasonable to want to go on a different path.

Although, Hildy was very determined to marry Peggy Grant and start a new life, I had a feeling from the beginning that he would not be able to stop himself. For me, even writing for The View Point is such a rush because it is a great experience getting to cover that information and see your name on an article.  

It also was not surprising that Walter Burns was determined to keep Hildy in the game. The way that Walter was acting was very harsh and he went to some extreme measures, but I think that was a good representation of how any editor would act when they are losing their best reporter. However, he did cross the line by trying to mess with Hildy's personal life. 

Reporting and getting the news out there is of utmost importance. But nowadays, there is no way that an editor would be able to act like Walter and get away with it. Our modern society is much stricter and it would be likely that someone in Hildy's position would seek out ways of punishment for Walter's actions. 

Although, it was inspiring to see how committed they were to their jobs and to getting the story. In the field of journalism, it is very important to have a love for current news, fast-paced work, and writing. The way that Hildy could not turn down writing that one last story, really shows what true commitment is. 

Many journalists do get into that frenzy and when you have such good information on developments in a story. It is very easy to write a story when the information is continuously flowing in. Hildy wasn't just getting himself into that trance though, Walter was feeding the fire and urging him to get in that mode. 

The way Walter was urging him is definitely not out dated. Outside influences always affect how we operate and the decisions that we make. This is something that not only happens in the journalism world, but everyday life.  

This movie definitely depicted journalists' actions on the most extreme level, but it did not strike me as old-timey or outdated. It depends on the person as to how seriously they take reporting. Most reporters are always going to have that fire under them when they discover important information, it just matters how they choose to act on it. 

It was also interesting to see how all the characters interacted with each other throughout the movie. The scene that stood out to me the most, and reminded me of modern day, is when the sheriff was complaining that Hildy and Walter only write bad things about him, but they said it is just the truth. 

While some things they write may be misconstrued and a little false, that is what people don't understand nowadays. Journalists are supposed to write the truth. All of the good, the bad and the ugly. Many people get upset when they see controversial topics in the news but it is simply the journalists doing their job.   

Overall, I would say that"The Front Page" was a good example of what journalists feel and how they act. While a lot of it was most likely exaggerated for entertainment purposes, they were on track with the way journalism works. I feel that while I was entertained, I also learned a lot from this movie.