“THE NEWS MEDIA HAVE SHAPED AMERICAN HISTORY. ABSOLUTELY. Boldly. Profoundly,” says Rodger Streitmatter, in an excerpt of his book, Mightier Than The Sword. In this particular chapter, Streitmatter acknowledges the idea that journalism has served as a catalyst for every major historical and social movement since colonial times. He delves into 10 different methods he believes media outlets have used to shape American history throughout the centuries; in essence, the how. One method that resonated with me most was the conclusion that news organizations have influenced events because they’ve been willing to set an agenda, rather than merely record the facts. Before taking this course, I would have refuted that idea, but my newfangled knowledge of journalism has led me to believe that the media has had more of an impact on America’s history than society will ever comprehend.

Upon watching the beginning of Shattered Glass, I couldn’t help but wonder why this particular title was chosen for a movie about a successful journalist. Stephen Glass was a seemingly cunning and creative writer, and became a booming success because of his stories for “The New Republic”. I didn’t realize why the title was so fitting until Stephen Glass broke down and admitted to having fabricated over half of his stories. His reputation and therefore character was “shattered” as a result of the investigations.

I, personally, found it easy to keep up with the plot because Journalism 200 has taught me the term, ‘libel’ which is prominent in the movie during parts where the staff has to fact-check Glass’s stories for it.

Truthfully, I did not enjoy All the President’s Men nearly as much as I had hoped. While it was based off an extremely interesting event in American history, I thought the acting to be quite cheesy. Now, with that being said, I think there’s something to be commended of the investigative journalism this film brings to life. While the acting of Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman was subpar in my book, I believe they did a fantastic job of portraying the situation the real-life reporters found themselves in. The film showed how aggressive and relentless Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein had to be in their efforts to uncover Nixon’s crimes. It was also neat to see how different the two journalists were, although successfully working together.

As watching certain movies was part of an extra credit assignment, I was not expecting to enjoy the first film I watched, Spotlight. However, Spotlight was the type of film that you think about long after the final credits run down your screen. It compiled three of my favorite genres into one cohesive film – history, drama, and crime. Because of this, it was both enthralling and enlightening. The affair the Spotlight journalists were investigating was rather touchy, and it was alarming to see how many Catholic priests in Boston alone were found guilty of child molestation. I think this story has resonated with me so much because of its shock value, as well as the spectacular acting throughout. The team embodied what I believe investigative journalism should be – bravery, truth, and justice.