We have long thought of investigative journalism as a craft that bears a lot of resemblance with our own work – establishing conjectures and seeking the “truth” via research, scuttlebutt, networking and experience, while simultaneously being aware of our own biases and doing the utmost to prevent them from contaminating one’s work. We can imagine many other reasons to watch this movie, but gaining more insight into this process would be one of the most relevant.

Marketing-wise, it’s interesting to note that the movie’s official page, which has a very “traditional” URL (http://www.pageonemovie.com), actually takes you to their Facebook page. Much more engaging, but we still miss the movie trailer.

Page One: 1:34 clip about Wikileaks:

Video interview of Andrew Rossi at Sundance (2:43)

Links:

Page One review at The Daily Beast – Great review by Nicole LaPorte that starts off by reminding us that Gay Talese wrote a book about the Times in 1968.

Page One review at Cinema Blend – Interesting excerpt: “(…) Page One is an essential overview of where things stand and how one crucial institution may lead is into the future. Parts of The New York Times online will start going behind a paywall early this year for its most loyal readers, another experiment in keeping the news a manageable business; things are changing even as Page One screens to these rapt Sundance audiences. Even 30 years from now, though, Page One will remain a vital and fascinating portrait of the news and the people who make it.”

Review by Reuters (Hollywood Reporter) – Our attempt at a “fair and balanced” coverage – this is a negative review.

And as we always stress: view it critically, play with the idea, try to contradict it or apply it in some other field(s). In this particular case it may be hard to do so, because Mr. Pogue’s delightfully terrible songs can really stick in one’s mind.

One must remember that some seriously talented fund managers got burned shorting AOL at a P/E of 100, 200, 300 or 400 – only to see it climb to the now-absurd level of a 700 P/E ratio.

As in Part 1 below, we’ve put together a group of links that serves as a starting point for anyone interested in this author’s work or in the issues he raises – and as we said there, remember to check the author’s intentions, biases, backgrounds… Questioning isn’t easy, but it’s vital: we bring so much “luggage” that it’s hard not to overlook important analytical issues or inputs. Most other humans suffer from this “problem”, including “experts”, witnesses (if you think of it as a trial), sources (if you think of it as an investigation), and so on.

Other David Brooks articles (as always, the New York Times requires a free registration):

Update (Dec. 29th): The Sidney Awards, Part 2!

The Sidney Awards – This one just out today! It serves one of the purposes this blog is supposed to serve, in this case “the filter”, in that Mr. Brooks doles out his awards for the best articles/ essays of 2009. Maybe he thought that the Buysiders team has been good and deserves a gift? Well, since we want to continue in Santa’s favor, we’re sharing it with you. There are three pieces on Health Care reform.

The Other Education – How Bruce Springsteen started his “second education”, the emotional one. How this affects our “mental models” and frameworks for dealing with “real life”. And how to get carried away with a rock concert. Of lighter fare and still interesting.

The Rush to Therapy – This is a tough one to justify, because it’s a tough topic. Mr. Brooks talks about the media coverage regarding a terrible incident in which a US army major opened fire at his colleagues and proceeded to murder 13 people and injury a number of others. But this article raises a very important issue, one we discussed in our Q4 2008 report: there is always a choice, there’s always a a priori opportunity to do what it takes to avoid the moral pitfalls – especially important in mass-media coverage of unfortunate events.