Throwback Thursday: Films on broadcast journalism honouring Arnab's Modi interview

Welcome to the world of broadcast journalism on celluloid. On June 27th 2016, Modi gave his first one-on-one interview to broadcast journalist extraordinaire Arnab Goswami of Times Now. It was a landmark moment in the history of Indian journalism as Arnab Goswami, for the first time in his life, was quiet and did not ask his subject what the ‘nation wants to know’. While we know that Arnab is the debatable king of TV news, there has been an interest in broadcast journalism for quite some time now, thanks to stellar films made on the subject. And so, in honour of #TBT we present to you movies featuring stalwart broadcast journalists: Network (1976) [caption id=“attachment_2864734” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Peter Finch as Howard Beale in ‘Network’. Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons[/caption] The kind of news churned out in a newsroom depends on the viewership it will give you, not vica versa. The 1976 film follows this line of thought. This was the time when terrorism and violence was the main focus of a news network’s programming structure. Howard Beale (Peter Finch), a leading news anchor, threatens to commit suicide on air on the last day of his show because of poor viewership. This affects his coworkers, Max Schumacher (William Holden) and Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway), and the network in the most surprising way. The film brilliantly plays on the undercurrents of a broadcast newsroom and the politics that affect it. Peter Finch’s award winning performance as a news anchor on the brink of insanity fetched him a posthumous Oscar. Good Night, Good Luck (2005) [caption id=“attachment_2864762” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Image Courtesy: Youtube[/caption] This black and white movie directed by George Clooney takes us back to the America of the 1950s, with the background of the cold war and threat of communism making everyone increasingly paranoid. Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin exploits these fears but reporter Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) and his producer Fred W. Friendly (George Clooney) decide to take a stand and challenge McCarthy and expose him for the fear monger he was. Based on a true story, the movie follows their journey to bring down one of the most controversial senators in American history. Frost/Nixon (2008) [caption id=“attachment_2864768” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Image Courtesy: Frost/Nixon[/caption] Ron Howard’s Frost/Nixon is somewhat a fictionalized version of the famous Frost/Nixon interviews that destroyed Nixon’s presidential career. The retelling of the famous interviews about the Watergate scandal is an interesting look into how the world of politics and broadcast journalism intertwine . Peepli Live (2010) [caption id=“attachment_2864770” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Image Courtesy: Flickr/CC[/caption] A poor farmer from Peepli village, Natha (Omkar Das Manikpuri), is about to lose his plot of land because of an unpaid government loan. He chooses to commit suicide as the government will financially help families of farmers who have committed suicide. This story catches the eye of a new camera crew who decides to film Natha’s suicide and local politicians get involved because of an upcoming election. Natha’s decision whole village in midst of a media frenzy and they try to cope with a camera following their actions. The Interview (2014) [caption id=“attachment_2864776” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Image Courtesy: Creative Commons[/caption] This banned political satire has the duo starring as Dave Skylark (James Franco) and his producer Aaron Rapoport (Seth Rogen) who run the popular celebrity tabloid TV show “Skylark Tonight”. They manage to land an interview with dictator Kim Jong-un in order to establish themselves as serious journalists. As the duo prepares to go to North Korea for their interview, the CIA recruits them to assassinate the dictator.