Director: Peter Raymont
National Film Board of Canada. 1989. $39.95
Length: 30 minutes
Audience: High School, Post-Secondary
Topics: news production
Only the News That Fits provides an inside view of the highly competitive news business, and raises some moral issues for the electronic age. This video focuses on journalists working in Nicaragua during the negotiations surrounding the Arias Peace Plan in November 1987, and also simultaneously documents the editorial process in the ABC newsroom in New York City. Elements of Electronic News Gathering (ENG) are examined: how powerful editors monitor every word, serving as gatekeepers; how restrictions of time and format pressure journalists in the field; how world events are condensed into easily digestible news bites. Study suggestions are included with this production, which is also available as part of Media and Society.
Only the News That Fits can be ordered online from the National Film Board.
