This post appeared on the Knight Foundation blog, in Jan. 2016
“Spotlight” is a film with no car chases, explosions or intergalactic battles. An action scene here might be someone with a pen and a ruler checking names in a book or running to the courthouse to get, just before closing, some previously sealed documents. Victory here brings only the revelation of a monstrous truth.
In spite of it, or perhaps in part because of it, the film has become a modest box office success and has received numerous honors, including nominations for six Academy Awards. Its depiction of the hard work of news investigations has fueled discussions about the importance of local journalism, including a screening last Thursday by Knight Foundation at Coral Gables Art Cinema followed by a conversation led by Knight President Alberto Ibargüen with Marty Baron, executive editor of The Washington Post and editor of The Boston Globe from 2001 to 2012.
