His Girl Friday Review

How did the movie reflect (or criticize) the era of Pulitzer and Hearst in their approach to news?  

            Pulitzer and Hearst transformed journalism to be a product of mass consumption. However, their methods of doing this were not exactly ethical by today's standards. Their era of journalism, known as yellow journalism, was based upon sensationalism and crude exaggeration. His Girl Friday was filmed in the 1940’s, about four decades after this era died. Therefore, at this point in history, honest and trustworthy journalism was being openly appreciated. Because of this, I believe that this film was reflecting the era of Pulitzer and Hearst by mocking their methods in a comical fashion. It made journalism seem laughable and completely unreliable.

 

How do the film’s characters violate journalistic ethics?

In the Elements of Journalism we learn that a journalist's first obligation is to reporting the truth. A metaphor we’ve discussed in class is this: when an argument arises at the dinner table, the journalist’s responsibility is not to report the story from their side of the table, but to leave their seat and record the facts from a bystanders point of view. The main character in His Girl Friday, Hildy, does exactly the opposite. Hildy becomes deeply involved in the story when she interviews the murderer and convinces him to think a certain way. In their interview Hildy deceitfully puts words into the victim's mouth. Later in the film, Hildy even hides the killer within the confines of a desk. In The Mind of a Journalist we learn that a worldview every reporter is challenged with is the importance of time. American culture is one that is driven by the clock. Audiences want news as it’s happening; the more immediate the story, the more important it is. Hildy desired to have the story first because of the pressure she had in this belief. Becoming involved, as well as putting the importance of a publication before the audiences’ well-being, disqualify any reporter as being objective.

Did the characters “Minimize Harm?” 

           We just recently learned in class about the Society of Professional Journalism's Code of Ethics. One of these steps is to minimize harm.The basic idea behind this concept is that ethical journalists treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect. There are many specifications including these: 

Journalists should: 
— Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage. Use special sensitivity when dealing with children and inexperienced sources or subjects.
— Be sensitive when seeking or using interviews or photographs of those affected by tragedy or grief.
— Recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance.
— Recognize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than do public officials and others who seek power, influence or attention. Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone’s privacy.
— Show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity.
— Be cautious about identifying juvenile suspects or victims of sex crimes.
— Be judicious about naming criminal suspects before the formal filing of charges.
— Balance a criminal suspect’s fair trial rights with the public’s right to be informed.

The characters in His Girl Friday obviously didn't follow these standards. Hildy treated Earl Williams like an object, feeling like she could throw her source to and frow to suite her needs best. We also see it with Mollie, and how the other journalists twisted her actions to meet their desires for a more dramatic story. 

Do the film’s characters remain independent and neutral?

           Well if writing a story for the sake of having the biggest story around and because you know that if you do your name will be remembered as legendary is considered independent, and if holding your source hostage within the confines of a desk is considered neutral... then I suppose they do.

The Front Page, on which “His Girl Friday” is based, is said to be “an old-fashioned valentine to journalism and American life.” How is that so?

It's a remembrance to the short lived era of yellow journalism that brought newspapers back to life. This era brought journalism it's front page appeal with revamped headlines (from one-column headlines to banner headlines), the creation of sports and women’s pages, as well as illustrations on the cover. It's what gave American's that romantic connection with the newspaper that many people still have today. In its first incarnation, the “Front Page” was loudly criticized by the high brow newspapers of the time. One wrote, that reporters were made to look more like gangsters than a moderately well-off businessman. Do you agree? Well Hildy herself says that she's leaving the newspaper industry because it turns respectable people into monsters. And the fact that the journalists featured are so manipulative rather than neutral makes a big difference too. They don't look like businessmen. Maybe not quote gangsters, but definitely people propelled by selfish means.   The original version featured two men, as did a later version with Walter Matthau (Walter Burns), Jack Lemmon (Hildy Johnson) and Susan Sarandon (Peggy Grant).  How did the woman Hildy change the dynamics. What does it say about women in journalism?  Hildy's perspective when she wrote about Mollie was heart-wrenching. Written by a man it might have seemed awkward. When she spoke to Earl while he was in jail to get him to believe the "production of use" thing was spoken softly and tenderly. Spoken by a man it would have seemed less for the purpose of helping Earl and more manipulative. Hildy's assault of the mayor was extremely funny mostly because she was running in heels and tackling a full grown man. While it would have remained funny done by a man, being done by a woman made it much more humorous. Her desire to settle down was very womanly, and would have been less plausible if proposed by a man. I think what made the greatest impression on me about Hildy's sex was her passion for journalism. Her desire to write the big front page story was actually very masculine. It made women seem just as capable as a man to be a journalist.