In the Paper, women are depicted in conflicting ways. Alicia Clark is an unfortunate caricature of a woman in power: her nasty attitude sends strong messages about women in positions of power. Clark is devoid of femininity, underscored by her dog fight with Hackett in the press room and her having followed Bernie White into the men's washroom. However, her character could satirically suggest that women do not need to act like men to be well-respected. In fact, Martha Hackett and several other staff editors and reporters do suggest that women work on par with men in the world of journalism and do not need to act like Clark does.
The editorial decisions regarding the leading story about the wrongfully accused African-American youths relate to themes of race relations in America. Howard treats race sensitively. The black youths were framed for the killing of two white businessmen. Michael McDougal (Randy Quaid) listens constantly to the police scanners and discovers that even the arresting officers believe the kids didn't commit the crime. With his tip and with Hackett's stolen information, the reporters go on a rampage in order to be the first to publish the headline, "They didn't do it!"
Knowing that race riots could ensue because of the false arrest partly prompted the editorial decision to pursue the story, and the reporters were also partially motivated by genuine compassion for the innocent....
For instance, Hackett raises the potential issue of "race wars" that could result from convicting the young boys in the press. Hackett is well aware that many jury trials begin with the newspapers and appears to be genuinely concerned. However, in general, financial interest and self-interest trumped any altruistic motives. The editors did not so much care about racial profiling as they did about being the first to bust open the story. The Sun struggles to stay financially afloat, so it is understandable that most editorial decisions are made with finances and self-interest at heart.
The television news emphasizes race in a more insidious way, calling the crime a "racial killing," and emphasizing the skin color of the victims and the suspects. The Sun seems tame in comparison to the sensationalism on TV. When the story unravels to reveal that organized crime is to blame for the murders, the Sun finally manages to break the story before their competitors, but not before widespread inter-office and interpersonal conflicts ensue. The Paper is an imperfect movie that somewhat glamorizes the work of daily news reporters but which nevertheless shows how politics, gender, and race relations do strongly influence the outcome of editorial decisions and journalism in general.
Works Cited
Howard, Ron. The Paper. 1994.
The Paper." IMDB.com. Online at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110771/.
