"5 Star Final" reflection

    The film "5 Star Final" directed by Mervyn Leroy in 1931 is a dramatized commentary on the early years of the press, and how irresponsible reporting can have major consequences on the lives of people, especially when it comes to misinformation and slander.

    The film takes place in a struggling paper, "The New York Evening Gazette." It follows Joseph W. Randall, the managing editor of said paper, Randall decides that the best way to resurrect the paper is to dig up a 20-year-old murder case in order to stir up interest. This digging up has dire consequences, as it leads to the suicides of two people involved, Nancy Voorhees and Michael Townsend. Despite the ethical issues, 2 reporters from the gazette record the scene, and this leads to a snowball effect that tarnishes the reputation of Randall and the gazette as a whole.

Overall, I think this movie touches on many of the concepts we learnt about in class, one such being the use of yellow journalism. A lot of the issues with our victims and the press was the over-exaggeration of the story, as that was a key factor towards their demise.

Another I think was the greed of the Gazette, and Press Baron's pursuits of the best stories and moments, no matter who gets hurt or even killed in the process. The story of Nancy Vorhees is a tragic one, as it goes to show that lies can change a life.

I think the movie overall is an extreme example of Journalism malpractice, as the practices done by the reporters and editors at the Gazette are extremely out of line, and constitute as borderline illegal. 

While yes, Journalists do owe the people the truth, I feel as though it needs to be done in a manner that doesn't put others at risk, and will be seen as the generally right thing to do in context. 

I don't think the characters in this film considered this much, as the ethical choices made were extremely questionable.

Overall, I think "5-star Final" is a necessary cautionary tale when it comes to journalism ethics, and shows that no matter how bad the struggle is... there are better ways of making a quick buck then ruining the lives of others.