The editor portrayed in the Oscar winning, Spotlight, lectured at USC’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication Wednesday evening.
Walter Robinson was the editor of the Boston Globe’s investigative journalism division, Spotlight, when it uncovered shocking details of the scandal in the Catholic churches of Boston.
The story earned the Spotlight team a Pulitzer Prize for meritorious public service in its exposure of sexual abuse by Catholic priests in 2003. After journalistic recognition, the story made its way to Hollywood in 2015.
Robinson’s lecture comes after the critically acclaimed movie has been brought to attention for winning Best Picture and Best Original Screen play at the 2016 Oscars.
He spoke of the film’s authenticity, and confirmed that it paid close attention to detail and was able to capture the journalistic endeavor in a movie the only slightly hyperbolized the process. In fact, he was surprised that such a realistic movie beat out the more action packed, violent movies of the year (*cough cough*, The Revenant).
For as detailed as the film was though, there were some aspects that didn’t show how tedious investigative journalism is, like a three-minute montage that in reality took three weeks. However, he validated the effort taken by the producers and director to make it a “truthful fiction.”
Robinson also spoke about the actual process of uncovering the story, and though he admits that reporting work is rarely as interesting as the actual story, he believes that the film was successful in bringing the audience behind the scenes.
“It is undeniable that a good film, and this is a good film, can have a greater impact than the printed word,” said Robinson.
He pointed out that the movie represented journalism as it was 14 years ago, and that news has drifted away from investigative reporting because of the time and effort it requires. However, he believes that investigative journalism is more possible than ever, pointing out that his students at Northeastern find information in a day rather than weeks, with the help of the Internet.
Therefore, he urged the importance of reporting, and beyond that he told aspiring future journalism students that there is nothing more fun in life than journalism. Plus, he finished off with a pretty good point:
“If you do reporting that makes a difference in peoples lives, someone might come along and make a film that immortalizes your work.”