By Randy Myers
Also notable is an upcoming East Bay screening of award-winning filmmaker Rick Goldsmith’s “Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink,” an essential, enlightening and damning look at the clandestine activities of a New York-based hedge fund that owns Bay Area newspapers (among many) throughout the nation. Goldsmith lays out how Alden Global Capital gobbled up financially strapped newspapers and continues to suck them bone-dry for profits. The movie is a dire warning for those who value newsgathering and fact-driven reporting that holds leaders, be they in business or politics, accountable.
Heroes do emerge in the documentary. Goldsmith graciously elevates reporters including the inspiring Julie Reynolds and Pulitzer Prize co-winner Thomas Peele, who, in their accomplished careers, consistently have held public figures and others accountable. While the film’s “news” about newspapers is indeed dire, Goldsmith finds hope, focusing on nonprofit newsgathering portals that specialize in on-the-ground local news and investigative journalism.
“Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink” screens at 6:45 p.m. Nov. 19 at the New Parkway Theater in Oakland. Find tickets ($14-$16) here.
STRIPPED FOR PARTS 