There's no need for investigative journalism to know that Spotlight, this year's Best Picture, is a good movie. What you didn’t know until now: The actual Boston Globe journalists Walter Robinson and Sacha Pfeiffer will speak at Northwestern following a screening of the film Tuesday, April 19 – all courtesy of A&O and Studio 22 Productions.
If you haven’t seen the film yet, you should. It follows a team of Boston Globe journalists as they investigate the sexual assault of children by Roman Catholic priests. The result of their reporting was a national (and international) unveiling of a large-scale problem that implicated church and government officials. Robinson, a Pulitzer Prize winner, headed the investigative team that reported on the story in the early 2000s. Pfeiffer, also a Pulitzer Prize winner (there’s a trend here), was one of four journalists on the team. The journalists are portrayed by Michael Keaton and Rachel McAdams, respectively, in the film.
“If you’re interested in a career in journalism, [it’s] an opportunity to hear from two respected journalists who have achieved a lot in their field, and learn a little bit more about what it was like for them to be breaking that story,” said A&O Films Co-Chairman Danny Carlon, a Communication junior. “But even if you’re not specifically in Medill, it’s a very powerful story and something that a lot of people could and should be interested in.”
Following the screening, which will begin at 6 p.m. in Ryan Auditorium, Robinson and Pfeiffer will engage in a discussion moderated by a Medill professor.
Tickets for the event are scheduled to go on sale 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 13. Don't procrastinate, though – tickets for the past several A&O film speaker events, like last year’s screening of Selma followed by a talk with its director Ava DuVernay, have sold out.