Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Docu about veteran journalist has some violence, language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Rather
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Dan RATHER, son of a Texas ditch-digger, covered the Kennedy assassination in Dallas. He covered the Vietnam War from Vietnam. He covered the Russians in the invasion of Afghanistan, the hostages in Iran, and President Nixon's resignation when he was the CBS White House correspondent. He was one of the original 60 Minutes journalists, and he anchored the CBS evening news for 24 years, back when millions watched it every night. This is a meaty documentary designed to help us remember how difficult it is to produce real journalism and how far some "news" purveyors -- especially on social media -- have departed from the standards at the heart of the kind of reliable journalism that used to be taken for granted. The movie takes the position that even the best reporters -- and CBS had some of the best -- make mistakes sometimes. Ronan Farrow, Samantha Bee, Soledad O'Brien, Mark Cuban, and numerous former CBS bigwigs add commentary.
Is It Any Good?
Budding journalists will learn a lot from this excellent film. This is a documentary about a courageous journalist who didn't care if he got on the wrong side of powerful people, who went after stories he believed were important, who made some mistakes in the process, but who represented a kind of journalistic integrity that used to be the norm. For those who all their young lives have gotten their news from social media, Rather serves as a reminder that news used to be deeply researched and vetted by trained professionals, not just made up by non-professionals. The film acknowledges that even the best journalists make mistakes, but it suggests that such mistakes are made when challenging self-serving narratives created by the powerful, rather than deliberate misrepresentations of the variety perfected by "dirty tricksters."
Far beyond profiling the individual Rather, this documentary seeks to draw a distinction between responsible writers and producers applying stringent standards to their work and amateurs with agendas inventing "information," then posting it online without benefit of editors or fact-checking.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the point the film is trying to make. Has journalism changed? In what ways? Has social media given a platform to disseminate ideas without the benefit of vetting according to the highest journalistic standards?
If untrained people have platforms to communicate unchecked rumors to large numbers of people, how might that be difficult to distinguish from information that has been fact-checked ?
What kind of person does Rather seem to be? What are his strengths? What are his flaws?
What character strengths does Rather display?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : June 9, 2023
- Director : Frank Marshall
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Documentary
- Character Strengths : Courage , Integrity
- Run time : 95 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : May 13, 2024
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate