The tables have turned on the News of the World editors and journalists.
A few weeks ago, the phone-hacking scandal earned Rupert Murdoch and company headlines in major international papers, and the paper eventually folded.
In light of these events, we here at Paste want to honor some of our favorite editors and reporters in film, comics, literature and television. Their methods may be a little questionable or over-the-top at times, but we guarantee you that they’re all Pulitzer-worthy compared to the News of the World folks.
10. Mikael Blomkvist, Millennium series
In The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, co-owner and investigative journalist of the Swedish magazine Millennium Mikael Blomkvist faces harming damage to his reputation. But he proves that with relentless truth-seeking and reporting, journalists can overcome their reputation for gossip-mongering. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that he has a billionaire funding his comeback.
9. Josie Geller (Drew Barrymore), Never Been Kissed
Though she was a nerdy teenager, Chicago Sun Times reporter Josie Geller gets a chance to relive her high school days as a member of the in-crowd when she goes undercover to get the scoop on “today’s teens.” Her endearingly honest exposè wins the heart of millions of Chicagoans—and wins her a first kiss.
8. Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel), Gilmore Girls
With Christiane Amanpour as her icon, Rory Gilmore worked her way from a reporter on her high school’s newspaper staff to the editor of the Yale Daily News, one of the most prestigious collegiate newspapers. Following her graduation, she joined the Obama presidential campaign trail as a political correspondent for an online newspaper.
7. Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), The Devil Wears Prada
Miranda Priestly is every young reporter’s nightmare. She’s demanding, she’s vague, she’s judgmental, and she has unrealistic expectations. When frumpy Northwestern grad Andy Sachs begins working for the editor at one of the top fashion magazines, her limits are tested—but this is why Miranda is one of the best editors around. She teaches Andy that you need strong will, an unbreakable backbone and a kick-ass wardrobe to survive in the media industry—and gives the journalist a glowing recommendation.
6. Lois Lane, Superman
Working alongside Clark Kent at The Daily Planet, Lois Lane is one of the most iconic representations of a strong female reporter. Though the character comes from a comic, she is an inspiration to many aspiring young women as a determined, intellectual and tough journalist.
5. William Miller (Patrick Fugit), Almost Famous
At 15 years of age, William Miller is one of pop culture’s best music journalists. Based on director Cameron Crowe and his experiences following groups such as Led Zeppelin and The Eagles, young William witnesses the gritty truth of touring with rock bands, learning the hard way that “friendship is the booze they feed you” and getting a feel for his own journalistic ethics. Encouraged to be “unmerciful” about Stillwater, he goes on to write one of the most revealing and honest portraits of the fictional ‘70s rock group.
4. Henry Hackett (Michael Keaton), The Paper
As the workaholic editor of the New York Sun, Henry Hackett represents a lot of what major metro editors have to endure on a day-to-day basis. It’s an honest yet funny portrayal of the life of a newspaper editor.
3. Walter Burns (Cary Grant), His Girl Friday
Adapted from the widely acclaimed play The Front Page, His Girl Friday is a classic whose sharp, witty dialogue matches that of old newsrooms. This smooth-talking editor, played by the always-charming Cary Grant, recognizes true journalistic talent and goes to great lengths to get his best reporter to cover a major story.
2. Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) and Bob Woodward (Robert Redford), All the President’s Men
Based on the true story of The Washington Post reporters who uncovered the Watergate scandal, All the President’s Men paints a portrait of the great lengths to which Woodward and Bernstein went to expose Nixon—including risking their jobs, their reputations and their lives.
1. Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles), Citizen Kane
Though Citizen Kane’s ranking as the best film of all time may be disputed by some, it’s hard to disagree that Charles Foster Kane is the most iconic journalist in pop culture. Based on William Randolph Hearst, Kane is a newspaper tycoon whose deaths brings about an investigation of his personal life and the mysterious utterance of his last word, “Rosebud.”