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106-600: Philip Alexander Gibney ( / ˈ ɡ ɪ b n i / ; born October 23, 1953) is an American documentary film director and producer. In 2010, Esquire magazine said Gibney "is becoming the most important documentarian of our time." Gibney's works as director include The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley , Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (winner of three Emmys in 2015), We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks , Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in

212-455: A CNN war correspondent from the US, Christiane Amanpour , stated that in some circumstances "neutrality can mean you are an accomplice to all sorts of evil". Each of these opinions stems from scholar's and journalist's critique of objectivity as too "heartless" or "forensic" to report the human natured and emotionally charged issues found in war and conflict reporting. As discussed above, with

318-400: A fourth estate , a body that exists apart from government and large interest groups. Journalistic objectivity requires that a journalist not be on either side of an argument. The journalist must report only the facts and not a personal attitude toward the facts. While objectivity is a complex and dynamic notion that may refer to a multitude of techniques and practices, it generally refers to

424-735: A taxi driver in Afghanistan who was tortured and killed at Bagram Air Force Base in 2002. In 2019, he released his documentary Citizen K , about Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian billionaire exile Mikhail Khodorkovsky . Gibney was born in New York City, the son of Harriet (Harvey) and journalist Frank Gibney . His stepfather was the Rev. William Sloane Coffin . After attending Pomfret School , Gibney earned his bachelor's degree from Yale University and later attended

530-420: A "special report" attacking the film on one of its websites, started a new Twitter account which claimed to be "taking a resolute stand against the broadcasting and publishing of false information" and bought numerous ads around Google search results relating to the film in order to direct searchers to its anti- Going Clear pages. Additionally, Scientology posted a series of short films on its website attacking

636-577: A 2003 article that objectivity excuses lazy reporting. He suggests that objectivity makes us passive recipients of news, rather than aggressive analyzers and critics of it. According to Cunningham, the nut of the tortured relationship with objectivity lies within a number of conflicting diktats that the press was subjected to operate under: be neutral yet investigative; be disengaged yet have an impact; and be fair-minded yet have an edge. Cunningham, however, argues that reporters by and large are not ideological warriors; rather, they are imperfect people performing

742-520: A Sundance presentation. "Spanky" Taylor's appearance on stage, along with the daughter from whom the Scientology Church had forced her to " disconnect ", reduced many in the audience to tears. The film was subsequently shown in a limited number of New York City , Los Angeles and San Francisco theaters from March 13, 2015. The initial theatrical release was deliberately small-scale, most likely undertaken to ensure that Going Clear met

848-455: A basic philosophy of providing a single objective news feed to all subscribers. That is, they do not provide separate feeds for conservative or liberal newspapers. Journalist Jonathan Fenby has explained the notion: To achieve such wide acceptability, the agencies avoid overt partiality. The demonstrably correct information is their stock-in-trade. Traditionally, they report at a reduced level of responsibility, attributing their information to

954-528: A book advocating the opposite of the view from nowhere: the view from somewhere . Some argue that a more appropriate standard should be fairness and accuracy (as enshrined in the names of groups like Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting ). Under this standard, taking sides on an issue would be permitted as long as the side taken was accurate and the other side was given a fair chance to respond. Many professionals believe that true objectivity in journalism

1060-768: A brave, timely intervention into debates around the organization that have been simmering for some time." Slate called the film "a stunning exposé of an organization and religion too long shrouded in mystery." Screen Daily 's Anthony Kaufman felt that some of the re-enactments in the film were "heavy-handed or sensationalistic," but commended it overall as "a serious, strange and unsettling account of brainwashing, greed and gross misuses of power." Writing in The Guardian , Brian Moylan described Going Clear as "entertaining and dismaying viewing" in which "the story of Scientology, with all its strange players, emerges as comedy, rather than horror," but criticised its reliance on

1166-459: A difficult job that is crucial to society and, "[d]espite all our important and necessary attempts to minimize [individual's] humanity, it can't be any other way", Cunningham concludes. The debate about objectivity has also occurred within the photojournalism field. In 2011, Italian photographer Ruben Salvadori challenged the expectation of objective truth that the general public associates to photojournalism with his project "Photojournalism Behind

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1272-560: A documentary film adaption of Hitchens's book The Trial of Henry Kissinger . Gibney's most recent projects include work on The Armstrong Lie (about Lance Armstrong ), Catching Hell (a contribution to ESPN 's ' 30 for 30 ' series which looks at "The Inning" in Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series ), Going Clear (a documentary about Scientology), Dirty Money (doc-series that explores corporate greed and corruption), The Looming Tower (fiction series based on

1378-459: A documentary film called Musk , about entrepreneur Elon Musk . Gibney writes for The Atlantic , and has written for Huffington Post and other publications. He has been a resident of Summit, New Jersey . On June 19, 2008, Gibney's company filed for arbitration , arguing that THINKFilm failed to properly distribute and promote his film Taxi to the Dark Side . He sued for over

1484-529: A facility known as " The Hole "; one Scientologist was said to have been forced to clean a bathroom with his tongue. According to the film, actress Nicole Kidman was targeted for wiretapping by Scientology in an effort to break her marriage to Tom Cruise after she was labeled a " potential trouble source " by the Scientology Church; whereas Travolta has been forced to stay in Scientology in fear that secrets from his personal life will be exposed. The film

1590-471: A film, television and documentary production company run by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard , invested in and acquired an ownership stake in the company. Gibney has been honored by the Yale Film Studies program for his contributions to film culture. In 2010, Utne Reader listed him as one of "25 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World." His 2013 film We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks ,

1696-418: A long time" and awarded Going Clear five stars, describing it as having "the scary intensity of a thriller." Following the initial HBO broadcast of Going Clear , Saturday Night Live aired a music video featuring the "Church of Neurotology", a parody of Scientology's 1990 music video "We Stand Tall", clips from which were shown in the documentary. Going Clear received a total of seven nominations for

1802-477: A medium requiring a fairly sophisticated team of many different kinds of laborers. Journalists are expected to possess technical skills in computer-based and new media technologies to some extent, placing new demands on journalists now. Some scholars and journalists criticize the understanding of objectivity as neutrality or nonpartisanship, arguing that it does a disservice to the public because it fails to attempt to find truth. They also argue that such objectivity

1908-403: A million dollars in damages and stated that the film has grossed only $ 280,000. Going Clear (film) Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief is a 2015 documentary film about Scientology . Directed by Alex Gibney and produced by HBO , it is based on Lawrence Wright 's book Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief (2013). The film premiered at

2014-462: A number of reasons. Crowdfunding supports journalists by funding necessary components like reporting equipment, computers, travel expenses if necessary, and overhead costs like office space or paying other staff on their team. A key component of crowdfunding and a significant motivator for journalists to use it is the lack of corporate backing. This means that the journalist has the autonomy to make editorial decisions at their sole discrection but there

2120-511: A planned profile of Gibney. Although Scientology denied that its actions had anything to do with the Oscars, Lawrence Wright suggested that its "more feverish attention to the documentary" had to do with it feeling "threatened by the possibility that [the Hollywood] community would examine the church more closely" as the Oscars approached. In January 2016, according to The Hollywood Reporter ,

2226-493: A political explanation for the rise of objectivity; scholars like Richard Kaplan have argued that political parties needed to lose their hold over the loyalties of voters and the institutions of government before the press could feel free to offer a nonpartisan, "impartial" account of news events. This change occurred following the critical 1896 election and the subsequent reform of the Progressive Era . Later, during

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2332-427: A producer, to explore the book's underlying theme of "how people become prisoners of faith in various ways". Gibney saw Scientology as one of the toughest subjects he has had to tackle in his career as a documentarian, alongside government complicity in torture, corporate financial malfeasance, and clerical sexual abuse. Fear of Scientology's litigiousness rendered American networks unwilling to license any material to

2438-459: A simple, analytical explanation. I always thought that's what's great about movies sometimes—the best movies have to be experienced; they can't just be written about. In an interview with David Poland for MIFF, Gibney disagrees with the view from nowhere , the idea that journalists can be objective : "Objectivity is dead. There's no such thing as objectivity. When you're making a film, a film can't be objective. Gibney's frequent documentary mode

2544-590: A small group of defectors and the lack of any involvement by the Scientology Church. He felt that this made the film "a bit one-sided" and that it was "easy to be skeptical about some of the more outlandish claims made by former members." Sasha Bronner of the Huffington Post called the film a "shocking and eye-opening" work that would leave those who did not know much about Scientology "spellbound." The BBC 's Owen Gleiberman praised it as "the most exciting – and disturbing – work of cinematic non-fiction in

2650-508: A spokesman, the press, or other sources. They avoid making judgments and steer clear of doubt and ambiguity. Though their founders did not use the word, objectivity is the philosophical basis for their enterprises – or failing that, widely acceptable neutrality . Objectivity in journalism aims to help the audience make up their own mind about a story, providing the facts alone and then letting audiences interpret those on their own. To maintain objectivity in journalism, journalists should present

2756-693: A suspected Scientology spy posing as a reporter for Time had attempted to interview him in a possible attempt to obtain material to use against him; the Church denied the claim. Tony Ortega and another interviewee in the film, former Scientologist Marc Headley, reported that investigators from the Scientology Church had surveilled them at Salt Lake City airport as they made their way to the Sundance Film Festival. Scientology contacted film critics complaining that their reviews of Going Clear were "filled with bald faced lies" and demanding that

2862-411: Is a comprehensive look at WikiLeaks , Julian Assange , and Chelsea Manning . The Wikileaks organization itself has objected to the way Gibney portrayed it, and has posted a line-by-line rebuttal to the entire film. Gibney posted a rebuttal. In 2015, Gibney received the inaugural Hitchens Prize, awarded in honor of the late writer Christopher Hitchens. Gibney had previously collaborated with Hitchens on

2968-643: Is based on the Pulitzer Prize –winning journalist Lawrence Wright's book Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief , which was published in January 2013 and was a National Book Award finalist. HBO announced in December 2014 that Alex Gibney, an Oscar-winning director who made Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005), Taxi to the Dark Side , (2007) and The Armstrong Lie (2013),

3074-855: Is broadcast within these jurisdictions." The film eventually received a low-key release in June 2015 in 18 theaters in England and Scotland. It was broadcast on Sky Atlantic in the UK and Ireland, including Northern Ireland, on September 21, 2015, and attracted 88,000 overnight viewers. By the start of October it had become Sky's most-watched documentary for three years, attracting a peak audience of 313,000 viewers and an average of 243,000 including catchup viewing. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes collected 87 reviews as of September 24, 2015, of which 94% were positive. The site's consensus states: "Thoroughly disquieting but impossible to ignore, Going Clear: Scientology and

3180-463: Is equally no financial support. According to a study conducted by Hunter (2014), journalists engaged in a crowdfunding campaign all held a similar opinion that their funders did not have control over the content and that it was the journalist who maintained ultimate jurisdiction. However, this pronouncement was complicated by the sense of accountability or responsibility incited in journalists towards their funders. Hunter (2014) notes that this may have

3286-427: Is going to be the best publicity that Alex Gibney and company could ever hope for, if also a hassle for critics and filmmakers and (this is no small thing) a nightmare for the ex-CoS members who dared to speak out against Scientology's practices. But then, they don't seem terribly aware that attacking everyone who criticizes you doesn't do a lot of good for your image." Paul Haggis, who was labeled "doughy" and "pasty" by

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3392-437: Is more interesting than stories without conflict; we are biased toward sticking with the pack because it is safe; we are biased toward event-driven coverage because it is easier; we are biased toward existing narratives because they are safe and easy. Mostly, though, we are biased in favor of getting the story, regardless of whose ox is being gored. Brent Cunningham, the managing editor of Columbia Journalism Review , argues in

3498-553: Is more objective than another if it relies less on the specifics of the individual's makeup and position in the world." Many other news media commentators have also criticized the view from nowhere in journalism. Writer Elias Isquith argues in a 2014 article for Salon that "the view from nowhere not only leads to sloppy thinking but actually leaves the reader less informed than she would be had she simply read an unapologetically ideological source or even, in some cases, nothing at all". In 2019, journalist Lewis Raven Wallace published

3604-494: Is nearly impossible to apply in practice—newspapers inevitably take a point of view in deciding what stories to cover, which to feature on the front page, and what sources they quote. The media critics Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky have advanced a propaganda model hypothesis proposing that such a notion of objectivity results in heavily favoring government viewpoints and large corporations. Mainstream commentators accept that news value drives selection of stories, but there

3710-537: Is not possible and reporters must seek balance in their stories (giving all sides their respective points of view), which fosters fairness. A good reporter who is well-steeped in his subject matter and who isn't out to prove his cleverness, but rather is sweating out a detailed understanding of a topic worth exploring, will probably develop intelligent opinions that will inform and perhaps be expressed in his journalism. Brent Cunningham suggests that reporters should understand their inevitable biases, so they can explore what

3816-481: Is some debate as to whether catering to an audience's level of interest in a story makes the selection process non-objective. Another example of an objection to objectivity, according to communication scholar David Mindich , was the coverage that the major papers (most notably the New York Times ) gave to the lynching of thousands of African Americans during the 1890s. News stories of the period described

3922-596: Is the expository style akin to Ken Burns- in which the filmmaker relies on testimony from subjects involved in the subject matter and voice-over narration. Gibney's Taxi to the Dark Side premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival where it won Best Documentary. The film probes the killing of a taxi driver named Dilawar at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan. Gibney is president of Jigsaw Productions , which produces independent films, documentaries and television series. On June 16, 2020, Imagine Entertainment ,

4028-497: Is the notion of observations untouched by interpretation". Rosen has used the term to criticize journalists who hide behind the appearance of journalistic objectivity so as to gain an unearned position of authority or trust with their audience; he advocates for transparency as a better way of legitimately earning trust. Scholars such as Rosen and Jake Lynch borrowed the term from philosopher Thomas Nagel 's 1986 book The View from Nowhere , which stated, "A view or form of thought

4134-677: The 67th Primetime Emmy Awards . The film was nominated in the categories for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming, Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming, Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming (single or multi-camera) and Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming (single or multi-camera). Alex Gibney also received two nominations for Writing for Nonfiction Programming and Direction for Nonfiction Programming. The film won in three Emmy categories: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming and Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming. Gibney praised

4240-673: The UCLA Film School . Gibney developed an anti-authoritarian view from the journalism career of his father: "They say to succeed you're supposed to suck up and kick down. Well, he was the classic guy who sucked down and kicked up, which is never a good career path! He was at Time, then fired. At Newsweek, fired. At Life, fired." His stepfather was equally an influence on him. "There was something about my father, my mother, and then my stepfather, I think they all ruddered against authority in their own peculiar ways. And that probably rubbed off on me, too." He served as executive producer of

4346-449: The "courageous support" of HBO executives and the "courage of witnesses who stood up against ... the human rights abuses" of Scientology. He suggested that a sequel to Going Clear might be in the works: "There's a lot more material already that I've received, more to come out — and so far the IRS has not revoked its [tax-exemption] protection so there’s a lot more to be done.". On December 1,

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4452-415: The 1880s, Americans started to become interested in some scientific theories and facts which narrowed the ways that writers could express their feelings. The use of technology led to more productivity and control. New tech in the news process has worked to establish a discourse of speed. The discourse of speed has also become stronger and more encompassing over time. The transformation of the newspaper produced

4558-628: The 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah . It received widespread praise from critics and was nominated for seven Emmy Awards , winning three, including Best Documentary. It also received a 2015 Peabody Award and won the award for Best Documentary Screenplay from the Writers Guild of America . The film deconstructs Scientology's claims by presenting a condensed history of the group and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard , examining how celebrities interact with Scientology, and highlighting

4664-399: The Church as a hive of shady, paranoid control freaks." In an email to Flavorwire, Gibney observed that "anytime someone writes something – film criticism or social criticism – about Scientology, the Church of Scientology counter-attacks by smearing critics." Indiewire 's Max O'Connell criticised Scientology's approach as counterproductive. He predicted that "their campaign against the film

4770-639: The House of God (the winner of three 2013 primetime Emmy awards), Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (nominated in 2005 for Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature ); Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (short-listed in 2011 for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature ), Casino Jack and the United States of Money , and Taxi to the Dark Side (winner of the 2007 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature ), focusing on

4876-581: The News & Documentary Emmy for Outstanding Historical Program). Several films he directed and/or produced have been screened at the Cannes , Sundance , Toronto and Tribeca Film Festivals . In an interview with Robert K. Elder for The Film That Changed My Life , Gibney credits much influence on his filming style to The Exterminating Angel : [ The Exterminating Angel is] dark, but it's also wickedly funny and mysterious in ways that can't be reduced to

4982-561: The Prison of Belief is a searing investigative work from a master documentarian." Metacritic gave the film a score of 80/100 based on 11 critics, indicating "Generally favorable reviews". Variety 's chief film critic, Scott Foundas, praised the level of detail in Going Clear and called it a "powder-keg" documentary that illustrates "the dangers of blind faith." Lesley Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter characterized it as an "impeccably assembled and argued film" that "represents

5088-478: The Scenes". By including the traditionally invisible photographer into the frame, Salvadori sought to ignite a discussion about the ethics of the profession, and indicate a need for audiences to be active viewers who understand and recognize the potential subjectivity of the photographic medium. Another notion circulating around the critique of objectivity is proposed by scholar Judith Lichtenberg . She points to

5194-433: The accepted narratives may be, and then work against these as much as possible. He points out that "[w]e need deep reporting and real understanding, but we also need reporters to acknowledge all that they don't know, and not try to mask that shortcoming behind a gloss of attitude, or drown it in a roar of oversimplified assertions". Cunningham suggests the following to solve the apparent controversies of objectivity: In

5300-403: The actual news, and not a "romanticized version of it". The term objectivity was not applied to journalistic work until the 20th century, but it had fully emerged as a guiding principle by the 1890s. Michael Schudson, among a number of other communication scholars and historians, agree that the idea of objectivity has prevailed in dominant discourse among journalists in the United States since

5406-498: The aid of archival footage, dramatic reconstructions, and interviews with eight former Scientologists: Paul Haggis , an Oscar-winning film director; Mark Rathbun , Scientology's former second-in-command; Mike Rinder , the former head of Scientology's Office of Special Affairs ; actor Jason Beghe ; Sylvia "Spanky" Taylor, former liaison to John Travolta ; and former Scientologists Tom DeVocht, Sara Goldberg, and Hana Eltringham Whitfield. The film breaks into three distinct acts. In

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5512-473: The appearance of its former members in the film: "Some of them have had physical threats, people threatening to take their homes away, private investigators following them. That's the part that's really heartbreaking." In March 2015, a New York private investigator named Eric Saldarriaga pleaded guilty to the federal charge of conspiracy to commit computer hacking after he illegally gained access to at least 60 email accounts on behalf of undisclosed clients, one of

5618-565: The appearance of modern newspapers in the Jacksonian Era of the 1830s. These papers transformed the press amidst the democratization of politics, the expansion of a market economy, and the growing authority of an entrepreneurial, urban middle class. Before then, American newspapers were expected to present a partisan viewpoint, not a neutral one. The need for objectivity first occurred to Associated Press editors who realized that partisanship would narrow their potential market. Their goal

5724-473: The book by Lawrence Wright of which he directed the pilot), and The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley , which premiered at Sundance 2019. In 2023 Gibney showed the first part of two-part documentary at the Berlin film festival called Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker , concerning the life of troubled German tennis star Boris Becker . In March 2023 he announced that he was “several months” into

5830-436: The celebrities, but partially because of the way that the church seems to turn people to do things that I think they would normally never do if had they not entered the church." Gibney, Wright, and the former Scientologists who appeared in the film told a post-screening question-and-answer session that they hoped the film would raise public awareness about the alleged abuses committed by the Church of Scientology, and would prompt

5936-554: The church, likewise felt that the attacks were backfiring: "You don't think that makes you look really bad trying to slander me in that way? I'm an imperfect human being. And I've made many, many mistakes in my life. So you can absolutely publicize any of those. But this, really, (you’re) thinking that makes you look good?" The filmmakers reported receiving "lots of cards and letters" from the church, though in their case it had limited its response to "loads of legal paperwork". HBO had earlier said that it had put "probably 160 lawyers" onto

6042-457: The critics should publish a statement rebutting the film. Jason Bailey of Flavorwire wrote that "pretty much every critic who wrote about Going Clear " received an email from Scientology spokesperson Karin Pouw . He commented that Scientology did not seem to realise that film critics do not usually try to interview people for reviews, and noted how neatly it "comports with the film's portrayal of

6148-632: The documentary No End in Sight (2007). His film Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2008) is a documentary based on Hunter S. Thompson 's life and his " Gonzo " style of journalism. Under executive producer Martin Scorsese , Gibney was series producer for the PBS television series The Blues (2003) (producing individual episodes directed by Wim Wenders and Charles Burnett ) and writer-producer of The Pacific Century (1992) (which won

6254-508: The early 20th century, journalism started to define itself as a professional occupation that required special training, unique skills and self-regulation according to ethical principles. Professionalization normalized the regime of objectivity as the foundation of good journalism, providing benefits to journalists and editors/publishers. For most of the 19th century, most of the publications and news were written by one person. Writers could express their own perspectives and opinions. However, since

6360-532: The editors say they are able to make their own comments upon the facts which are sent to them. I, therefore confine myself to what I consider legitimate news. I do not act as a politician belonging to any school, but try to be truthful and impartial. My dispatches are a merely dry matter of fact and detail. In the first decade of the twentieth century, it was uncommon to see a sharp divide between facts and values. However, Stuart Allan (1997) suggests that, during World War I , scholar propaganda campaigns, as well as

6466-412: The effect of creating a power imbalance between funders and the journalist, as journalists want to maintain editorial control, but it is in fact the funders that decide whether the project will be a success or not. To combat this, Hunter (2014) proposes the following strategies that journalists may employ to maintain a more objective approach if desired: The type of relationship and potential pressures

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6572-477: The effect of normalizing the practice of lynching. In a more recent example, scholars Andrew Calcutt and Phillip Hammond (2011) note that since the 1990s, war reporting (especially) has increasingly come to criticize and reject the practice of objectivity. In 1998, a BBC reporter, Martin Bell , noted that he favoured a "journalism of attachment", over the previously sought after dispassionate approach. Similarly,

6678-583: The eligibility criteria for an Oscar nomination. Due to continuing public demand, HBO announced in July 2015 that it would be releasing the film more widely from September 25 through the ArcLight Cinemas chain's theaters in California, Chicago, Washington D.C., New York City, Texas and a few other locations around the US. HBO broadcast the television première of Going Clear on March 29, 2015. It

6784-415: The emergence of 24-hour news cycles, speed is of the essence in responding to breaking stories. It is therefore not possible for reporters to decide "from first principles" how they will report each and every story that presents itself—thus, some scholars argue that mere convention (versus a true devotion to truth-seeking) has come to govern much of journalism. Reporters are biased toward conflict because it

6890-441: The facts whether or not they like or agree with those facts. Objective reporting is meant to portray issues and events in a neutral and unbiased manner, regardless of the writer's opinion or personal beliefs. Sociologist Michael Schudson suggests that "the belief in objectivity is a faith in 'facts,' a distrust in 'values,' and a commitment to their segregation". Objectivity also outlines an institutional role for journalists as

6996-437: The festival. The première was so popular that even those with tickets were unable to find seats, because so many VIP pass-holders chose to watch the film, displacing ordinary festival-goers. It attracted numerous celebrities and media figures, including Alec Baldwin , Tobey Maguire , Jason Sudeikis , and New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd . The audience gave Going Clear a standing ovation in an unusual occurrence for

7102-565: The film and Gibney were reported to have been "snubbed" by Oscar voters and not included in the Best Documentary category of the 88th Academy Awards . View from nowhere Most newspapers and TV stations depend upon news agencies for their material, and each of the four major global agencies ( Agence France-Presse (formerly the Havas agency), Associated Press , Reuters , and Agencia EFE ) began with and continue to operate on

7208-481: The film may be subject to legal challenge in Northern Ireland. The Church of Scientology successfully blocked the publication or distribution of the original book Going Clear in the UK and Ireland and indicated a willingness to sue broadcasters, saying in a statement that it "will be entitled to seek the protection of both UK and Irish libel laws in the event that any false or defamatory content in this film

7314-539: The film was selected as one of 15 shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature . It also won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay in 2015, and won a 2015 George Foster Peabody Award , presented at the 2016 awards ceremony. Ten days before the film's premiere, the Church of Scientology took out full-page advertisements in The New York Times and Los Angeles Times to denounce Going Clear , comparing it to

7420-510: The film, along with HBO Documentary Films , originally planned to broadcast Going Clear in the UK and Ireland soon after its US TV première. However, this was stalled due to potential legal problems. Because Northern Ireland is not subject to the Defamation Act 2013 , which reformed the libel laws in other parts of the UK, and because Sky cannot differentiate its signal between regions,

7526-552: The filmmakers and their interviewees, with titles such as "Alex Gibney Documentary 'Going Clear' Propaganda," " Marty Rathbun : A Violent Psychopath," "Mike Rinder: The Wife Beater," "Sara Goldberg: The Home Wrecker" and "Paul Haggis: The Hypocrite of Hollywood." Scientology complained that Gibney had declined to interview 25 of its members whom it had put forward to him. According to Gibney, Miscavige, Travolta, and Cruise all declined interviews. Instead Scientology offered "a delegation of 25 unidentified individuals, presumably to smear

7632-531: The filmmakers, which Gibney found "astounding". He commented that he "found it interesting that universally this subject — more than any other — provoked all the networks to decline to license. I think at the end of the day, that tells you more about Scientology than it does about the networks, which is how ruthless they've been in trying to silence any criticism." Scientology's reputation of harassing its critics made it necessary for Gibney to use burner phones to contact interviewees and film in secret: "Sometimes for

7738-404: The first, the former Scientologists describe how they joined Scientology; the second act recounts the history of Scientology and its founder L. Ron Hubbard ; and in the final act, the film airs allegations of the abuse of church members and misconduct by its leadership, particularly David Miscavige , who is accused of intimidating, beating, imprisoning, and exploiting subordinates. The film depicts

7844-422: The growth of mass media, especially from the 19th century, news advertising became the most important source of media revenue. Whole audiences needed to be engaged across communities and regions to maximize advertising revenue. This led to "[j]ournalistic [o]bjectivity as an industry standard […] a set of conventions allowing the news to be presented as all things to all people". In modern journalism, especially with

7950-416: The hanging, immolation and mutilation of people by mobs with detachment and, through the regimen of objectivity, news writers often attempted to construct a " false balance " of these accounts by recounting the alleged transgressions of the victims that provoked the lynch mobs to fury. Mindich suggests that by enabling practices of objectivity and allowing them to "[go] basically unquestioned", it may have had

8056-447: The idea of "three distinct, yet interrelated, concepts": truthfulness, neutrality , and detachment. Truthfulness is a commitment to reporting only accurate and truthful information, without skewing any facts or details to improve the story or better align an issue with any certain agenda. Neutrality suggests that stories be reported in an unbiased, even-handed, and impartial manner. Under this notion, journalists are to side with none of

8162-507: The investor providing feedback or ideas as well as receiving early copies of the work prior to its public release. Some journalists from the study firmly held the opinion that impartial accounts and a detached, namely "objective", reporting style should continue to govern, even within a crowdfunding context. Others, however, advocated that point-of-view journalism and accurate reporting are not mutually exclusive ideals, and thus journalists still may ascribe to quality factual reporting, sans

8268-434: The journalism field, specifically through disciplines such as conflict analysis , conflict resolution , peace research and social psychology . The application of this empirical research to the reporting of conflict may thus replace the unacknowledged conventions (see above) which govern the non-scientific practices of 'objectivity' of journalism. Recently, many scholars and journalists have increasingly become attuned to

8374-426: The journalist may feel depends on the type of investor with whom they are working, as there are passive and active investors. Passive investors will not be involved beyond making a donation on the crowdfunding platform, leaving everything up to the discretion of the journalist. In contrast, active investors have a more active role in the production of the journalistic piece, which can take various forms that may include

8480-415: The logical inconsistency that arises when scholars or journalists criticize journalism for failing to be objective, while simultaneously proposing that there is no such thing as objectivity. Underpinning critiques of objectivity that arose in the 1970s and 1980s, this dual theory—which Lichtenberg refers to as a "compound assault on objectivity" —invalidates itself, as each element of the argument repudiates

8586-426: The main ones reportedly being "someone who has done investigations on behalf of the Church of Scientology." Among those targeted were Mike Rinder and the journalist Tony Ortega , both interviewees in the film. The names of Saldarriaga's clients were not revealed and prosecutors declined to pursue action against anyone else, citing a lack of evidence. A few weeks after the film's TV première, Paul Haggis reported that

8692-472: The media and law enforcement agencies to investigate further. Gibney later called in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece for Scientology's tax exemption to be revoked in the light of the allegations of abuse documented in the film. Going Clear made its world première on January 25, 2015, at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The Wall Street Journal described it as "the hottest ticket" at

8798-413: The media. The modern notion of objectivity in journalism is largely due to the work of Walter Lippmann . Lippmann was the first to widely call for journalists to use the scientific method for gathering information. Lippmann called for journalistic objectivity after the excesses of yellow journalism . He noted that the yellows at the time had served their purpose, but that the people needed to receive

8904-406: The newspaper business by attracting advertisers. In this economic analysis, publishers did not want to offend any potential advertising clients and therefore encouraged news editors and reporters to strive to present all sides of an issue. Advertisers would remind the press that partisanship hurts circulation, and, consequently, advertising revenues—thus, objectivity was sought. Others have proposed

9010-422: The on-camera interviews we'd set up gear in somebody's house and I'd make sure I'd be there hours before. Then the person would show up there so it was like they were just going to somebody’s house." Explaining why he chose to make a film about Scientology, Gibney told Reuters that he considered it "an important topic. Not only about this church of Scientology, which everybody's fascinated with partially because of

9116-431: The origin of objectivity. The transition from a political model of journalism to a commercial model requires the production of content that can be marketed across the political and ideological spectrum. The telegraph imposes pressures on journalists to prioritize the most important facts at the beginning of the story and adopt a simplified, homogenized and generic style that could appeal to geographically diverse audiences. In

9222-470: The other. Lichtenberg agrees with other scholars that view objectivity as mere conventional practice: she states that "much of what goes under the name of objectivity reflects shallow understanding of it". Thus, she suggests that these practices, rather than the overall notion of objectivity (whose primary aim, according to Lichtenberg, is only to seek and pursue truth), should really be the target of critique. Journalism scholars and media critics have used

9328-445: The parties involved, and simply provide the relevant facts and information of all. The third idea, detachment, refers to the emotional approach of the journalist. Essentially, reporters should not only approach issues in an unbiased manner but also with a dispassionate and emotionless attitude. Through this strategy, stories can be presented in a rational and calm manner, letting the audience make up their minds without any influences from

9434-404: The people in our film", which did not interest Gibney. Scientology also denounced the film's interviewees as "the usual collection of obsessive, disgruntled former Church members kicked out as long as 30 years ago for malfeasance, who have a documented history of making up lies about the Church for money". According to Gibney, the Scientology Church mounted an "organized" and "brutal" response to

9540-456: The period following World War II , the newly formalized rules and practices of objectivity led to a brief national consensus and temporary suspension of negative public opinion; however, doubts and uncertainties in "the institutions of democracy and capitalism " resurfaced in the period of civil unrest during the 1960s and 1970s, ultimately leading to the emergence of the critique of objectivity. In conclusion, there are three key factors in

9646-603: The reason more to do it.'" Following the film's success at the Emmys, the Church of Scientology was reported to have mounted an aggressive campaign to deny it recognition at the Oscars. Scientology's campaign included producing an anti-Gibney film and approaches to members of the Academy's documentary branch, responsible for selecting contenders for the awards. Several members of the documentary branch reported receiving approaches from Scientology's magazine Freedom in connection with

9752-412: The rise of "press agents and publicity experts", fostered the growing cynicism among the public towards state institutions and "official channels of information". The elevation of objectivity thus constituted an effort to re-legitimatize the news-press, as well as the state in general. Some historians, like Gerald Baldasty, have observed that objectivity went hand in hand with the need to make profits in

9858-437: The role played by celebrity members, such as Travolta and Tom Cruise , through video clips contrasting their statements with the experiences of former Scientologists. To support its thesis, the film utilises footage of ex-Scientologists harassed and surveilled (per Hubbard's dictum that Scientology's critics were all criminals whose crimes needed to be exposed), and describes the imprisonment of senior Scientology executives in

9964-552: The shifts occurring within the newspaper industry, and general upheaval of the journalistic environment, as it adjusts to the new digital era of the 21st century. In the face of this, the practice of crowdfunding is increasingly being utilized by journalists to fund independent and/or alternative projects, establishing it as another relevant alternative practice to consider in the discussion of journalistic objectivity. Crowdfunding allows journalists to pursue stories of interest to them or that otherwise may not be covered adequately for

10070-399: The stories of a number of ex-members and of the abuse and exploitation that they described seeing and experiencing. The Church of Scientology responded vehemently to the film, complaining to film critics about their reviews and denouncing the filmmakers and their interviewees. Going Clear was released in a limited number of theaters on March 13, 2015, and aired on HBO on March 29, 2015. It

10176-492: The story " A Rape on Campus " published by Rolling Stone magazine. Gibney subsequently said that he was grateful for the church's advertising, as it had attracted much publicity for the film; he only wished "they'd put in showtimes." The head of HBO Documentary Films, Sheila Nevins , commented that when she saw the advertisements she knew that Going Clear would be a big success: "Docs don’t get full page ads, and when they do, they do really well." Scientology also published

10282-416: The task of reviewing the film in anticipation of challenges from the notoriously litigious group. Sheila Nevins of HBO commented that she could not believe how aggressive the Scientology Church had been. Not only did it effectively provide free advertising for the film, but its hostility had made HBO Documentary Films even more determined to produce the film: "I thought, 'They really don't want us to do it. All

10388-631: The term view from nowhere to criticize journalists' attempt to adopt a neutral and objective point of view in reporting, as if reporting "from nobody's point of view". Jay Rosen has argued that journalists may thereby disinform their audience by creating the impression that they have an authoritative impartiality between conflicting positions on an issue. Jeremy Iggers quoted Richard S. Salant , former president of CBS News , who stated: "Our reporters do not cover stories from their point of view. They are presenting them from nobody's point of view." Iggers called Salant's assertion "plainly incoherent, as

10494-606: The traditional practices or understanding of objectivity. The study on crowdfunding done by Hunter (2014) showed that audiences are keen to fund projects with a specific point of view or pieces of advocacy journalism . Journalists are often using crowdfunding to pursue stories with a point-of-view that large corporations do not pursue adequately. The journalist explains the goal of the work they are trying to pursue and what resources are needed for it on crowdfunding platforms. Based on this information, funders decide to contribute or not. The desire or acceptance of opinionated journalism

10600-501: The way, every distributor, every festival has received multiple threatening letters from the Church of Scientology. Some have come very close to buckling." The Sydney Film Festival was among those threatened but the screening of Going Clear went ahead; Gibney declared himself to be "delighted with the way the Australians handled it." However, Australian airline Qantas , which employs Scientologist John Travolta as an ambassador,

10706-575: The words of another scholar, Faina (2012) suggests that modern journalists may function as "sensemakers" within the shifting contemporary journalistic environment. Notable departures from objective news work also include the muckraking of Ida Tarbell and Lincoln Steffens , the New Journalism of Tom Wolfe , the underground press of the 1960s, and public journalism . For news related to conflict, peace journalism may provide an alternative by introducing insights of social science into

10812-416: Was a major ratings success and by mid-April 2015 had attracted 5.5 million viewers, making it the second most-watched HBO documentary in the past decade. It was subsequently released internationally, showing in theaters and on television despite a sustained campaign by the Church of Scientology to block its release. Going Clear is based closely on Lawrence Wright's book, covering much of the same ground with

10918-548: Was directing a film based on the book, to be released at the 2015 Sundance Festival. It was the first time that HBO had tackled Scientology directly, though not the first time it had clashed with Scientology; in 1998, protesters mounted demonstrations outside HBO's headquarters because of a documentary that presented anti-depressant drugs, which are fiercely opposed by Scientology, in a positive light. Gibney began working on Going Clear in 2013 after becoming intrigued by Wright's book. He collaborated with Wright, who came on board as

11024-632: Was reported to have refused to show the film on its aircraft. The film was shown in Denmark on DR2 as Scientologys religiøse fængsel , on April 21, 2015, in Sweden on SVT1 as Fångade av scientologin on May 19, and by VPRO in the Netherlands on NPO 2 on May 19. It was released in Italy as Going Clear: Scientology e la prigione della fede on June 25. Sky Atlantic , a co-distributor of

11130-542: Was the network's most successful documentary premiere since 2006, attracting 1.7 million viewers. 5.5 million viewers were reported to have watched it within only two weeks of its TV première, making it the second most successful HBO documentary in the past decade after a 2013 film on the singer Beyoncé . The film sold worldwide but was scheduled only for non-theatrical release in most countries. The Church of Scientology undertook an intensive campaign to block its release internationally. According to Alex Gibney, "Every step of

11236-532: Was to reach all newspapers and leave it to the individual papers to decide on what slanting and commentary were needed. Lawrence Gobright , the AP chief in Washington, explained the philosophy of objectivity to Congress in 1856: My business is to communicate facts. My instructions do not allow me to make any comments upon the facts which I communicate. My dispatches are sent to papers of all manner of politics, and

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