By what standard?

My daughters and I watched State of Play over the weekend. It was an okay movie with a pretty solid cast.

Russell Crowe gained a whole lot of weight for his role as a newspaper reporter. I guess the message is that hard-nosed, print journalists are so driven by their deadlines that they sacrifice their health for a good story.

This is a contrast to online journalists, of course. Rachel McAdams was svelte and perky, as the same newspaper's designated political blogger.

Just like "Glee" is not about a high school glee club, State of Play wasn't really about solving a young woman's murder. It was about the death of print media in our nation. I guess. And the outsourcing of our national defense. (Yawn.)

What I found so amusing about this subtext was the fact that Crowe's character was painted as having such integrity, whereas McAdams' character was labeled impulsive and sloppy.

I'm not saying I disagree with the portrayal of bloggers as somewhat less than thorough. But I am saying I disagree with the assumption that, simply because a reporter's story appears in ink on newsprint, that means he or she deserves automatic credibility.

Oh, please. Anyone who honestly believes that the decline of journalistic integrity was set in motion when Al Gore invented the Internet is fooling him or herself. First of all, I'm not sure it ever existed. Don't believe me? Read Scandalmonger, by the late William Safire. Second of all, Al Gore didn't invent the Internet. Don't believe me? Read Angels & Demons, by Dan Brown.

It's difficult to know when to take me seriously, isn't it? Now you understand why I work from home. And home from work.

As for State of Play and the various messages it tried to communicate, one thing I certainly don't buy is that McAdams and Robin Wright-Penn were both so hot for Crowe. I guess they'd seen him in Gladiator.

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