Educational Media Reviews Online

The film Who’s Minding the Media: Charles Klotzer and the St. Louis Journalism Review describes the creation of the Saint Louis Journalism Review (SJR) in the aftermath of the protests surrounding the 1968 Democratic Convention. It also looks briefly at the life of Charles Klotzer, a man who fled the Nazis when he was young and later started and kept the SJR going when other journalism reviews folded. The film features comments by, among others, Klotzer and Ed Bishop, who until recently was the editor and managing director of the SJR.

SJR was started in 1970 and was among the first of many publications at the time that were critical of what mainstream media did or did not report on. Even though the SJR covers primarily the greater Saint Louis area, it has been a staple publication in libraries serving journalism schools. It is probably safe to say that it is not the most discussed publication in journalism schools. Nowadays, those who are interested in media criticism are probably going online for their needs.

In light of this development, the content of the film seems like a blast from the past. Unfortunately, the film offers insufficient perspective to make that past relevant now. Add to that a rather dry presentation, some bizarre music selections and overall low cinematic qualities, and the potential audience has dwindled to those with a very strong interest in the history of journalism reviews, and SJR in particular.

At the time of this review, the price of this 29-minute film was $195, which is a price that does not seem proportional to the quality and relevance of the content. Schools with a strong journalism history program may want to consider adding it to their library, but it is not recommended for teaching media criticism.