The film investigates the demise of American print journalism by following Barbara Laker and Wendy Ruderman, journalists for the Philadelphia Daily News newspaper.
[4] Black and White and Dead All Over portrays the struggles of American newspapers to maintain circulation and editorial quality in the early 21st century.
It primarily focuses on hardships within the Philadelphia Daily News, a 90-year-old newspaper that has undergone numerous ownership changes and bankruptcy proceedings in the past decade.
Through on-camera interviews with other Philadelphia journalism leaders and review of media coverage of the paper’s numerous changes in ownership, the film paints a picture in which shoe-leather reporting is devalued in the quest for corporate profits.
To expand the discussion nationally, the film features interviews with notable journalists Bob Woodward, Charles Lewis, and David Carr.