Brian Springer - Spin
Why Hacker News recommends it
Recommended as a revealing look at how politicians and news anchors behave off camera and how packaged news feeds were produced.
What it is
Brian Springer's documentary Spin, built entirely from unauthorized satellite feeds of politicians and newscasters before they went on air during the 1992 US presidential election. It exposes the behind-the-scenes construction of media reality.
Recommended by 2 HN commenters across 2 different months, 2016 to 2021.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec Theodores · 2016-10 · on “Blitzted: The Third Reich as a Society on Drugs”
This was an excellent review of a book that has been given standard reviews elsewhere. I may be buying this book. The content reminds me of the documentary film 'Spin': * Using the 1992 presidential election as his springboard, Springer captures the behind-the-scenes maneuverings of politicians and newscasters in the early 1990s. Pat Robertson banters about "homos," Al Gore learns how to avoid abortion questions, George H. W. Bush talks to Larry King about Halcion—all presuming they are off camera. Composed of 100% unauthorized satellite footage, Spin is a surreal expose of media-constructed reality.* Yep, H W Bush was on Halcion, not good!!! [LINK] A highly recommended film given the electi
Recommends wu-ikkyu · 2018-04 · on “Sinclair Made Dozens of Local News Anchors Recite the Same Script”
>I haven't seen evidence for it as the norm. You might like Spin , a 1995 documentary composed of unauthorized behind the scenes footage of the political maneuverings of newscasters and politicians. [this video]
Cites SkyMarshal · 2021-01 · on “Larry King has died”
Thanks. I haven't seen it, but this looks like it might be the full documentary: [this video] Here's the part where the documentary explains how he got all the behind-the-scenes footage: [this video] . TLDR - raw video from remote studios were first beamed via satellite to the Network's HQ for editing and "packaging". But back in those days, people with satellite boxes could intercept and view the raw pre-packaged feeds.