Extra! Extra! It's my 10 favorite journalism films of all time

Redford and Hoffman in All the President's Men

This year marked one decade for me working as a journalist in New York City. 2014 has also been, without a doubt, the most successful and perhaps, most gratifying of my career to date. I started a stint at msnbc.com in April and this month I made my first television appearances reporting on the Sony hacking story.

All of this got my girlfriend and I talking about the journalism movies that entertained and inspired me over the years. I did not dream of becoming a reporter as a child, but the world of media always appealed to me and intrigued me, largely thanks to movies I'd seen.

Hollywood has both romanticized and vilified the press in equal measure, and some of the film's most compelling satires and dramas have centered on the so-called "Fourth Estate."

Here are my 10 favorite movies about or featuring members of the press.

10) Good Night and Good Luck (2005) - Director-star George Clooney's tribute to Edward R. Murrow and his crusade against the red baiter Joseph McCarthy stops short of being preachy thanks to David Stratharin's excellent, controlled performance as the perpetually smoking Murrow. Clooney does a terrific job capturing the early days of television and the heady days of the Cold War. I particularly love the speech Stratharin delivers in the film's opening. It's as much a condemnation of the Bush-era media's complicity in dumbing stories down as it is an indictment of '60s-era indifference.

9) It Happened One Night (1934) - This groundbreaking romantic comedy has a journalism story at its heart. The dashing Clark Gable teams up with runaway bride Claudette Colbert at first because he thinks covering her conundrum will help him earn headlines. But in the midst of their road trip a genuine affection develops between the two. Newsrooms seemed to be a favorite locale for screwball comedies, but in my estimation this quick-witted Oscar winner is the best.

8) Ace in the Hole (1951) - This dark and disturbing indictment of media excess flopped when it first came out -- probably because its protagonist (Kirk Douglas in one of his best roles) is essentially the bad guy. But today it's viewed as the masterpiece that it always was. 

Douglas plays a down-on-his luck newspaper man who stumbles onto a story he can milk when he discovers a man trapped in a cave. Director Billy Wilder portrays a cynical world where everyone from the police to the endangered man's wife see profit in peril. A fascinating film.

7) Broadcast News (1987) - James L. Brooks scored another hit with his moving follow-up to the tearjerker Terms of Endearment. Holly Hunter, William Hurt and Albert Brooks make for a dynamite trio in this romantic comedy which also provides an inside view of how TV news is shaped. Brooks is at his best as a neurotic correspondent who dreams of becoming an anchorman but melts under pressure. Hurt is the airhead who's a natural on television. And Holly Hunter gives one of her all-time best performances as an overworked producer who is the object of both men's affections.

6) The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) - A stirring meditation on the value of the First Amendment, featuring an Oscar worthy performance from Woody Harrelson as the unapologetic "pervert"-- Larry Flynt. Some critics have argued that the film unjustly romanticizes the Hustler publisher, and that may be true. But the film is so well acted, written and crafted, it's hard to deny its appeal. The movie begins as a biopic but really picks up steam when it delves into Flynt's furious battles with censorship and the conservative elites. Courtney Love is also surprisingly good as Flynt's unpredictable wife Althea.

5) The Paper (1994) - No movie has better captured what life is like at a big city, modern daily newspaper like Ron Howard's little known masterpiece. Michael Keaton gives one of his most lively, charismatic performances in this all-star ensemble piece about a scrappy tabloid covering a racially charged murder. Glenn Close is his equal as his hard nosed foe and Marisa Tomei is delightful as his very pregnant wife who still does some reporting on the side. It's an earnest, heartfelt movie that is paced almost like an action movie. An underrated New York classic.

Chevy Chase in Fletch

4) Network (1976) - When this biting satire of network news was first released it was dismissed in some circles as wildly over the top, but with each passing year this impeccably acted film becomes more and more prescient. This film not only predicted the rise of the self-appointed prophet-style pundit but also the advent of reality television. The killer cast has many standouts but my favorite may be William Holden as a sad and mournful man caught between generations of media. Meanwhile, Peter Finch's "mad as hell" moment remains one of the most quoted scenes of all time.

3) Anchorman (2004) - Yes, it's a broad and ridiculous Will Ferrell comedy. But it also happens to be Ferrell's best comedy and most durable character. Ron Burgundy isn't just a blowhard news anchor, he is also a subversive send-up of everything television news has become. 

I saw this film just weeks before I entered journalism school, so it has always had a special place in my heart. And besides the belly laughs, this undeniably silly film (and it's underrated sequel) has some pretty smart things to say about how fluff often trumps substance on television.

2) All the President's Men (1976) - This is like the Godfather of journalism movies. It permanently mythologized the Washington Post's Ben Bradley, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward and brilliantly recreates the uncovering of the true nature of the Watergate break-in. It's a tribute to this iconic film's writing, acting and directing that there's so much suspense surrounding a result that most viewers go in knowing. Redford shows new depth as Woodward and Hal Holbrook will always be Deep Throat to me, making badass ominous statements in the scariest parking garage ever.

1) Fletch (1985) - Easily one of the coolest investigative reporters ever captured on film, Chevy Chase's trademark character was (and remains ) and idol of mine throughout my adolescence. He's always taking big risks and nearly getting himself killed and yet he remains one step (and a one-liner) ahead of virtually everyone he meets. Remembered now as a classic '80s comedy, Fletch is also a great mystery movie in which Chase is convincing as an inventive journalist of the best kind. He gets his story -- no matter what.