Pacino and Bergman

Lowell Bergman first began working in the news industry through print in the late 1960's, for which he received numerous awards.  Eventually, he moved into reporting, supervising and producing for ABC, then began producing for CBS's 60 Minutes segment."The show was one of the only places where you could do stories of substance," Bergman said. "60 Minutes, 60 Minutes II and Nightline are the three network broadcasts that are basically interested in their images and the substance of their stories, which I call news or news-related nonfiction."

After leaving CBS, Bergman started working for the New York Times from 1999 to 2008. He now works as a professor at the Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism in California. Bergman also consults for Frontline.

As a producer for 60 Minutes, Bergman did the majority of research for the stories. According to Bergman, the correspondent only does around 20 percent of the research, if not less. In 1994, Bergman was researching a story on the fire hazard of cigarettes, and was led to Jefferey Wigand for expert help translating corporate documents. Later, Bergman found out that Wigand had been fired from his previous job with Brown & Williamson in 1993. In the movie it's suggested that Wigand is fired because he sent a memo to CEO Thomas Sandefur telling of the harmful effects of tobacco. The movie says it was credited to "poor communication skills". In real life, Wigand told he was fired for poor communication skills, but his firing was a culmination of his attempts to have his bosses endorse research for a healthier cigarette.

Here is The Insider's version of the interview with Jeffrey Wigand. Notice how Lowell Bergman, portrayed by Al Pacino, is pensively watches the proceedings of the interview.  You can also see the realization of what is happening in his eyes, as he begins to understand with each word Wigand speaks just how important the story is.



Something important to remember when talking about Bergman and the tobacco story is that ultimately he chose to leave CBS because of the story. Before Bergman made his departure, he wanted to ensure that the story of Jeffrey Wigand was told. According to an interview done by Frontline in 1999, Bergman was asked why he did not resign when CBS first refused to air the story.

"I could resign, as some of my friends in print suggested, quietly, and walk out the door and forget about the whole thing. I contemplated resigning and going on the front steps and holding a press conference. But the problem there was that Wigand was still my confidential source, if you will. So I could not reveal his name and, by doing something like that, I would probably just get him in more trouble, and not be able to help him. So my compromise position was that I'm going to stick around here as long as I can and use their system to get this story out one way or another. In the back of my mind, in terms of my self-interest, you have to understand that, having been in the business for twenty years, that I know that the producer is expendable, that, if they're going to blame anything on anybody, it's going to be the producer. The correspondent is never wrong."

Bergman refused to let the story die without a fight. When CBS suggested an edited version of the story, Bergman contested it. In the movie, Bergman's arguments are in the following video. It also shows CBS's arguments for not showing the Wigand's interview.



Bergman says of Wigand's interview, "Is it newsworthy? Yes. Are we gonna air it? Of course not. Why? Because he's not telling the truth? No. Because he is telling the truth, and the more truth he tells the worse it is."  Tthe Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics guides journalists through four main principles: seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently and be accountable. Bergman is portrayed in the movie as a strict follower of these standards, while CBS is made to look supremely influenced by outside pressures and therefore not independent. Through such "caving in", they also do not fulfill other aspects of the code such as seeking the truth and reporting it, and being accountable.

Regarding Al Pacino's above monologue, from the perspective of an audience wanting to see rippling tensions boil over, there really are no complaints!  The scene is one of the most electric in the film, and features brilliantly delivered dialogue by Pacino.  But whether a meeting like this actually happened is questionable.  The actual Black Rock meetings included CBS big-wigs, not just Bergman's journalistic comrades.  The scene clearly helps define the character of Bergman in the movie and what he stands for, but perhaps the scene is more tailored to serve Pacino's talents and acting chops than to be a manifestation of the real Bergman's character traits.  Bergman himself has admitted to being made over-heroic in the film.  While the scene may not necessarily be historically accurate, this scene is pivotal to the storyline of the movie.

In the show, Bergman took matters into his own hands by talking to another news source in order to get the story out. Real-life Bergman said, "I told them that I was going to make sure the story got out. I didn't tell them what I was going to do or how I was going to do it." Pacino's Bergman did this through other news sources. Notice how the movie portrays CBS's lack of integrity indirectly influencing a newsman to go through another news source to get a story told.

The tobacco story and Bergman's confrontations with CBS management led him to leave 60 Minutes. The fact that Bergman chose to leave CBS is accurate; the clip below shows the decison to quit as depicted in The Insider:



A major difference between the film and real life, as previously discussed, is the timeline. The movie portrays Bergman leaving CBS right after things were settled with the tobacco story. In reality, Bergman did not leave CBS until 1998, two years after the full report aired on 60 Minutes in February of 1996. 

Michael Mann told Charlie Rose that he had always wanted Pacino to play Bergman.  He had worked with Pacino previously in the 1995 film Heat, and wanted to give Pacino the opportunity to play a role unlike any he had had before.  The film is very dialogue-heavy, something Pacino could handle, and selecting an actor the caliber of Pacino also gives the film "star power", which makes it more appealing to audiences.
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