DiIorio - State of Play

I think that to have one, you must have the other. Without a free press, the democratically elected government wouldn't be so democratic. The government needs the press to keep them in check and to let the public know what is happening within their government. Of course when government figures start doing illegal or questionable things, the press is always there to expose them. One such example of this in State of Play is the scene where Cal confronts Ferguson about Sonia Baker. Ferguson knows what Cal is uncovering and at first doesn't even want to talk to him. But when Cal reveals just how much he knows already, he can't refuse. When Cal asks Ferguson if he was aware that Sonia Baker was in fact a "double agent," posing as a Congressman's assistant while working for PointCore at the same time, he responds with some bull-shit excuse about how he was only helping out a family friend and "the wholesome ideal upon which this country was founded." Of course when Cal asks him the first name of Sonia Baker's mother, he doesn't know. This is an example where the press is keeping the government in check.

However, at the same time, the government keeps the press in check. One example of this in the movie is when Cal and Della are compiling all of the clues they have about this story. What Della points out is that what they really have is evidence about a murder case. When Cal asks how long they have until they need to turn over the evidence, Della says, "If this is evidence, don't we need to turn it over now?" Of course they all look at Della accusingly because she is a rookie and doesn't know how they operate. But Della is right. The Government has laws that require the press to turn over any evidence so police detectives can bring the right people to justice. Of course, Cal doesn't hand the evidence over to the police right away and they are confronted about it from the police.