Today sees the national release of Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. A box-office record-holder and explosive shot to the heart of the converted and undecided, the SMH's film reviewer, Paul Byrnes, writes an interesting review.

He praises the film, generally, though points out that, 'Moore's standard of proof is sometimes too low.'

One of the more interesting areas, related in many ways to NHJ, is when Byrnes comments on the role of the journalist - and how they are constantly failing in their task.

Key quote:

'The job of an intelligence service, as we have been told a lot recently, is to speak truth unto power. At times, this is also the job of the documentary film maker, but Michael Moore inverts the role - he's an intelligence service for the rest of us. That is why he is a hero for the young.'

'Journalists are supposed to do this too, but I think one reason that his films are so successful is that journalists are failing in that task. The public no longer sees journalists as independent of the powerful, if they ever did.'

We here at NHJ also reckon that journalists need to be much savier when dealing with government spin and hope that other reporters will be inspired to rethink their tired old, he said/she said methods.