Between 1962 and 1964, more than a dozen single women of various ages were strangled and their bodies were placed in provocative poses by a mysterious attacker who became known as The Boston Strangler And for this murderer to come to light, a reporter did an extraordinary job despite her limitations in her job.
McLaughlin became the first journalist to publish a story linking the three crimesembarking from there on a deep investigation with Jean Cole, his colleague and confidant.
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Who was Loretta McLaughlin?
Loretta McLaughlin was a journalist from Woburn, Massachusetts who studied journalism at Boston University and entered the Boston Record-American newspaper in the 1950swhere he devoted himself mainly to writing articles on lifestyle.
In 1962, she finds herself inclined to address issues that she considers more important in search of “being taken seriously” as a journalistthe mysterious cases of the strangled women in that city led her to make history as a pioneering investigative reporter of the murders, a process that faced her with numerous obstacles inside and outside the newspaper.
McLaughlin passed away at the age of 90 in 2018, after a long and prolific career in print media as a health journalist, and as a renowned public health advocate who has researched and written extensively. on the development of the contraceptive pill and AIDS.
Being a reporter in the 60s
By tackling the story of the murders from the perspective of the two reporters, “The Boston Strangler” not only follows the investigation of the cases, but also reveals from the heart of a newsroom the obstacles that professional women faced in the years 60.
McLaughlin, for example, found repeated refusals within the newspaper to cover bigger stories.
“When we meet her at the beginning of the film, we see that she wants to be covering big, really big stories, but she’s not allowed to. She feels that frustration of not being able to do what she wants, ”explains actress Keira Knightley.
In addition, the script by Matt Ruskin, creator and director of the film, shows how the professional ambitions of McLaughlin and Cole collided with what the social conventions of the time dictated in relation to their personal responsibilities as mothers and wives.
“They deeply feared for their safety. They received death threats at their homes. Jean had already experienced that just from covering a mayor’s campaign early in her career, and she was receiving death threats for being a woman intruding on a man’s realm,” Coon notes.
“Both of them worked to keep the women of the city informed at the risk of their lives, at a time when the police department fell short in that regard. It was important to me to show not only their commitment to the work, but also the personal challenges and obstacles they faced at a time when there weren’t many women in a newspaper newsroom,” adds Ruskin.
What is it about The Boston Strangler?
“The Boston Strangler,” 20th Century Studios’ true crime thriller from writer-director Matt Ruskin about the reporters who broke the story of the notorious 1960s Boston Strangler murders, arrives November 17. March to Star+.
The film follows Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley), a reporter for the Record-American newspaper, who becomes the first journalist to link the Boston Strangler murders.
As the mysterious killer claims more and more victims, Loretta tries to continue her investigation with her colleague and confidant Jean Cole. (Carrie Coon), but the duo are hampered by the sexism of the time.
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