Andrew Rossi‘s Page One: Inside The New York Times hits theaters in New York and Los Angeles June 17, with a special premiere tonight at Lincoln Center. In the film, Rossi trails reporters at the paper’s media desk (including TVNewser founding editor @BrianStelter) to document what he calls the “play within a play,” or how the Times must cover the struggles of traditional media while facing its own uncertain future.

But how do you get the country’s notoriously private paper of record  to allow you to film it for a full year?

“The way that I approach the film is the reason why I think ultimately the Times decided to move forward,” Rossi explained in our @MediaBeat interview. “It’s an observational documentary, meaning that I don’t go in there with an agenda. It’s not one that’s heavily polemical. It’s really about giving viewers an opportunity to go behind the scenes to the front line of where original reporting is being done.”

Watch the full video to find out the one “tense moment” Rossi says the Gray Lady wouldn’t let him film.

This video is also available on YouTube.

Part 2: Andrew Rossi on How The New York Times Sets The Public Agenda

Part 3: Page One‘s Andrew Rossi On Getting Your Film To Sundance