Program Description:
DEMOCRACY ON DEADLINE: THE GLOBAL STRUGGLE FOR AN INDEPENDENT PRESS is a compelling look at the vital role that journalists play — often at great personal risk — in protecting and preserving the democratic freedoms that an independent press provides.
Filmed on location in Africa, Asia, Central America, Europe, the Middle East and the United States, the powerful documentary profiles the shocking stories of international journalists struggling to report the truth in an ever expanding climate of lies, physical retribution and governmental censorship. Featured stories include: the impact of government media control on the reporting of the Chechen War; an expose of institutional corruption within Mexican society; and the burgeoning free press movement in war-torn Sierra Leone.
In an era when mainstream journalism is being steadily eroded by political manipulation and commercial constraints, DEMOCRACRY ON DEADLINE serves as an important reminder of the crucial political value of an independent news media in any democratic society.
Film Reviews
"...an impressive cadre of reporters...maintain a passionate belief in the sanctity of their mission that humbles us."
-- The Boston Globe
"...a bracing reminder of why journalism matters..."
-- Editor and Publisher
