Veep fans might think they've found a lost episode of Armando Iannucci's satirical comedy on catching documentary Steal This Story, Please!
uncertain
they → think → Story
Opening on the 2018 UN Climate Change Conference in Katowice, we witness tenacious broadcaster Amy Goodman chasing a fleeing Trump climate adviser.
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Goodman → open → adviser
He steadfastly refuses to answer her questions about Trump declaring climate change "a hoax", slinking behind a rapidly closing door.
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change → refuse → door
Indefatigable, Goodman has been speaking truth to power for 30 years, as the founder of award-winning, New York-based, world news briefing Democracy Now!
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Goodman → speak → briefing
"Democracy Now! is a brains trust of people committed to the idea that the media should be a sanctuary of dissent, and dissent is what will save us
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what → commit → us
," Goodman tells me from her book-lined home in New York City.
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Goodman → tell → City
Directed by partners Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, the documentary Steal This Story, Please! screens at the Adelaide Film Festival before releasing nationally from October 22.
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documentary → direct → October
It traces Goodman's remarkable achievements, reporting without fear or favour.
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It → trace → fear
"We're not a party to the parties," she says.
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she → say → parties
When Goodman started out in 1996, her "office" was a broom closet, and the hour-long show was syndicated to nine community radio stations.
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show → start → stations
Three decades later, Democracy Now! has a swish studio, broadcasting to more than 1,500 public radio and television stations globally, as well as streaming online.
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! → have → stations
It's vital work, as she sees it, with a dim view of large swathes of the fourth pillar.
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she → see → pillar
"I don't call it mainstream media anymore," Goodman says.
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Goodman → call → it
"I call it the corporate media."
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I → call → it
The "mainstream" media is rapidly shrinking.
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media → shrink → ?
When we speak, the industry-reshaping $US113 billion ($162 billion) merger of two of Hollywood's big five film studios — Warner Brothers and Paramount Pictures — has just been given the all-clear.
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merger → speak → clear
It folds CNN, CBS and Australia's Network 10 into Skydance, the new mega-corporation controlled by billionaire David Ellison.
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It → fold → Ellison
It also merges streamers Paramount+ and HBO Max.
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It → merge → streamers
US President Donald Trump has said he is a strong supporter of the merger.
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he → say → merger
It's gonna be a great company.
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It → go → ?
They're terrific people and it's going to be a great company," Trump said.
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Trump → go → ?
With the Trump administration also gutting funding for public broadcasting, Goodman says the mission is more important than ever.
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mission → gutte → broadcasting
"This is extremely serious, because how do we learn about the world?" Goodman asks.
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Goodman → learn → world
"It has to be through something other than a corporate lens."
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It → have → lens
Independent filmmakers Lessin and Deal agree.
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filmmakers → agree → ?
"We finance and produce our own films, because we're fearful of the editorial influence of some of these corporate donors," Lessin tells me.
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Lessin → finance → me
"Amy has been sounding the alarm about the dangers of media consolidation for the past 30 years.
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Amy → sound → years
Ever since the US passed the Telecommunications Act in 1996, it took the guardrails off.
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it → pass → guardrails
We're now seeing it on steroids.
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We → see → steroids
"
Oscar-nominated for their Hurricane Katrina documentary, Trouble the Water, Lessin and Deal also co-produced many of Michael Moore's films, including the Palme d'Or-winning Fahrenheit 9/11.
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Lessin → nominate → Fahrenheit
"This is a story about this brave woman who has faced down the barrel of a gun, during Indonesia's military occupation of East Timor, and exposed human rights abuses in Nigeria," Lessin says.
"She was telling the stories about the toxins at Ground Zero, in our neck of the woods.
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She → face → woods
Goodman's been a thorn in the side of presidents across the aisle, including Clinton and Trump.
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Goodman → include → Clinton
"Most people being yelled at by a president, and I've seen her being yelled at by several, would run away with their tail between their legs," Lessin says.
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Lessin → yell → legs
"Amy stands strong and gives as good as she gets.
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she → stand → good
She will not take 'no comment' for an answer.
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She → take → answer
"
Even with the filmmakers' impressive track record and shared values, Goodman was still cautious in agreeing to Steal This Story, Please!
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Goodman → share → Story
"It was a difficult decision, because I value my privacy," Goodman says, smiling.
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Goodman → value → privacy
"But to be stalked by Oscar-nominated directors made it a little easier, as did their deep commitment to independent media."
Global uprisings
Goodman insists the film's title is a promise.
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title → stalk → media
"Steal this story, in fact, please," she says.
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she → steal → fact
"We want the world to hear the stories of people on the ground who are risking their lives.
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who → want → lives
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia