Educational Media Reviews Online

The 19th News is an organization founded by women to report news from a female-oriented perspective. Breaking the News is a documentary about the founding and development of this news platform, focusing on the people who helped start this movement in the news.

There’s a great deal of good in this documentary – members of the team at the 19th force conversations that make the people involved confront their blind spots and biases. There are conversations about where trans people fit into this idea of news “for women” and how a place like The 19th can support people who do not identify as women, but want to be a part of this work. There’s a Zoom discussion about Amy Cooper, the woman who called the police on a black man in Central Park, where Errin Haines, current editor-at-large discusses the deep ramifications and history that is entrenched in that moment, but is largely spoken over by founder Emily Ramshaw, who briefly seems to be trying to justify Amy Cooper’s actions. The documentary is unflinching about the areas of tension within The 19th, and presents them without direct commentary, simply letting the viewer see it all plainly.

There is a certain amount of self-congratulatory white feminism on display throughout Breaking the News. There are discussions about how to tell stories about issues for people in the lower class, or people who are impoverished, and the founder is walking around in a sweater that costs at least $100, customized with a slogan for The 19th. But even through the self-congratulations, there is a commitment to change within in the organization. Trans author Kate Sosin frequently mentions the difficulty of being misgendered regularly, of being one of the only queer voices on staff. But Kate also recognizes that Emily Ramshaw, and the organization itself, is willing to grow and change, and take the feedback when their blind spots are pointed out.

It can be difficult to watch a documentary that deals with the growth of the MeToo movement, Black Lives Matter protests, and politics of 2020 – not just because these are difficult issues, but because of how life is in 2024.

All in all, Breaking the News is an interesting documentary about interesting people that want to make a difference in the way news is reported, and how the non-male perspective is presented in the world. Again, the documentary does not paint anyone as a hero, or as a perfect representation of everything. The documentary shows human beings trying their best in very difficult circumstances – indeed circumstances that only seem to get worse.

Awards:
Montclair Film Festival, David Carr Award for Truth in Non-Fiction Filmmaking

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