Freedom of the press in Native tribes was the focus of this year’s Oppenheimer Symposium featuring a panel of Native American journalists and a showing of “Bad Press” which made its premiere on Tuesday, April 9. As part of the Renfrew Interdisciplinary Colloquium, the panel was deemed Freedom of the…
This entertaining, illuminating ground-level documentary examines how the Muscogee Nation tried to shut down its independent media outlet and the political and electoral struggle that ensued.
Bad Press: Freedom of the Press in Indian Country According to an article by Indian Country Today, only five tribes (out of 574 federally recognized tribes) in the U.S. have passed laws protecting freedom of the press. One of those tribes, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation repealed its Free Press Act in 2018. Documentary filmmakers Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler document the fight to restore the freedom of the press in their documentary Bad Press by following tribal journalist Angel Ellis, among others. The film, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2023, explores the importance of an independent press as well as the danger of government corruption. The University of Idaho is hosting Landsberry-Baker and Peeler as keynote speakers for its annual Oppenheimer Ethics Symposium, along with a film screening and Q&A with the directors and Ellis.