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“Breaking the News” — the film following the inception, launch, and fledgling triumphs and challenges of The 19th’s newsroom — is now available to stream.
The movie is a time capsule that includes the newsroom’s deliberations around and response to major news events critical to The 19th’s evolution: the coronavirus pandemic, the killing of Breonna Taylor, the overturning of Roe v. Wade. It also documents The 19th’s internal struggles to overhaul age-old industry precedents.
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“This film is such an honest and heartfelt reflection of the early days of The 19th, and we’re grateful it’s going to be available for even wider viewing,” said 19th CEO Emily Ramshaw.
Where and how to watch
The film will be streamed on the PBS Documentaries channel on Amazon Prime Video. It will also be available for a fee on Apple TV/iTunes as well as Comcast Xfinity.
“Breaking the News” premiered at the TriBeCa Film Festival in June 2023, won the 2023 David Carr Award for Truth in Filmmaking at the Montclair Film Festival, and was an official selection at last year’s El Paso Film Festival, DC/DOX Film Festival and Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, among others. Its broadcast premiere was in February 2024 on PBS. The film was directed and produced by Heather Courtney, Princess A. Hairston and Chelsea Hernandez, and produced by Diane Quon.
Bonus content
If you’re looking for more about the documentary, a panel discussion with “Breaking the News’” filmmakers and 19th staff — hosted by Libby Casey, senior news anchor at The Washington Post — is available now on our YouTube channel. You can also read a Reddit AMA with two of the filmmakers, who answered questions about what makes a good documentary and the work still left to be done.
