Retro Report
Non-profit producer of short-form news documentaries
Retro Report is a US non-profit news organization that produces short-form documentaries for historical context of current news stories.[ 1] The organization describes itself as a counterweight to the 24-hour news cycle .[ 2] They have covered topics including the Population Bomb theory,[ 3] the Tawana Brawley rape allegations , the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak , the MMR vaccine controversy , the Ruby Ridge standoff , the Columbine High School massacre , the McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit ,[ 4] and the history of black activism in sports.[ 5]
On October 7, 2019, Retro Report launched Retro Report on PBS , a one-hour news magazine series hosted by journalist Celeste Headlee and artist Masud Olufani , featuring humorist Andy Borowitz .[ 6]
Retro Report's stories are published on their own website and also by distribution partners such as The New Yorker , Politico , PBS's American Experience , STAT News , Quartz and The New York Times , where they are featured alongside an article by longtime journalist Clyde Haberman . In a Poynter Institute for Media Studies article, Executive Producer Kyra Darnton describes Retro Report's mission as providing, "context and perspective by going back and re-reporting and reanalyzing older stories, or stories that we think of as not relevant anymore."[ 7] In a 2014 Nieman Foundation for Journalism article, Ann Derry, The New York Times ’ editorial director for video and television partnerships, said Retro Report's stories are "consistently among the most-watched pieces of video content at the Times."[ 8] Since the series premiered on May 6, 2013, Retro Report has produced more than 175 short form documentaries.[ 9]
History
Retro Report was created as a non-profit organisation by entrepreneur and philanthropist Christopher Buck[ 11] (son of Subway founder Peter Buck ) and is run by Executive Producer Kyra Darnton and a team of producers, reporters, and editors, who come mostly from news organizations 60 Minutes and Frontline .[ 2]
Awards
Nominated -- Outstanding Business, Consumer or Economic Report for "Future of Aging" (2019 )
Nominated -- Outstanding Editing: News for "Operation Ceasefire" (2019 )
Nominated – Outstanding Arts, Culture and Entertainment Report for "All in the Game: The Black Athlete in America" (2018)[ 12]
Nominated – Outstanding Promotional Announcement for "What Happens Next" trailer (2018)[ 12]
Nominated – Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story for "Vaccines: An Unhealthy Skepticism" (2016)
Winner – Outstanding Editing for News for "Go or No Go: The Challenger Legacy" (2015)[ 13]
Nominated – Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story in a News Magazine for "The Shadow of Thalidomide" (2014)
Winner – Best Video for the "Future of Money" (2018)
Winner - Feature Reporting for "Future of Gaming" in collaboration with Quartz (2019 )
Winner – Best in Sports for "The Black Athlete in America" (2018)[ 14]
Winner – Regional Overall Excellence (2017)[ 15]
Winner – Regional Continuing Coverage for "Unraveling Zero Tolerance" (2017)[ 15]
Winner – Regional Hard News for "After Bush v. Gore" (2017)[ 15]
Winner – Regional Breaking News for "Nuclear Winter" (2017)[ 15]
Winner – Best Regional Continuing and Investigative Coverage for "Atomic Vets" (produced with Center for Investigative Reporting ) (2017)[ 15]
Winner – Best Regional Documentary for "On Account of Sex" (produced with Fork Films) (2017)[ 15]
Winner – Regional Overall Excellence (2016)[ 16]
Winner – Best Regional Video News Documentary for "Transforming History" (2016)[ 16]
Winner – Best Regional Continuing Coverage for "The Population Bomb?" (2016)
Winner – Best National Continuing Coverage[ 17] for "A Search for Justice" (2015)
Winner – Overall Excellence (2014)[ 18]
Winner – Best Regional Video News Documentary for "The Sleeper Cell That Wasn't" (2014)[ 18]
Nominated -- News & Politics for Best Overall Series (2019)
Winner -- Sports for "All in the Game: Black Athlete in America" (2019)
Nominated -- News & Politics for "Why We Can't Have a Civil Conversation About Guns" (2019)
Nominated -- Technology for "Future of Gaming" in collaboration with Quartz (2019)
Winner – Film & Video - News & Politics: Best Overall Series (2018)
Nominated – Film & Video: News & Politics for 'Why Hasn't Sexual Harassment Disappeared?' (2018)[ 19]
Nominated – Film & Video: Technology for "The Future of Money" (2018)News & Politics
Nominated – Film & Video: Trailer for "What Happens Next" (2018)News & Politics
Honoree – Film & Video: News & Politics for Best Overall Series (2017)[ 20]
Nominated – Film & Video: Technology for "The Terminator and the Washing Machine" (2017)[ 20]
Nominated – News & Politics: Individual Episode for "Where Does the American Dream Live?" (2017)[ 20]
Honoree – Best Online Video, News & Politics for "Anatomy of an Interrogation" (2016)[ 21]
Honoree – Best Editing for "Go or No Go: the Challenger Legacy" (2015)[ 22]
Nominated - Best Single Article/Story for "The Outrage Machine" (2017)[ 23]
Nominated – Best Single Story for "Haunted by Columbine" (2016)[ 24]
Nominated – Best Single Story for "Taking the Lid Off the McDonald’s Coffee Case" (2014)[ 25] [ 26]
Winner – Outstanding Original Online Programming for "The Shadow of Thalidomide" (2014)[ 27]
Recognized in the Best Photojournalism Competition for photos take in India (2016)[ 30]
Winner – FOCAL International Award for use of innovative archival footage for "Go or No Go: The Challenger Legacy" (2015)
References
^ "about" . Retro Report . New York: Retro Report, Inc. January 11, 2015. Retrieved December 29, 2021 . Retro Report is founded on the conviction that without an engaging and forward-looking review of high-profile events and the news coverage surrounding them, we lose a critical opportunity to understand the lessons of history.
^ a b Klein, Jessica. "NY Times and 'Retro Report' Provide 'Slow Journalism' in New Assisted Suicide Doc" . VideoInk . Retrieved May 18, 2015 .
^ "Population Bomb: The Dire Prediction That Fell Flat" . June 1, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2018 .
^ "U.S. & Politics" . The New York Times . April 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2015 .
^ "The Black Athlete in America" . December 21, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2018 .
^ Garron, Barry (September 19, 2019). "As 'Retro Report' prepares for PBS debut, stations step out of comfort zone to produce local stories" . Current . Retrieved May 11, 2020 .
^ "Media missed questionable science in 'Nanny Murder Trial,' new doc shows | Poynter" . www.poynter.org . Retrieved September 28, 2015 .
^ O’Donovan, Caroline. "The third draft of history: Retro Report looks back at media-hyped stories of the recent past" . Nieman Lab . Retrieved June 9, 2015 .
^ "Retro Report Archive" . Retro Report . Retrieved May 18, 2015 .
^ "When Pinball was Illegal…" . Retro Report. October 26, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2016 .
^ "Retro Report: Our Origin" . Retro Report . January 11, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015 .
^ a b "NOMINEES FOR THE 39th ANNUAL NEWS & DOCUMENTARY EMMY® AWARDS ANNOUNCED | The Emmy Awards - The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences" .
^ Wilson, Sianne. "NOMINEES FOR THE 36th ANNUAL NEWS & DOCUMENTARY EMMY® AWARDS ANNOUNCED" . The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 30, 2015 .
^ Pedersen, Erik (June 19, 2018). "Edward R. Murrow Awards: CBS News Wins Overall Excellence For Second Straight Year" . Deadline . Retrieved July 12, 2018 .
^ a b c d e f "RTDNA - Radio Television Digital News Association" . rtdna.org . Retrieved May 18, 2017 .
^ a b "Radio Television Digital News Association" .
^ "RTDNA – Radio Television Digital News Association" . rtdna.org . Retrieved October 22, 2015 .
^ a b "2014 Region 11 Murrow Winners" . Radio Television Digital News Association . Retrieved May 18, 2015 .
^ "News & Politics" . www.webbyawards.com . Retrieved July 12, 2018 .
^ a b c "2017 | The Webby Awards" . www.webbyawards.com . Retrieved May 18, 2017 .
^ "Webby Awards" .
^ "Honoring the Best of the Web" . International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences . Retrieved May 18, 2015 .
^ "Newhouse School announces finalists in 2017 Mirror Awards competitionMirror Awards | Newhouse School, Syracuse University" . Retrieved May 18, 2017 .
^ "Mirror Awards Finalist" .
^ O'Shea, Chris (April 1, 2014). "2014 Mirror Awards Finalists Announced" . Adweek . Retrieved May 18, 2015 .
^ "» Winners announced in 2014 Mirror Awards competition" . Retrieved September 30, 2015 .
^ "2014 Gracies Award Winners" . Alliance For Women In Media . Archived from the original on February 26, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015 .
^ "Jackson Hole Science Media Awards" . SCIENCE MEDIA AWARDS & SUMMIT .
^ "2017 Best in Business Honorees" . Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing . Retrieved July 12, 2018 .
^ "The Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting" .
External links