Retro Report
Retro Report is a US non-profit news organization that produces short-form documentaries for historical context of current news stories. The organization describes itself as a counterweight to the 24-hour news cycle. They have covered topics including the Population Bomb theory, 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, and the history of black activism in sports. 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. 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." 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." Since the series premiered on May 6, 2013, Retro Report has produced more than 175 short form documentaries.
| Formation | April 2013 |
|---|---|
| Type | 501(c)(3) |
| Headquarters | Mystic, Connecticut |
| Revenue | $7.83 m USD (2024) |
| Expenses | $8.25 m USD (2024) |
| Website | retroreport.org |
| [1] | |
Retro Report is a US non-profit news organization that produces short-form documentaries for historical context of current news stories.[2] The organization describes itself as a counterweight to the 24-hour news cycle.[3] They have covered topics including the Population Bomb theory,[4] 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,[5] and the history of black activism in sports.[6]
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.[7]
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."[8] 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."[9] Since the series premiered on May 6, 2013, Retro Report has produced more than 175 short form documentaries.[10]
History
[edit]| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Example videos | |
 When Pinball was Illegal, Retro Report Voices, 2:12, Retro Report[11] | |
| Stealing J. Edgar Hoover's Secrets, Retro Report, 13:36, December 15, 2016 |
Retro Report was created as a non-profit organisation by entrepreneur and philanthropist Christopher Buck[12] (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.[3]
Awards
[edit]- Nominated -- Outstanding Business, Consumer or Economic Report for "Future of Aging" (2019 Archived August 6, 2019, at the Wayback Machine)
- Nominated -- Outstanding Editing: News for "Operation Ceasefire" (2019 Archived August 6, 2019, at the Wayback Machine)
- Nominated – Outstanding Arts, Culture and Entertainment Report for "All in the Game: The Black Athlete in America" (2018)[13]
- Nominated – Outstanding Promotional Announcement for "What Happens Next" trailer (2018)[13]
- 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)[14]
- 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 Archived May 29, 2019, at the Wayback Machine)
- Winner – Best in Sports for "The Black Athlete in America" (2018)[15]
- Winner – Regional Overall Excellence (2017)[16]
- Winner – Regional Continuing Coverage for "Unraveling Zero Tolerance" (2017)[16]
- Winner – Regional Hard News for "After Bush v. Gore" (2017)[16]
- Winner – Regional Breaking News for "Nuclear Winter" (2017)[16]
- Winner – Best Regional Continuing and Investigative Coverage for "Atomic Vets" (produced with Center for Investigative Reporting) (2017)[16]
- Winner – Best Regional Documentary for "On Account of Sex" (produced with Fork Films) (2017)[16]
- Winner – Regional Overall Excellence (2016)[17]
- Winner – Best Regional Video News Documentary for "Transforming History" (2016)[17]
- Winner – Best Regional Continuing Coverage for "The Population Bomb?" (2016)
- Winner – Best National Continuing Coverage[18] for "A Search for Justice" (2015)
- Winner – Overall Excellence (2014)[19]
- Winner – Best Regional Video News Documentary for "The Sleeper Cell That Wasn't" (2014)[19]
- 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)[20]
- 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)[21]
- Nominated – Film & Video: Technology for "The Terminator and the Washing Machine" (2017)[21]
- Nominated – News & Politics: Individual Episode for "Where Does the American Dream Live?" (2017)[21]
- Honoree – Best Online Video, News & Politics for "Anatomy of an Interrogation" (2016)[22]
- Honoree – Best Editing for "Go or No Go: the Challenger Legacy" (2015)[23]
- Nominated - Best Single Article/Story for "The Outrage Machine" (2017)[24]
- Nominated – Best Single Story for "Haunted by Columbine" (2016)[25]
- Nominated – Best Single Story for "Taking the Lid Off the McDonald’s Coffee Case" (2014)[26][27]
- Winner – Outstanding Original Online Programming for "The Shadow of Thalidomide" (2014)[28]
- The Jackson Hole Science Media Awards:
- Nominated – Best short form series for "The Code" (2018)[29]
- Society of Business Editors and Writers: Winner – Best Video for "What Happens Next" (2018)[30]
- National Press Photographers Association
- Recognized in the Best Photojournalism Competition for photos take in India (2016)[31]
- Winner – FOCAL International Award for use of innovative archival footage for "Go or No Go: The Challenger Legacy" (2015)
References
[edit]- ^ "Retro Report Inc". Internal Revenue Service filings. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
- ^ "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". Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
- ^ 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. Archived from the original on September 25, 2018. 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
[edit]- Official website
- Retro Report playlist on YouTube for The New York Times.