If ever a film speaks to the moment, it is this one. Steal This Story, Please! is a feature documentary on Amy Goodman, the fiercely independent journalist and host/creator of Democracy Now!, a daily broadcast that reaches millions of viewers around the world.
Now, more than ever, quality journalism is vital to democracy. This is so, not only on Goodman’s home turf but also in Australia where news organizations and their corporate owners are relentless in shaping the narrative.
Directors Tia Lessin and Carl Deal had access to three decades of studio and field recordings, along with Goodman’s personal archives, in bringing her story to life.
The resulting documentary, Steal This Story, Please!, has been sweeping festival awards worldwide. Such is the power of its message, it is easy to see why. Having made its Australian debut at the Sydney Film Festival, it is screening in local cinemas now (showing at Dendy in Canberra).
Of particular interest to Australians is that events in nearby East Timor were a turning point for Goodman in her career. Witnessing the massacre of hundreds of peaceful protesters by Indonesian soldiers was traumatic, and it fed her belief in the power of journalism to make change.
Trickle-up journalism
Her reporting, alongside colleague Allan Nairn, made it impossible for the U.S. media to ignore the story, and helped galvanize an international movement that led to independence for the Timorese. Goodman would come to call this “trickle-up journalism”. Hence the film’s title: “Steal this Story,” she urges. “Please!”
Undeterred by armed soldiers, evasive politicians, and riot police, Goodman has reported on some of the most consequential stories over three decades, amplifying stories and voices that are often silenced by commercial media.
The questions she has been asking for decades about power, war, corporate influence, and the role of the press, have grown increasingly urgent. With media consolidation, billionaire ownership, shrinking newsrooms, and algorithms that promote spectacle over truth, the kind of independent journalism Goodman practises feels increasingly rare.
All praise to Goodman for her courage, her commitment and her fearlessness. Steal This Story, Please! is thought-provoking, depressing at times, unexpectedly funny at others, but most of all, it is essential viewing for anyone who cares about the world we live in.
