Journalism Under Threat
With press freedom under threat in various countries around the world, FRONTLINE has been covering stories of journalists holding power to account and the forces working against them. The pursuit of independent reporting, whether it involves investigating corruption, exposing crime, or uncovering human rights violations and other forms of systemic injustice, can put journalists at risk.
FRONTLINE’s coverage documents how journalists have faced and responded to the threats of government crackdowns, intimidation, violence, censorship, imprisonment and online harassment. As our reporting shows, these efforts have evolved to include novel technological tools like spyware. Our documentaries take an in-depth look at the media landscape in Russia and the Philippines and examine the evolving threats to journalism.
Related Documentaries
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From Russian Newspaper Editor to ‘Foreign Agent’
‘Putin vs. the Press’ director Patrick Forbes, on chronicling the story of embattled Russian journalist and Nobel Prize winner Dmitry Muratov.
October 5, 2023
How Russia’s Press Freedom has Deteriorated Over the Decades Since Putin Came to Power
FRONTLINE takes a closer look at the different tactics that President Vladimir Putin and the government have used to clamp down on journalists in Russia, and the impact it’s had on press freedom since he came to power.
September 26, 2023
Nobel Prize-Winning Journalist Maria Ressa Acquitted of Tax Evasion in Philippines
Still, legal challenges remain for Ressa, whose story was chronicled in the 2021 FRONTLINE documentary 'A Thousand Cuts.'
September 14, 2023
How Russian Journalist Dmitry Muratov, Now Declared a ‘Foreign Agent,’ Faced Off With Putin in the Past
In September, the Russian government labeled Nobel Prize-winning Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov a ‘foreign agent.’ As this excerpt from the documentary "Putin vs. the Press" shows, Muratov had in the past publicly confronted Putin about his crackdown on the press.
September 12, 2023
53m
Putin vs. the Press
The story of one journalist’s battle to defend free speech in Putin’s Russia.
September 26, 2023
Amid the Taliban’s Worsening Crackdown on Journalists, News in Afghanistan Is Forced to Adapt
With news outlets facing more censorship and restrictions from the Taliban, Afghans are turning to social media and citizen journalism for information.
April 25, 2023
Where Are Russian Critics of Putin Featured in “Putin and the Presidents” Now?
What's happened to some of the Russian opposition politicians and journalists who've spoken openly about Vladimir Putin and the crackdown on protesters and critics?
January 31, 2023
1h 48m
Global Spyware Scandal: Exposing Pegasus
In a two-part documentary, FRONTLINE and Forbidden Films explore how the powerful spyware Pegasus, sold to governments around the world by the Israeli company NSO Group, was used on journalists, activists, the wife and fiancée of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and others.
January 3, 2023
‘The Story Putin Doesn’t Want Told’: Filmmakers Talk About ‘Putin’s War at Home’ Documentary
Gesbeen Mohammad and Vasiliy Kolotilov talk about the making of the FRONTLINE documentary “Putin’s War at Home,” which tells the story of Russians defying their government's crackdown on critics of the war in Ukraine.
November 1, 2022
Rappler and Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Maria Ressa Face Legal Setbacks
In late June, the Philippine government took steps toward shutting down the independent news site Rappler, co-founded by the Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa. Then, on July 8, the country’s Court of Appeals upheld a cyber-libel conviction against Ressa.
July 13, 2022
A Conversation with Nobel Peace Prize Winner Maria Ressa
In The FRONTLINE Dispatch podcast: Journalist Maria Ressa, 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner and subject of the documentary 'A Thousand Cuts,' talks with director Ramona S. Diaz and FRONTLINE's Raney Aronson-Rath.
December 9, 2021
‘A Thousand Cuts’: Where to Stream the Documentary About Nobel Peace Prize Winner Maria Ressa
As Ressa receives the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, watch a documentary chronicling how the journalist became a target of President Rodrigo Duterte’s crackdown on the press in the Philippines.
December 8, 2021