Retro Report

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]

  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ Klein, Jessica. "NY Times and 'Retro Report' Provide 'Slow Journalism' in New Assisted Suicide Doc". VideoInk. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  3. ^ "Population Bomb: The Dire Prediction That Fell Flat". June 1, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  4. ^ "U.S. & Politics". The New York Times. April 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  5. ^ "The Black Athlete in America". December 21, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "Media missed questionable science in 'Nanny Murder Trial,' new doc shows | Poynter". www.poynter.org. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "Retro Report Archive". Retro Report. Retrieved May 18, 2015.