When the Muscogee Nation government repeals its landmark Free Press Act to muzzle the tribe’s hard-hitting news outlet, defiant and wisecracking journalist Angel Ellis charges headfirst into a historic battle that will have ramifications for all of Indian Country.
Bad Press airs Tuesday, November 10 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streaming on the WXXI and PBS app.
A timely, riveting documentary that unfurls with the energy and suspense of a thriller, BAD PRESS – winner of the Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Freedom of Expression – offers unparalleled insight into the inner workings of Indigenous politics. Imagine you lived in a world where your only reliable news source became government propaganda overnight. That’s exactly what happened to the citizens of the Muscogee Nation in 2018. Out of 574 federally recognized tribes, the Muscogee Nation was one of only five to establish a free and independent press – until the nation’s legislative branch abruptly repealed the landmark Free Press Act in advance of an election. Refusing to accept this flagrant act of oppression, one defiant journalist, Angel Ellis, charges headfirst into a historic battle against her tribal government’s censorship and corruption.
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