Breaking the News

Premiered February 19, 2024

Directed by

Heather Courtney, Princess A. Hairston and Chelsea Hernandez

Women and LGBTQ+ journalists launch startup The 19th* to buck a broken news media system.

EXPLORE THE FILM

About the Documentary

Who decides which stories get told? A scrappy group of women and LGBTQ+ journalists buck the white male-dominated status quo, banding together to launch The 19th*, a digital news startup aiming to combat misinformation. A story of an America in flux, and the voices often left out of the narrative, the documentary Breaking the News shows change doesn’t come easy.

The Filmmakers

Heather Courtney is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, and a Guggenheim, Sundance, and Fulbright fellow. Her film Where Soldiers Come From (POV) was funded by ITVS, and won an Emmy and an Independent Spirit Award. Other films include The Unafraid (America ReFramed), and the IDA and SXSW Award-winning Los Trabajadores (Indie Lens).

Princess A. Hairston is a director and Emmy Award-nominated editor in New York City. She has produced and directed films, and has edited several documentaries like LulaRich, Pier Kids, Fresh Dressed, Masterpiece of Love, and Capture with Mark Seliger. Her work has been recognized with nominations and awards from the Emmys and The Webbys.

Chelsea Hernandez is an Emmy Award-nominated Mexican-American filmmaker based in Texas. Named to the DOC NYC's 40 Under 40 Class of 2021, Chelsea won a Silver Telly Award for Social Impact for her first feature, Building the American Dream. She is a fellow of Tribeca All Access, BAVC National Mediamakers, and Firelight Media Doc Lab.

Academy Award-nominated Diane Quon is a documentary producer, whose work includes: the Oscar-nominated Minding the Gap, The Dilemma of Desire, Emmy Award-nominated Finding Yingying, For the Left Hand, Wuhan Wuhan, Bad Axe, and Surf Nation (Mountainfilm Telluride 2022). Diane is a member of AMPAS and the PGA.

Full Credits