War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State
| War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Robert Greenwald |
| Produced by | Brave New Films |
| Music by | Nuno Malo |
Release date |
|
Running time | 66min |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State is a 66-minute documentary by Robert Greenwald and Brave New Foundation, released in 2013.[1]
Synopsis
[edit]War on Whistleblowers highlights recent cases where American government employees and contractors took to the media to expose fraud and abuse.[2][3] In all cases the whistleblowing was to the detriment of their professional and personal lives.[1][2][4][5] With President Obama's commitment to transparency and the passage of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, there was hope that whistleblowers would finally have more protection and encouragement to speak up.[4][6] But according to the film, times have never been worse for national security whistleblowers.[7] The Obama administration attacked more whistleblowers under the Espionage Act than all previous administrations combined.[5][8][9][10] According to Whistleblowers, journalists are also harassed for covering these stories.[5][11] War on Whistleblowers premiered in April 2013 in theaters and on DVD.
Interviewees
[edit] |
Journalists
[edit]- David Carr, Journalist, The New York Times
- Lucy Dalglish, Dean of the Philip Merrit College of Journalism, University of Maryland
- Glenn Greenwald, Journalist, The Guardian
- Seymour Hersh, Journalist
- Michael Isikoff, National Investigative Correspondent for NBC News
- Bill Keller, Op-Ed Columnist, The New York Times
- Eric Lipton, Investigative Reporter, The New York Times
- Jane Mayer, Staff Writer, The New Yorker
- Dana Priest, Investigative Reporter, The Washington Post
- Tom Vanden Brook, Journalist, USA Today
- Sharon Weinberger, National Security Reporter
Whistleblowers
[edit]- Michael DeKort, Senior Project Manager at Lockheed Martin
- Thomas Drake, Former Senior Executive of the National Security Agency
- Franz Gayl, Deputy Branch Head for the Space and Information Operations Integration Branch
- Thomas Tamm, Criminal Defense Litigation Attorney
Experts
[edit]- Steven Aftergood, Director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation on American Scientists
- Danielle Brian, Executive Director at the Project on Government Oversight
- Tom Devine, Legal Director of the Government Accountability Project
- Ben Freeman, National Security Investigator at the Project on Government Oversight
- William Hartung, Director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy
- J. William Leonard, Former Director of the Information Security Oversight Office
- Jesselyn Radack, Director of National Security and Human Rights at the Government Accountability Project
- Pete Sepp, Executive Vice President for the National Taxpayers Union
- Pierre Sprey, Defense Analyst and Weapons Designer
- Winslow T. Wheeler, Director of the Straus Military Reform Project of the Project on Government Oversight
Critical reception
[edit]War on Whistleblowers was reviewed in both the general and the progressive media.
The general media generally gave positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a "fresh" rating.[12] The Village Voice called it "Fast-moving and sleekly crafted...accessible without sacrificing nuance or intelligence."[3] Booklist commented on the importance of the message [13] while Bloomberg noted the subject's timeliness.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "INTERVIEW: War on Whistleblowers' director Robert Greenwald". The Week. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
- ^ a b "Speaking Up, and Paying the Price : 'The War on Whistleblowers,' a Documentary". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
- ^ a b Ernest Hardy (2013-04-19). "War on Whistleblowers Enunciates the Nation's Servility to Corporate Fat Cats - Page 1 - Movies - New York". Village Voice. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
- ^ a b "War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State | Seven Days". 7dvt.com. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
- ^ a b c "Robert Greenwald's 'War on Whistleblowers' Shows Importance of Preserving Press Freedom | The Dissenter". Dissenter.firedoglake.com. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
- ^ Dana Liebelson. "New Film Explores Obama's War on Whistleblowers and the Free Press". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
- ^ Rick Perlstein on June 20, 2013 - 5:27 PM ET (2013-06-20). "The War on Whistleblowers: On the Sin of Being Correct". The Nation. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "'War on Whistleblowers' Film Highlights Dangers of Crackdown | Politics News". Rolling Stone. 2013-04-17. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
- ^ "Filmmaker Robert Greenwald on "War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State"". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
- ^ "OutFront Q&A: Documentarian Robert Greenwald on latest film "War on Whistleblowers" – Erin Burnett OutFront - - CNN.com Blogs". Outfront.blogs.cnn.com. 2013-04-26. Archived from the original on May 3, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
- ^ "Robert Greenwald's Brave New Film by Kelley B. Vlahos - Antiwar.com". Original.antiwar.com. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
- ^ "War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
- ^ "War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State". Booklist Online. 2013-09-12. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
- ^ "DVDs coming out July 30 | Movie News & Reviews". NewsObserver.com. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
Further reading
[edit]- Brown, David (15 April 2013). "INTERVIEW: War on Whistleblowers' director Robert Greenwald". The Week.
- Calderone, Michael, and Sledge, Matt (16 April 2013). "Obama Whistleblower Prosecutions Lead To Chilling Effect On Press". The Huffington Post.
- Devine, Ted (16 April 2013). "Obama's dangerously contradictory stance on whistleblowing". The Guardian.
- Gosztola, Kevin (16 April 2013). "Robert Greenwald's 'War on Whistleblowers' Shows Importance of Preserving Press Freedom". Firedoglake.
- Liebelson, Dana (10 April 2013). "New Film Explores Obama's War on Whistleblowers and the Free Press". Mother Jones.
- Vanden Heuvel, Katrina (16 April 2013). "Don't confuse truth-tellers with traitors". The Washington Post.
- Wheeler, marcy (15 April 3013). "War on Whistleblowers: How the Obama Administration Destroyed Thomas Drake For Exposing Government Waste". Alternet.