Tell the Truth and Run (1996)

Tell the Truth and Run is a documentary film about George Seldes and the American Press. Here is some basic information about this film which premiered in 1996:

** Director: Rick Goldsmith

** Writers: Rick Goldsmith and Sharon Wood

** Narrator: Susan Sarandon

** Run time: 110 minutes

This film is about the dissident reporter George Seldes who lived to be more than 100 years old (1890-1995). What about the title? Where does it come from? Tell the Truth and Run is the title of a book by George Seldes that was published in 1953.

George Seldes was the editor and publisher of a weekly newsletter, In Fact, which was published for a decade (1940-1950). It was a precursor of I. F. Stone’s Weekly, which was edited and published by another dissident reporter (I. F. Stone) for almost two decades (1953-1971).

Several people are interviewed in the film. Here are their names in alphabetical order:

** Ben Bagdikian (1920-2016), author of The Media Monopoly (1983)

** Jeff Cohen, executive director of FAIR

** Daniel Ellsberg (1931-2023), subscribed to In Fact when he was a freshman at Harvard University

** Nat Hentoff (1925-2017), columnist, The Village Voice

** Jack Hollander, subscribed to In Fact at age 15

** Philip Knightly (1929-2016), author of The First Casualty (1975)

** Colman McCarthy (born 1938), columnist, the Washington Post

** Morton Mintz (born 1922), a reporter, now retired, who worked for the Washington Post

** Ralph Nader (born 1934), read In Fact when he was in junior high school

** Victor Navasky (1932-2023), editor, The Nation

** Marian Seldes, George’s niece

** Timothy Seldes, George’s nephew

** Victor Weingarten, associate editor, In Fact

What do reviewers say about this film? Here are the results of two review aggregators:

** 80 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes

** 85 per cent = IMDb

As you can see, the average ratings are quite good, quite high. But if you ask me, they are not high enough. I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars.

PS. For more information about the US government and the US media, see the following items:

** All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception, and the Spirit of I. F. Stone (2016) (88 minutes)

** The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee (2017) (90 minutes)

*****

 

  The American reporter

 

George Seldes (1890-1995)

 

*****