Filmmaker Brian Malone sees the journalism field as being under attack. That’s why he created his newest documentary, Truth Be Told, which screened for the first time last week at Fort Lewis College.
Residents, local officials and representatives in local journalism – including student journalists with the FLC Independent – gathered to view the film Jan. 14, which provided an intimate look into the life of a journalist and explored the vital role of local news in a healthy democracy.
The film also dived into challenges in the field – including misunderstandings about what role a journalist plays, lack of trust from communities and threats to free and independent media, like the 2025 federal defunding of public broadcasting.
A range of Colorado journalists and voices in media were followed in the documentary, including Colorado Public Radio’s Bazi Kanani; The Colorado Sun’s Jason Blevins; 9News KUSA-TV’s Linda Kicak, Byron Reed, Marshall Zelinger and Angeline McCall; the Ouray County Plaindealer’s Erin McIntyre and Mike Wiggins; and KSUT Public Radio’s Tami Graham.
Graham also spoke at the screening, alongside Malone.
The documentary was screened in collaboration with nonprofit news organization The Colorado News Collaborative with support from Fort Lewis College, KSUT and The Local News Network. It was the first stop on a screening tour planned for at least 10 Colorado cities, according to CoLab Executive Director Laura Frank.
The film took about 3½ months to make, Malone said, and his wife Cindy helped write and produce it.
Malone said he made the film to educate the public on the important – and often grueling – job of a journalist in an age where distrust in media is prominent.
“There was a need to let the public know that there are journalists out there doing important work,” he said. “... And it’s not always pretty. It’s not always easy work. ... It’s difficult, hard work – and sometimes thankless.”
The screenings are meant to connect local newsrooms with their communities, Malone said.
“It’s kind of like civic education,” he said. “You know, to get communities better engaged with their local newsrooms and their local journalists, let them know that you’re their neighbors. You’re not just up there on some ivory tower collecting some big pay check – you’re out there covering stories for them, with them, about them.”
Audience members were invited to anonymously respond to several prompts before the film began through an app that displayed responses on the big screen. Those prompts included statements like, “I trust the local news service sources that serve my community,” and, “I’m familiar with challenges facing local reporters in Colorado.” Viewers could respond on a scale from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.”
Viewers were also encouraged to discuss the state of journalism and the themes of the documentary after watching the film through prompted questions like, “How might the ways you engage with local news change going forward?” and, “How have your thoughts on news changed?”
Audience members reflected on the difficulty of navigating an overwhelming and often hyper-partisan seeming news landscape that is impacted – both positively and negatively – by things like AI and social media. Viewers also expressed mixed feelings of despair and hope while emphasizing concerns about credibility, bias, media literacy, the economic state of the field and the challenge of distinguishing fact from opinion.
Despite the concerns the film brought to mind for some audience members, a renewed appreciation for journalists’ passion, accountability and truth-seeking – particularly at the local level – and a desire to more actively support and responsibly engage with trustworthy journalism was also a prominent point of discussion.
Malone said distrust in the media has put the journalism field at risk. He hopes the film will help clarify to communities across Colorado what the work of a journalist is really like, from the inside.
“Journalism is under attack,” he said. “There’s a lot being said about the journalism industry right now and media in general that puts the industry at risk and puts trust in journalism at risk. And so, frankly, I found there to be a need to tell a story about journalism.”
Fort Lewis College senior and FLC Independent staff member Cobe Downing said the film opened his eyes and gave him hope.
“I got to see what news can mean for small communities,” he said. “... I heard other people say they felt a little less hopeful (after watching the film), but I felt more hopeful, because for me, wanting to be a journalist, I feel like it really invigorated me to do what I’ve got do, and report on what I’ve got to report on.”
Though Downing left the screening feeling more inspired than ever to pursue a job in investigative journalism, he also walked away with some concerns about themes highlighted in the film.
“I’m thinking about the ways that my duty to the truth could be obstructed when I enter the field,” he said. “I’m worried about what forces may prevent me and my colleagues from doing what we have to do, from forces on (even) a federal level, which is pretty scary to me.”
A prominent issue discussed in the film was the Rescissions Act of 2025, passed by Congress June 12, which rescinded about $1.1 billion in previously approved federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting – a nonprofit that has distributed federal support to public broadcasters for nearly six decades.
President Donald Trump, citing alleged bias in coverage, signed the act into law following an executive order made in May that directed the CPB to stop funding the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio.
Major program shutdowns and significant staffing and budget cuts to public broadcasting have occurred as a result of the act.
To watch the film
The full “Truth Be Told” documentary can be viewed on the 9News KUSA-TV YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/watch?v=E24cvNbpUXQ
Malone told audience members after the screening that he hoped they would walk away with a better understanding of the “honest, hard work” journalists do.
“These are folks that are your neighbors, these are folks that live next to you, that are working for you, working for your community,” he said. “And I hope this gives you a better understanding of why they do what they do, and why they’re here to serve you and work with you.”
epond@durangoherald.com
