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Bad Press

By Mikal CG | January 27, 2025

Perhaps a more appropriate title for the documentary Bad Press would be “Banned Press.” Nobody is more familiar with that term than reporter Angel Ellis of MVSKOKE Media (Muscogee Creek Nation, Oklahoma). When Ellis was fired for reporting on a local politician’s embezzlement allegations in 2011, she decided that the lacking concept of free press in her native nation needed to be addressed. Directors Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler follow Ellis over a period of years in this doc in order to show how a tribal nation in the US gained and lost free speech protections, on the road to hopefully finding a way to guarantee free access to information for future generations.

Most residents of the US would assume that due to our federal constitution’s first amendment guaranteeing a free press, this would apply to the entire country – as did I. But as I discovered in this doc, it does not necessarily apply to tribal lands. Of the nearly 600 federally recognized tribes in the United States, only 5 have any type of law at all backing a free press. Zero of them guarantee it in their tribal constitutions.

“…Ellis was fired for reporting on a local politician’s embezzlement…”

Years after Ellis’ firing, she returned to MVSKOKE Media to continue her fight for free speech. Soon after her return, the local tribal government repealed the free press law that they had put into place during a so-called “emergency meeting” called late at night, in an effort to block unapproved coverage of their politicians. Now, the press had to run everything by the government for approval before printing it. This removed the actual news from their paper and turned it into a self-aggrandizing PR channel for the tribal council.

The cinematography and editing throughout Bad Press are pretty much on par with what you expect of a well-made documentary. There are lots of handheld shots following our subjects, great B-roll that assists in the illustration of the story, and all of this is intertwined with archival news clips. My only complaint would be the occasional low speaking volume, which is most likely due to the lack of a microphone on the subject and relying on an atmospheric mic to pick them up. However, that could certainly be fixed by boosting the audio level in the mix when they speak.

Bad Press shines a light on the darkness that can emanate from bad politicians when no free speech protections are in place. If you value freedom of the press, you will view this as an exhilarating victory for free speech. Heck, you may even find yourself pumping your fist in the air by the end.

Bad Press (2025)

Directed: Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, Joe Peeler

Written:

Starring: Angel Ellis, James Floyd, Gary Fife, Jason Salsman, Arrielle Farve, Graham Brewer, etc.

Movie score: 8.5/10

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"…you may find yourself pumping your fist in the air by the end."

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