Top 5 media documentaries uncover how the news is made

We all expect the news of what’s happening in the world to be piped into our living rooms every day. Few bother to consider how the stories are gathered and eventually appear on our screens. This series of media documentaries shows how dedicated journalists and technicians brave all manner of hardship to bring these crucial tales to light, and profile some of the unsung heroes of broadcasting.

1. Mosaic of Facts

Reporter Miguel Francis-Santiago tries to unravel fact from fiction in the coverage of the Ukraine and Crimea crises. He tries to put together a jigsaw puzzle of truth, half-truth, and fiction to understand the origins of the crisis, and what’s happening on the ground. By talking to journalists and decision-makers he discovers how easy it is to blur the lines between truth and propaganda.

2. I'm Sameer from Damascus

A city at war is documented by TV cameramen like Sameer Alfarra. In I’m Sameer from Damascus the cameraman from Syrian TV paints a vivid picture of what it’s like to live in a city where war is so close. Even though fighting can be heard on the streets, life goes as people go about their daily lives visiting the market and shops, going to work and doing the chores. As the civil war gets closer to the city it impacts more and more on the lives of the people which Sameer documents.

3. Two Homelands. The Life of George Watts

Canadian broadcaster George Watts has had a front-row seat to the changing world. He began his career as a translator for Soviet leaders, and then became the reassuring English-language voice of Soviet films. In the documentary Two Homelands, George talks about his extraordinary life, the people he has met, and the legacy of his work.

4. Eternal 

In the documentary Eternal, we pay tribute to you RT journalist Khaled Alkhateb who died while covering the war in Syria. He was killed by a shell fired from an ISIS tank on assignment in the front line. The film looks at the life of the 25-year-old, and talks to his family about his motivations for being a war reporter, and the loss they feel since his passing.

5. War as a Working Place

Reporting conflict is probably the most dangerous assignment for any journalist and cameraman. In the documentary War as a Working Place, we meet some of the journalists covering the war in Syria. They tell stories of wounding, kidnap, and torture, all for the sake of letting the world see what’s really going on in their homeland.