Since Donald Trump’s election in November 2016, much of the country has been feeling tense. This sense of dread is front and center in a new trailer for Liz Garbus’ Showtime docuseries “The Fourth Estate.” The clip’s ominous score and quick cuts are reminiscent of a thriller — as is its subject matter.
The four-part docuseries documents The New York Times’ inner workings during Trump’s first year in office. Since the demagogue-in-chief intensely dislikes journalism and people who criticize him, he’s not exactly a fan of the Times’ reporting. “[We] can’t trust what they tell us,” one of the series’ subjects says, referring to White House officials. “Anybody who ever makes him look weak, he attacks back,” another adds. The trailer also shows Times journalists being kicked out of a White House briefing.
Not that Trump’s crusade against the press is the only obstacle The New York Times is facing. The editors are also dealing with an increasingly polarized readership. “We have a left that doesn’t want to hear what the other side has to say, and we have a right that feels the same way,” someone observes.
To use one of the character’s phrases, “The Fourth Estate” does, indeed, seem to present the United States at a “tipping point.”
Garbus is a veteran documentarian and producer whose credits include “Love, Marilyn,” “What Happened, Miss Simone?” and “The Farm: Angola, USA.” She received Oscar nods for “Miss Simone” and “The Farm,” and won Emmys for the former and “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib.”
When we asked Garbus what she hopes audiences learn from “The Fourth Estate,” she said, “How hard this job is. The pressure to compete, to be first, but more importantly, to be right. How to not become numb and maintain your rigor in the face of the onslaught of news. How important the press is to a healthy democracy.”
“The Fourth Estate” premieres May 27. Its first episode will also screen as Tribeca Film Fest’s closing film on April 28.
