This film looks to shed light on the rigor behind journalism and why it's all worth it. It’s a piece of work about pursuing the truth wherever it may lead and bringing that truth back in word form for the world to read. The film delves into the courage of Azam Ahmed, Bureau Chief for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, as he untangles the web of leads and sources behind the Mexican government’s surveillance of journalists—ultimately finding himself at the center of his own story and the target of the Mexican government’s tactics. The spot was released at a time of intense discussions about the safety of journalists and the conduct of the Mexican government, making it even more critical to reiterate the importance of the truth and the value of NYT journalism.

The film launched at a time when the issue of espionage and our relationship with Mexico were being hotly debated. The script had to deliver the scale of this important story while balancing the journalistic integrity of The New York Times. The script puts us in the reporter's stream of consciousness, adopting his tone of voice while also maintaining The Times’s inimitable house style. The script, a connected thread of words that appear on screen creating the effect of a continuously rewritten headline, was central to putting to putting the viewer in the psyche of the journalist as he unpicked a story of government surveillance in Mexico.

Report on Mexico

Report on Mexican Student Disappearance

Report on Mexican Military

Report on Mexican Embezzlement

Report on Mexican Corruption

Report on Mexican Government

Mexican Government Uncooperative

Mexican Government Defensive

Mexican Government Covering Up

Mexican Government Angered

Mexican Government Angered by Reporting

Report

Continue to Report

Continue to Investigate

to

Begin to Receive Unfamiliar Texts

Phone Starts to Malfunction

Phone Messages Disappear

Phone

Call From Mexican Phone

Call From Mexican Phone Number

From Human Rights Lawyer

Human Rights Lawyer

Go to Human Rights Lawyer

Meeting With Human Rights Lawyer

Lawyer

Lawyer Turns Off Phones

Lawyer Hides Phones

Lawyer Warns

Lawyer Worries

Lawyer Scared

Lawyer Fears

Fears

Fears Journalists

Fears Journalists Being Targeted

Fears Phones Being Targeted

Phones Being Targeted

Phones Being Bugged

Phones Being Hacked

Phone Cameras Being Backed

Phones

Test Phones

Find Phones

Find Phones Being Bugged

Phone

Spyware in Phone

Confirmed: Spyware in Phone

Illegal Spyware in Phone

Spyware

Trace Spyware

Trace Spyware

Trace Spyware to Mexico

Trace Spyware to Government

Spyware

Discover Spyware

Discover Spyware Sent

Discover Spyware Sent Via

Discover Spyware Sent Via Text

Spyware Sent to

Find Spyware Used on

Find Spyware Used on Activists

Find Spyware Used on Professors

Find Spyware Used on Lawyers

Find Spyware Used on Journalists

Journalists

Threat to Journalists

Danger to Journalists

Journalists

Mexican Government Hacks Journalists

Hacks Journalists

Journalists

Mexican Government Targets Journalists

Mexican Government Targets Journalists

and Their Families

Mexican Government

and Their Families

Mexican Government

Targets and Their Families

Mexican Government

Targets Journalists and Their Families

Targets Mexican Journalists and Their Families

Government Spyware

Targets Mexican Journalists and Their Families

Using Texts as Lures, Government Spyware

Targets Mexican Journalists and Their Families