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. In this film, we show the perseverance of immigration reporter Caitlin Dickerson as she exposes a policy of family separation at the Mexico-US border, which was vehemently denied by the government. The spot was released at a time of polarizing discussions about immigration, making it even more critical to reiterate the importance of the truth and the value of NYT journalism.

This was a story that launched at a time the issue of immigration and family separation were hotly debated. The script had to bring the emotion of this heavy story while balancing the journalistic integrity of The New York Times. The script puts us in the reporter's stream of consciousness, adopting her tone of voice while also maintaining The Times’s inimitable house style. The script, a connected thread of words that appears on screen, creating the effect of a continuously rewriting headline, was central to putting the viewer in the psyche of the journalist as she ventured into the complex world of government sources and immigrant shelters.

Rumors Policy

Rumors Government

Rumors of New Government Policy

Policy

Policy to

Policy to Separate

Policy to Separate Families

Policy to Separate Migrant Families

Policy

Policy Denied by Administration

See if Policy

Find Out Policy

Question Policy

Question

Question Government Sources

Government Sources

Call Government Sources

Call D.H.S

D.H.S Denies Policy

Discover Lawyer

Discover A.C.L.U. Lawyer

A.C.L.U. Lawyer

Lawyer

Lawyer Represents

Lawyer Represents Separated Family

Lawyer Has Family

Lawyer Has Case

Lawyer Case

Lawyer Confirms More

Lawyer Confirms More Separated

Lawyer Says More Families Separated

More Families Separated

Families Separated

Separated

Separation

Administration Denies Separation

Administration Denies

Administration

Find Shelter Operators

Call Shelter Operators

Shelter Operators

Shelter Operators Nervous

Shelter Operators Confirm

Confirm

Confirm Traumatized Children

Confirm

Confirm Distraught Children

Children

Younger Children

New Children Every Day

Children’s

Call Children’s Parents

Parents

Parents in Detention

Parents Alone

Cannot Reach Parents

Parents Deported

Parents Separated

Separated

Administration Denies Separation

Need Evidence

Need to

to

Talk to

Talk to Government Source

Government Source

Government Source Has List

List of Names

List of 700 Names

List of 700 Children

List of 700 Children Without Parents

List

Obtain List

Verify List

List Verified

List Verified by Sources

List Confirmed

List Confirmed by Agency Contacts

List Confirmed by D.H.S. Officials

List Confirmed by H.H.S. Officials

List Confirmed by

Confirmed

Separation Confirmed

Separation of Children

Hundreds of Children

Hundreds of Immigrant Children Have Been Taken From Parents at U.S. Border