Citizen Koch

Citizen Koch
Directed by Tia Lessin
Carl Deal
Production
company
Elsewhere Films
Distributed by Variance Films
Release date
  • 2013 (2013)
Country United States

Citizen Koch is a 2013 documentary film directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, concerning the political influence of American plutocrats on the political process following the US Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC which granted corporations the ability to anonymously spend unlimited money to influence public policy and elections. The film focuses on the eponymous Koch brothers, in particular,[1] and their support for Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, who represents the Citizen Koch in the title. The film also chronicles the rise of the Tea Party movement in response to the election of the first African-American President in 2008.

Citizen Koch was completed using funds from a successful Kickstarter campaign,[2] after allegations that PBS pulled funding initially promised to it. Since at least half of PBS' funding relies on donations, it has been alleged that financial support for the film was pulled because the content was unfavourable to the Koch brothers, who are major donors to the network.[3][4]

Regarding the allegations of censorship and The New Yorker article which helped bring the case to public attention, the PBS ombudsman has stated:[5]

Although some of [Jane] Mayer's reporting about "Citizen Koch" is based on unnamed sources, the strength of the article does reflect the internal concerns that can or did, as the thrust of her article suggests, lead to intense internal pressures that come to equal self-censorship. The reporting and quotes throughout appear convincing. One unnamed public television official, referring to the "Citizen Koch" proposal, is quoted as saying that, "because of the Koch brothers, ITVS knew WNET would never air it. Never."

The film premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival[6] and was named to the shortlist by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for best documentary feature.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mayer, Jane (May 27, 2013). "A Word from Our Sponsor: Public television's attempts to placate David Koch". The New Yorker.
  2. ↑ "Kickstarter Campaign for Citizen Koch". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
  3. ↑ Thomas, Rob (May 21, 2013). "'Citizen Koch' filmmakers claim PBS killed their doc to please Koch brothers". The Capital Times.
  4. ↑ Fischer, Brendan (May 20, 2013). "PBS Killed Wisconsin Uprising Documentary "Citizen Koch" To Appease Koch Brothers". PR Watch.
  5. ↑ "David Koch and PBS: The Odd Couple". PBS. May 2013. Retrieved 2013-05-25.
  6. ↑ Sundance Institute. "Citizen Koch". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved 2014-09-27.
  7. ↑ "15 films make the Best Documentary Oscar shortlist". EW.com. Retrieved 2018-01-12.

Further reading

  • Mayer, Jane (May 23, 2013). "Stephen Colbert on David Koch and PBS". The New Yorker (blog).
  • Rehm, Diane (May 21, 2013). "The Intersection Of Political Influence And Journalism". The Diane Rehm Show. WAMU.
  • Robbins, Christopher (May 20, 2013). "How Billionaire David Koch Gets PBS To Dance, Monkey, Dance". Gothamist (blog). Archived from the original on June 7, 2013.
  • Stelter, Brian (August 12, 2013). "The Documentary 'Citizen Koch' Regains Money". The New York Times.
  • Thomas, Rob (May 21, 2013). "Citizen Koch filmmakers Claim PBS Killed Their Doc to Please Koch Brothers". The Capital Times.
  • Macauley, Scott (April 28, 2014). "The Power of the Purse". Filmmaker Magazine.
  • The Reid Report (June 4, 2014). "Does 'free speech' mean 'dark money?" MSNBC.
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