Virtual screening to feature Q & A
COOKEVILLE – Join WCTE PBS as it opens the 2021-22 Indie Lens Pop-Up season with a virtual screening of “Storm Lake.” “ Storm Lake” paints a picture of an agricultural community being threatened with change—from corporate to political and environmental forces, all while facing a pandemic. Leading the charge to keep the community informed is 63-year-old Art Cullen, an old-school journalist who has dedicated his life to his family’s biweekly newspaper The Storm Lake Times. Nearly 2,000 local papers have shuttered in the last 20 years, a crisis accelerated by COVID-19. The stakes have been especially high for the Cullen family; they comprise half The Times’ 10-person team.
“Answering the question ‘what do we lose when local journalism is gone?’ is an urgent issue with devastating consequences for communities across the country,” said filmmakers Jerry Risius and Beth Levison. “We wanted to show the high-stakes nature of what’s going on with media, through the prism of the Cullen family; dedicated, talented, outstanding journalists, who are committed to delivering the news to their town. Their reporting throughout the pandemic showed their resilience and the critically important role that local journalists play during uncertain times.”
Join us on Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. for a preview screening of “Storm Lake” followed by a panel discussion and Q & A with local guests. “Storm Lake” premiers on WCTE PBS on Nov. 15 at 10 p.m. Visit wcte.org/indielens for more information and to register for the free virtual screening.
