As part of its 10-year anniversary celebration, The Ithaca Voice is hosting a live event at Cinemapolis showcasing “Bad Press,” a documentary about an Oklahoma-based Native American newspaper’s fight against creeping free press censorship.
This documentary focuses on the Muscogee (aka Mvskoke or Creek) Nation and the tension between tribal leaders and Mvskoke Media. A tribal election is approaching and the tribe’s legislative National Council abruptly repeals its own Free Press Act, without public notice or debate.
The protagonist is reporter Angel Ellis, who once left Mvskoke Media after a spiteful backlash to an exposé she wrote but, has returned as the tribal election is beginning. This is the first directorial feature for Rebecca Landsberry-Baker (a Muscogee Creek tribeswoman and the executive director of the Native American Journalists Association) and veteran editor Joe Peeler.
Co-director Joe Peeler will be at Cinemapolis for this one-time screening to support The Ithaca Voice on Monday, April 22. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students. All ticket proceeds support the Voice and include a reception before the screening and a Q&A after the conclusion of this prescient and timely documentary as the national 2024 election cycle begins. Seating is limited so be sure to pre-purchase your tickets.
