Amy Goodman’s documentary examines the trajectory of a journalist who has spent decades advocating for open access to important reporting. Steal This Story, Please! follows her work from climate summits and natural disasters to conflict reporting, and presents her contention that significant journalism should be widely shared rather than hoarded as exclusives. The film foregrounds Goodman’s claim that an exclusive can be a professional failure when the broader public interest is at stake.
Amy Goodman granted access to two Oscar-nominated filmmakers to create the feature, framing the project as an effort to articulate the methods and values of independent news gathering. The documentary includes on-the-ground footage, interviews and archival material to illustrate how long-form, independent reporting operates outside mainstream commercial models. It also addresses institutional pressures that shape coverage choices.
The film highlights recurring themes in Goodman’s reporting, including censorship, dissent and what she describes as journalism’s “magic moments” — instances when reporting opens new lines of public inquiry. It situates her practice in the context of an independent news organisation she helped build, Democracy Now!, and explains how that platform has sought to distribute work broadly rather than preserve singular exclusives.
Rather than presenting a celebratory biography, the documentary foregrounds professional questions about access, distribution and editorial responsibility. Viewers see how decisions about sharing material, pursuing parallel sourcing and amplifying eyewitness testimony have shaped both individual stories and broader debates about media plurality. The film thus serves as a record of one journalist’s approach to reporting and as a prompt for discussion about the role of independent outlets in contemporary news ecosystems.
