The New York Times journalists go to unlock the truth, despite the increasing dangers and new threats that stand in their way.
The films examine the dangerous trends, both new and old, in government censorship and how these trends are becoming more and more common due to the impunity and lack of consequences that governments feel. By pursuing the truth in this new landscape (particularly ‘on-the-ground’ internationally) journalists are put in life threatening situations in pursuit of the truth.
Tell us about your role in the creation of this work.
We are the creative directors of the campaign, working on The New York Times account at Droga5.
Give us an overview of the campaign, what is it about?
The campaign’s called “The Truth Is Worth It” and shows the bravery and perseverance it takes to find and unearth the truth as a New York Times journalist. We wanted to show the rigorous effort the journalists put into their reporting, despite whatever threats may stand in their way. These two films specifically speak to the trends in government censorship and how these journalists continue to pursue the truth even in this current landscape.
Tell us about the details creative brief, what did it ask?
The brief was to make people realize and appreciate what really goes into The New York Times journalism and into each and every Times story, with the aim of ultimately driving people to subscribe. There are hundreds of Times reporters on the ground around the world, and we wanted to showcase the work they do in a compelling way.
Which insight led to the creation of this piece of work?
The New York Times really is the gold standard here; but people don’t realize the lengths to which Times journalists go to get to the truth—and the integrity with which they do it.
Can you share with us any alternative ideas (if any) for this campaign? Why was this idea chosen?
We had two campaigns on the table—one that was more focused on politics—but ultimately, we had to select one, and this was the clear winner.
What was the greatest challenge that you and your team faced during development.
The research part of this took a lot of time: interviewing journalists, hunting down footage, understanding the journalistic process and an accurate timeline. But writing the story through the evolving-headline construct we’d developed was a challenge, too—a constant stream of connecting words as though the reporter was writing as the story unfolded. Also, tracking down the film footage from the journalists’ phones was a lot harder than you might think.
What did you enjoy most about seeing this campaign through? Did you learn anything new from the experience?
Definitely learned that our jobs are relatively easy in comparison to what these journalists are up to—so it’s nice to create something that really rubs it in.
Where do you see this campaign going in the future?
We are going to keep developing more of these stories across different mediums. Stay tuned!