The journalism department at Cosumnes River College is hosting a screening of the documentary “Trustworthy” on Wednesday, followed by a panel discussion with local journalists and the film’s creator.
The film centers on how the growing lack of trust in the media can have dangerous effects on democracy, according to its website.
“From confirmation bias, to critical thinking, to media being motivated by money, we just wanted to build out a documentary that covered all those topics and hopefully get to the bottom of what is the basis of this division,” said Stephany Zamora, the film’s executive producer.
Zamora said she was inspired to make the film after witnessing the January 6th riots in 2021 and seeing how misinformation and the media contributed to it.
She said the documentary was greenlit in July of the same year and by October they had begun a bus tour across the country, interviewing subject experts and regular people about their thoughts on the media.
A few notable interviewees along the trip included MSNBC Reporter Ali Velshi as well as Fox News Channel anchor Arthel Neville, she said.
“We didn’t ask about anyone’s political persuasion or who they voted for,” Zamora said. “We were really just focused on what’s the media’s role, what’s our role, and how we can find some common ground.”
She found even though the country is heavily divided in their thoughts on the media, anger isn’t the driving force behind it.
“I was surprised how people were more sad about it. We’ve been portrayed as we all hate each other and we can’t get along,” Zamora said. “That was not our experience at all. Everybody was really lovely towards us.”
The screening was organized by journalism Professor Rubina Gulati, who said she thought the film was relevant to what’s being taught in classes at CRC.
“I felt like it was a great opportunity to look at the importance of journalism to the political process without being about one party or one candidate,” Gulati said. “Hopefully many of us will vote in fall and we need good information.”
Gulati said she wanted to shine a light on the importance of local journalism by inviting a panel of Sacramento journalists to talk with the film’s creator and answer questions after the screening.
Along with Zamora, the panel will consist of Sacramento Bee political reporter Nicole Nixon, FOX40’s managing editor Alexander Walker and Sacramento State journalism Professor Fernando Gallo.
The screening and panel will be held on Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall. Tickets can be reserved through CRC’s website.
Students will also be able to register to vote at the event.
“I hope people will leave with a greater appreciation of the local journalists in their communities who cover the issues that are important to them,” Gulati said.