Now Streaming: Crisis in the Documentary Era
By Liz Janisse, Rachel Rosenblatt for O’Dwyers
We’re living in the era of the documentary, a time when [insert favorite streaming service here] has the scoop on cults, tigers, murder mysteries and even threats to corporate reputations.
Today, there are more than 50 different streaming services in North America alone, all competing for subscribers and ad spend with sought-after original content.
Considering the time spent binge-watching TV increased dramatically due to the global pandemic, there are captive viewers around the world eagerly anticipating the next talked-about documentary or multipart docuseries. And the engaging, dynamic style of the end product has the potential to make an impact: The leading documentary is poignantly scored, with dynamic visuals and a strategically interwoven narrative that can bring an audience to its knees—and your company’s reputation right along with it.
Rather than institutional leadership and traditional media driving the narrative about companies and their legacies, in the case of high-profile documentaries, the masses are brought in to “see for themselves”—serving as both judge and jury for unsolved mysteries, open murder cases and corporate scandals alike, with a curated set of facts and perspectives presented in a fashion that allows the audience to draw its own conclusions about fact versus fiction.
In 2023, companies need to ask themselves: What do we do when our organization is in the crosshairs of a compelling, high-profile documentary?
Understanding the ask
With the demand for content at an all-time high, inquiries can take a variety of forms, with diverse teams made up of freelancers, producers, investigative reporters and independent filmmakers. It’s important to dig deep and understand the ask coming from documentarians to get a sense of the form, reach and nature of the end product—attributes that will no doubt shape your opportunity to engage.
At the end of the day, your communications team isn’t drafting the storyboard or weighing in on the final cut. How do you make the decision whether to participate in a documentary project when you know the outcome is likely just varying degrees of reputational damage for your organization? It’s a difficult decision to make, and one in which there will never be a clear right or wrong answer.
Research and readiness are vital to the initial response. When assessing an inquiry, it’s important to consider factors like these…
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