What is Retro Report?
✓ Retro Report is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that brings history to life through documentary videos. Our work explores how past events shape the present, helping students make meaningful connections across time. Since 2020, we’ve also provided free educational resources to complement the videos. These materials, designed to support social studies, science, and English Language Arts, help teachers engage students with lessons that bridge disciplines and encourage critical thinking.
How are the videos produced?
✓ Retro Report has a staff of seasoned producers, reporters, editors and educators working to combine trusted, fact-based journalism with a growing collection of lesson plans and student activities for the middle school, high school and college levels.
Why should I trust Retro Report’s journalism?
✓ At Retro Report, our process is built on a commitment to accuracy, balance and integrity. Our producers spend weeks or months gathering original documents and images and reporting firsthand accounts to ensure every story is fair and reflects a range of perspectives. We analyze archival footage to verify historical accuracy and provide authentic visual context.
Each video undergoes rigorous editing to prevent misrepresentation and error. Experienced fact-checkers then vet our work, scrutinizing each line and image. Finally, all videos are reviewed by legal experts to assess fair use and guard against libel, ensuring that our journalism meets the highest ethical and legal standards. From research to final review, it can take several months to produce a single 10-minute video, a testament to our commitment to accuracy and fairness.
Retro Report’s journalism has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Editing in News for “Go or No Go: The Challenger Legacy,” a Gerald Loeb Award for Best Video for “The Future of Money” and an Edward R. Murrow Award for Feature Reporting in collaboration with Quartz. We have received multiple Webby Awards, including Best Overall Series in News & Politics, and have been finalists for the Peabody Awards and Nonprofit News Awards.
Why is Retro Report free?
✓ Retro Report is an independent nonprofit with 501c (3) status. Our work is provided as a public service free of charge on the website upon registration at bit.ly/RR-Reg. We want to help serve teachers by providing access to high-quality, meticulously reported videos and lesson plans to encourage students’ critical thinking and inquiry skills.
Who funds Retro Report?
✓ The organization relies on co-production revenue and philanthropy, which includes grants and tax-deductible donations. If Retro Report generates income, it must be invested back into the organization. View the most recent financial report on the New York State Attorney General’s Charities Registry.
Who creates the classroom resources featured on Retro Report’s website?
✓ Retro Report’s lessons and activities are created by teachers across the country, mainly from our teacher advisory groups, and vetted by Retro Report’s education team. Every year in November, Retro Report invites teachers to apply to join one of its three advisory groups.
Why don’t you have resources for upper elementary grades?
✓ A selection of Retro Report films, like “Freeing Willy” and “Horses, Wild But Not Free,” can be used in upper elementary grades. More educational materials for this level are being developed.
Why haven’t I heard of Retro Report until now?
✓ Since 2013, Retro Report has produced hundreds of short documentary videos, reaching tens of millions of viewers through longstanding partnerships with PBS, The New York Times, Scientific American, NBC News, and many other national news outlets. Retro Report also has education partners (PBS Learning Media, Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, Street Law, etc.). Odds are you have seen Retro Report’s work through our partners; you just didn’t know we were involved!
How accessible are your videos?
✓All of our films have closed captions and transcripts reviewed for accuracy. Some popular videos have captions in Spanish, you can find them in the “Retro Report en Español” collection.
