Reed Lindsay is championing a new model of journalism aimed at embracing cross-border collaboration and centering voices from underrepresented communities. Through documentary film, Lindsay harnesses storytelling’s most powerful medium to bring news from Cuba and the Global South to the fore.
Lindsay had called the Wood River Valley home since the first grade, “cutting his teeth” at the Idaho Mountain Express and the Wood River Journal (WRJ) back when the papers were separate entities. After graduating from Williams College, Lindsay spearheaded a dedicated Spanish page for the WRJ. “La Voz del Valle” provided information about health care services, the education system, and other happenings for the valley’s vast Spanish-speaking community.
An opportunity to report for The News (Mexico City) launched Lindsay into an acclaimed career in international journalism, living in and reporting from Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Paraguay, Bolivia and Haiti. Lindsay also reported on the Arab Spring from the ground in Egypt, contributing to the Emmy Award-winning HBO documentary In Tahrir Square. He co-directed Benghazi Rising, a film about the 2011 uprising in Libya. He later followed a young female boxer in India with his film Fists of Fury, which won Lindsay a Gracie Award for Outstanding Hard News Feature.
Eventually, Lindsay’s report took him to Cuba. As a matter of fate, he reported there during the Obama Presidency, who ushered in a historic opening of U.S.-Cuba relations, and Trump, who returned U.S. policy to “a Cold War-era policy of economic warfare,” Lindsay explained. “In terms of being able to make a living, have hope, or feel like your country has a future or not.” Lindsay said the outcome of U.S. elections has had more profound effects in Cuba than for most Americans at home.
Seeing this impact firsthand galvanized Lindsay to help expose the devastating impact of U.S. sanctions on Cuba, beginning with his docuseries, The War on Cuba, presented by Cuban journalist Liz Oliva Fernández. From past experience, Lindsay knew the series would be difficult to sell to a larger media outlet, so he launched his own—Belly of the Beast (BOTB), a media outlet that endeavors to center Cuban voices in its reporting.
“I’ve heard the term ‘parachute journalism’ used to describe journalists like myself, who go to the Global South, from very wealthy countries to very poor ones, report for a short period of time and then return,” said Lindsay. Journalists depend on the willingness of their subjects to share their lives, and Lindsay laments how extractive that process can be. The War on Cuba, which features Oliva Fernández as its presenter, “is mostly from her perspective as a Cuban, and how U.S. policy has affected people in Cuba,” said Lindsay. “I think the series was effective in a way that it would not have been if I was the one telling that story.” The series performed well on YouTube, winning Oliva Fernández a Gracie Award for Best Online Video Host.
Lindsay’s Belly of the Beast also won a One World Media Award as a media outlet. Perhaps a lesser-known award, but the competition was fierce—BOTB prevailed against two of the international media’s goliaths, Al Jazeera and the BBC. Though Lindsay admits his Emmy was the biggest boost to his resume, he says this award was the most satisfying.
“I think, ultimately, what has driven me to do the work is to have an impact in some way,” said Lindsay of his choice to tell stories on film.
“Video is more accessible to more people,” he said. “Some people are moved by writing, but everyone’s cried in a movie.” Lindsay desires to tell the truth about injustices, hoping that awareness can inspire solutions.
While BOTB has recently been exploring more written reporting and even turning to social media to reach a wider audience more consistently, the film will always be their pièce de résistance. Lindsay and the BOTB team continue their task of bringing Cuba’s stories to bear with two new documentaries, both featuring Oliva Fernández’s guiding voice.
Hardliner on The Hudson explores how former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez became perhaps the single greatest influence on Biden’s hardline policy towards Cuba. Menendez, a Cuban American, recently resigned from Congress after being convicted of corruption.
Uphill on The Hill digs into Biden’s policy, the ruinous effects on Cuba’s economy, and how the situation has spurred an astonishing increase in migration to the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I think these films are particularly groundbreaking because they are a model of ‘parachute journalism’ in reverse – which is actually far more coherent,” said Lindsay. “And that’s something I’m very proud of.” As an American with no real stake in what happens to Cuba, Lindsay has learned that the path to truthful reporting is one of collaboration – amplifying the voices at the heart of the story will certainly guide whatever he covers next. Ï