Mike Shum

FRONTLINE and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters from local journalism partner Star Tribune examine one of the most pivotal events in the history of race and policing in America. The documentary Police on Trial draws on unique on-the-ground reporting and filming, from the earliest days after George Floyd’s death, to documenting the trial and murder conviction of former police officer Derek Chauvin, to ongoing struggles for police accountability and reform in Minneapolis.

FRONTLINE and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters from local journalism partner Star Tribune examine one of the most pivotal events in the history of race and policing in America. The documentary Police on Trial draws on unique on-the-ground reporting and filming, from the earliest days after George Floyd’s death, to documenting the trial and murder conviction of former police officer Derek Chauvin, to ongoing struggles for police accountability and reform in Minneapolis.

We write this Op-Ed as representatives of two professions (law and journalism) that venerate objectivity and value dispassionate observation and analysis. We write this because journalism was once considered a safe profession within America’s borders, but that is becoming increasingly untrue.