Crisis on Campus (working title)
Spring 2024
Coming to PBS, pbs.org/frontline, the PBS App, YouTube and the PBS Documentaries Prime Video Channel
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At Harvard University in January, the president resigned under pressure. Weeks earlier, at the University of Pennsylvania, the president there resigned, too.

The Department of Education has launched discrimination investigations into multiple colleges and universities. Numerous lawsuits have been filed against Ivy League schools, state universities and more.

Big donors have either pulled their money from some institutions or are threatening to do so.

A firestorm is raging on America’s most prestigious campuses, ignited four months ago by the Hamas terror attack on Israel and the catastrophic war in Gaza, and now stirring up some of the most difficult and polarizing subjects in the country — antisemitism, DEI, leadership and accountability, and election year, culture war politics.

With Retro Report, FRONTLINE investigates this historic moment of crisis on America’s college campuses in Crisis on Campus (w/t), a documentary coming in spring 2024. The film is supported by Exploring Hate, The WNET Group’s reporting initiative on the roots and rise of hate in America and around the world.

Director and correspondent James Jacoby and an award-winning team (Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover, Amazon Empire, The Facebook Dilemma) track the story from its earliest days — from campus antisemitic rhetoric and violence, to the doxxing of pro-Palestinian students, to massive pro-Palestinian demonstrations around the country, to the pivotal clash between college presidents and Rep. Elise Stefanik over antisemitism, to the leadership upheavals that followed, and the competing claims of what it all means from the political left and right.

About FRONTLINE
FRONTLINE, U.S. television’s longest running investigative documentary series, explores the issues of our times through powerful storytelling. FRONTLINE has won every major journalism and broadcasting award, including 106 Emmy Awards and 31 Peabody Awards. Visit pbs.org/frontline and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to learn more. FRONTLINE is produced at GBH in Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional support for FRONTLINE is provided by the Abrams Foundation, Park Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Heising-Simons Foundation, and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund, with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen.

About Retro Report
Retro Report is a New York City-based, independent, nonprofit news organization committed to enhancing civic engagement and critical thinking through award-winning documentaries and educational resources. Retro Report produces documentaries that explore contemporary issues through their historical lens and human impact, often bringing untold stories to light. Retro Report has worked in partnership with PBS, The New York Times, PBS Frontline, PBS NewsHour, The New Yorker, Scientific American, Time, Vox, VICE, and others. They have been honored with 14 Edward R. Murrow Awards, 10 Emmy award nominations, three Mirror Award nominations, 11 Webby awards, a Gerald Loeb award, and many others.

About The WNET Group
The WNET Group creates inspiring media content and meaningful experiences for diverse audiences nationwide. It is the community-supported home of New York’s THIRTEEN – America’s flagship PBS station – WLIW21, THIRTEEN PBSKids, WLIW World and Create; NJ PBS, New Jersey’s statewide public television network; Long Island’s only NPR station WLIW-FM; ALL ARTS, the arts and culture media provider; newsroom NJ Spotlight News; and FAST channel PBS Nature. Through these channels and streaming platforms, The WNET Group brings arts, culture, education, news, documentary, entertainment and DIY programming to more than five million viewers each month. The WNET Group’s award-winning productions include signature PBS series Nature, Great Performances, American Masters and Amanpour and Company and trusted local news programs like NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi. Inspiring curiosity and nurturing dreams, The WNET Group’s award-winning Kids’ Media and Education team produces the PBS KIDS series Cyberchase, interactive Mission US history games, and resources for families, teachers and caregivers. A leading nonprofit public media producer for more than 60 years, The WNET Group presents and distributes content that fosters lifelong learning, including initiatives addressing poverty, jobs, economic opportunity, social justice, understanding and the environment. Through Passport, station members can stream new and archival programming anytime, anywhere. The WNET Group represents the best in public media. Join us.

Press Contact:
FRONTLINE — Suzanne Pinto, Senior Publicist | Suzanne_Pinto@wgbh.org, frontlinemedia@wgbh.org