The Radio Television Digital News Association on Friday rescinded its 2023 Edward R. Murrow Award to an acclaimed Afghanistan war documentary that has been criticized for allegedly endangering some of the Afghans who appear in the film.
The unprecedented decision to strip the prestigious journalism award from National Geographic for director Matthew Heineman’s “Retrograde” follows revelations in a Washington Post article earlier this year that filmmakers showed the faces of Afghan contractors who cleared mines for U.S. soldiers despite being warned by at least five active-duty and former U.S. military service members not to do so.
One of the Afghans, whose face is shown in close-up, was captured by the Taliban shortly after the film’s December 2022 release and died from wounds inflicted by torturers while he was being held, according to an interpreter and two others who spoke to The Post on the condition of anonymity to describe the sequence of events without imperiling themselves and their own families in Afghanistan.
Heineman and producer Caitlin McNally told The Post at the time that they had “no recollection” of warnings and that it would be “deeply wrong” to blame the film for the man’s death. After being contacted by The Post with questions about the film, National Geographic and its owner, Disney, removed “Retrograde” from streaming services.
National Geographic did not respond to a request for comment. Heineman and McNally referred a request for comment to Theodore Boutrous Jr., a First Amendment attorney who represents them and who has also represented journalism organizations, including The Post.
“The RTDNA says that it ‘conducted its own review ... into the filmmaking process’ but you have to be deeply skeptical about the nature and thoroughness of that review, given that no one ever even contacted the filmmakers who produced ‘Retrograde’ in a manner fully consistent with long-standing journalistic values,” Boutrous said in an email Sunday. “The RTDNA’s action is inexplicable and irresponsible.”
Sheryl Worsley, chair of the RTDNA board of directors, disputed the assertion that Heineman was not contacted, saying in an email to The Post on Sunday that an “RTDNA staff person reached out to Mr. Heineman via email on June 10, 2024, as part of the review process. No response from Mr. Heineman as a result of this outreach was ever received.” The Post has reviewed the June email.
Worsley also said via email Sunday that “RTDNA did connect with National Geographic and other individuals associated with the filmmaking process during their review.” The email did not specify which individuals.
On its website, the news association says its board of directors “received background information” about “Retrograde” following publication of The Post’s article in May, but it does not go into detail. “This decision was not made lightly and occurred only after an RTDNA-led review into the procedures and practices associated with the filmmaking process,” Worsley said in an initial statement emailed Friday to The Post.
The RTDNA board did not explain its reasoning for taking back the honor, which was awarded to National Geographic in October 2023 in the network feature-length documentary category.
The Murrow awards require adherence to RTDNA’s code of ethics, which includes a section on “accountability for consequences.”
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