Media Under Siege
The Hamptons International Film Festival’s SummerDocs series will kick off its 2017 season with “Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press” on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Guild Hall in East Hampton. Alec Baldwin will host the screening.
The film focuses on the implications of Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker Media for violating his privacy by posting a brief clip from a sex tape. Mr. Hogan, whose suit was backed by Peter Thiel, a Silicon Valley billionaire who had his own bitterness about Gawker, was awarded $140 million. As a result, the digital media outlet declared bankruptcy and put itself up for sale.
The film sheds light on how big money can silence media through legal means, as well as the perils and duties of the free press in a digital age. Tickets are $25, $23 for museum members.