The documentary “Running Towards the Fire: A War Correspondent’s Story,” directed and produced by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Barney McCoy, will have its television premiere at 8 p.m. May 23 on Nebraska Public Media’s PBS channel.
The film is scheduled to be rebroadcast at 5 p.m. May 26 on PBS; 4 a.m. May 27 on PBS; 8 p.m. May 28 on PBS; 6 p.m. May 29 on World; 4 a.m. May 30 on PBS; and 7 a.m. May 31 on World.
“Running Towards the Fire” captures the pivotal roles war correspondents played during the Allied forces’ 1944 D-Day invasion of Europe and subsequent defeat of Nazi Germany and the Axis powers in 1945. The war correspondents were unsung heroes who risked their lives informing the world with firsthand accounts of the bravery and sacrifice of American and Allied forces.
The documentary draws extensively from the previously unpublished memoirs of Robert Reuben. The Omaha-born war correspondent parachuted into Normandy, France, hours before the D-Day invasion and was the first journalist on the ground. Reuben chronicled the Allies’ liberation of France and Belgium and fierce fighting in Germany that forced the Nazis’ May 7, 1945, surrender.
“Running Towards the Fire” also pays tribute to the courage and resilience of the men and women who fought tyranny in World War II. Through newspaper articles, radio broadcasts and film reports, war correspondents such as Reuben boosted the morale of soldiers and civilians by highlighting the sacrifices they made in the pursuit of freedom.
“Running Towards the Fire” was produced with support from UNL’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications, Humanities Nebraska, The Donald and Lorena Meier Foundation, Nebraska Public Media and Painted Rock Productions.
For more information, click here.
