• by Tony Silber , June 15, 2022

Ready for season one of the new “All the President’s Men” series on Amazon Prime? How about a mini-series on the creation of the Washington Post’s “Democracy Dies In Darkness” slogan, which New York Times Editor Dean Baquet once jibed "sounds like the next Batman movie”?

Then there was the Post’s infamous 1980 episode, when the reporter Janet Cooke won a Pulitzer Prize for a report called “Jimmy’s World,” about an eight-year-old heroin addict. The report was completely fabricated and the Post returned the prize. That’s the stuff of high drama, too.

Well, some of this may be on the way.

The Post and Imagine Entertainment this week announced a strategic partnership to create film and television properties derived from The Post’s vast archives, current reporting, and ongoing investigations.

It’s a multiyear deal under which Imagine has an exclusive first look right to develop and produce projects.

“At The Post, we’re storytellers at heart,” Post Publisher and CEO Fred Ryan said in a report about the deal. “Whether it’s holding the powerful to account or shedding light on an exceptionally compelling narrative, we see tremendous untapped potential for extending the reach of our journalism. Partnering with Imagine, a leader in the entertainment industry, and the talented team at Creative Artists Agency, we look forward to connecting global audiences with essential and riveting Post reporting.”

Creative Artists Agency, which brokered the deal, represents both entities.

Imagine Entertainment Executive Chairman Brian Grazer said reporting of the truth is a hallmark of our democracy. “Nowhere is that pursuit more evident than within the pages of the Washington Post,” he added. “To have access to the world-class journalism and deep investigative reporting from Watergate to the recent conflict in Ukraine is a filmmaker’s dream."

In the report, the Post said this year marked the most dramatic journalism expansion in the organization’s history, with growth in coverage of such topics as  climate, health and wellness, and technology.

The Post was recently awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its coverage of the causes, costs and aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.