Mixed Signals from Semafor Media Ken Burns on the future of PBS, the new age of media, and why documentaries will outlast TikTok
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Oct 31, 2025 
Renowned documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, known for his iconic works on the Civil War and Vietnam, discusses his return to the American Revolution. He shares insights on using reenactors and sound design to bring history alive. Ken draws fascinating parallels between the media of colonial times and today's landscape of misinformation. He expresses concern over recent PBS funding cuts and argues for the continued relevance of long-form documentaries in the age of TikTok. With a heartfelt plea for active citizenship, he emphasizes the importance of historical knowledge for understanding contemporary challenges.
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Timing Comes From Cumulative Work
- Ken Burns chose the American Revolution after decades of prior films because earlier projects built the scholarship and sensibility needed.
- He felt the timing and accumulated experience made tackling this foundational topic possible and urgent.
Reenactors As Cinematic Texture
- Burns filmed reenactors over six to seven years focusing on movements and details rather than faces to evoke battle scenes.
- He intercut reenactments with paintings and sound design to animate moments without photographs.
Early Press Mirrors Today's Media
- Burns finds the Revolutionary-era press eerily familiar: satire, propaganda, poetic prose, and circulating lies.
- He argues rhetoric escalated actions on both sides, making the era resonate with today's media dynamics.