Streaming Media Collection
Below are links to downloadable media clips produced by or in partnership with the Center for Social Media. As part of the School of Communication at American University, the Center's production lab strives to provide students and faculty the opportunity to create new media that support Center projects.

Copyright, the "Clearance Culture" & Fair Use

Stories Untold
(Quicktime; approx. 8 min.)
In 2004, Center director Pat Aufderheide and Peter Jaszi, director of the Program on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest at the Washington College of Law, released a study, Untold Stories: The Creative Consequences of the Rights Clearance Culture, that explored issues working documentary filmmakers' faced with copyright law. This short video summarizes the results of that study, and provides background for the newly released Documentary Filmmakers' Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use.

Documentary Filmmakers' Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use Press Release
(Windows Media Player, Quicktime & MP3; various lengths)
On November 18, 2005, members representing independent filmmaker professional organizations, media arts organizations, filmmakers and legal scholars gathered at American University to release the Statement. You can watch clips, or download the complete audio file.

Statement of Best Practices Category Example Clips
(Windows Media Player and Quicktime; various lengths)
Have you read the Statement, but still have questions? Check out this library of examples from each of the four categories outlined in the Statement designed to illustrate real-world application.

Future of Public Media

Making Your Documentary Matter 2005
(Quicktime, various lengths)
The first annual producer's workshop was held at the Center for Social Media at American University on February 7, 2005. The day of panels and screenings brought together filmmakers, studenst, non-profits and audience engagement experts to share tools for using media as a tool for social change. In addition to the video clips, you may read the rapporteur's summary by Barbara Abrash in Public Media Resources.

"In the "Global Village," Where is "the Public Square?"
David Liroff, Vice President of Education and Chief Technology Office for WGBH in Boston, kicked off the first of the Center's new Public Media Roundtable series with a discussion of the importance of public media to the democratic process. You may also read a written transcription of Liroff's speech in Public Media Resources.

Global Voices Summit: Many to Many (Quicktime, approx. 12 min.)
This is a short video by Marty Lucas that reports findings from the 2005 Global Voices Summit. The summit and Lucas' later interview reinforce the importance of new media practices such as blogging in the new public media landscape. You may also read Lucas' report and a report by Noelle McAfee in Public Media Resources.