http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/ The Center for Social Media showcases and analyzes strategies to use media as creative tools for public knowledge and action. It focuses on social documentaries for civil society and democracy, and on the public media environment that supports them. The Center is part of the School of Communication at American University. en-us socialmedia@american.edu Copyright 2010 2010-03-03T18:50:28+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/ucla_does_the_right_thing_by_fair_use/ UCLA, which in January yanked down videos being streamed for classroom use as a result of bullying by a trade association has rediscovered that educators have fair use rights. Now, UCLA professors can post videos again within their passworded class sites online. In a UCLA press release, Christine Borgman, chair of the Information Technology Planning Board and UCLA Presidential Professor of Information Studies, said, "The UCLA faculty and administration quickly reached consensus on both the need to restore these essential instructional services and to assert our rights to use intellectual property within the bounds of existing copyright laws.” While UCLA pointed to special educational exemptions, it rested its argument on fair use. The press release also noted that UCLA plays… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-03-03T18:50:28+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/ucla_does_the_right_thing_by_fair_use/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/stupid_takedown_tricks/ Remix videos, mashups, memorials, fan videos and other works that build in copyrighted material sometimes get taken down from YouTube and other video sites, because automatic bot programs identify copyrighted material. And then stupidity ensues. All the audio in Larry Lessig’s February speech to the Open Video Alliance was recently taken down because Warner Music Group identified some copyrighted material in clips of remixes that he used, to demonstrate the vitality of emergent participatory culture. (You can still watch it on Blip TV, though.) Journalists and the Electronic Frontier Foundation cried foul, and Lessig will contest it. And it will go back up. But YouTube needs to build into its service the human touch—an actual person needs to make a… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-03-03T15:01:37+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/stupid_takedown_tricks/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/loni_ding_social_documentarian/ Loni Ding -- documentary filmmaker, university teacher, and media activist – died on Saturday, February 20, 2010 in Berkeley, California. She exemplified the best in the way social documentarians can expand the public sphere. She did this by working to create public institutions to showcase underrepresented voices in American life, and by creating work that not only raised awareness but encouraged meaningful discussion and debate. Her film work had immediate and long-lasting impact, including influencing Congressional action on redress for Japanese-American internment during World War II. A tireless advocate for social issue documentary, she played a central role in the creation of the National Asian American Telecommunication Association (now Center for Asian American Media), ITVS, and the Association of Independent… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-02-26T20:08:57+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/loni_ding_social_documentarian/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/lessig_fair_use_and_open_video_alliance/ The Open Video Alliance, which pushes for more and better open-source tools to make, edit, showcase and access video, held a dramatic demonstration of the power of open source on Feb. 25. A speech by copyright guru Larry Lessig was beamed via open-source codec Ogg Theora to more than 40 venues around the world. American University was one of them; a group of the copyright-curious gathered to watch the speech, which was only occasionally garbled. Lessig spoke passionately about the vitality of remix, or read-write culture, and the need for “free/fair” copyright policies. He then urged people to work to get corporate money out of Congress, so that better copyright policies could be passed. I was thrilled to see the… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-02-26T19:40:31+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/lessig_fair_use_and_open_video_alliance/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/true_tales_of_fair_use_the_most_dangerous_man_in_america/ One of the most impressive recent social documentaries, The Most Dangerous Man in America, has been nominated for an Academy Award. It tells the story of Daniel Ellsberg’s decision to release the Pentagon Papers—a story full of important parallels for today. The film is beginning its theatrical release, and we hope to bring it to campus soon. Meanwhile, there’s an excellent interview with directors Judy Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith in Filmmaker magazine this month, in which Rick references the Center’s work: “We had a very interesting experience with the fair-use issue. I don’t know how much you’re familiar with Pat Aufderheide and that whole movement, to make that more clear and get filmmakers the right to do it legally. We… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-02-26T18:17:08+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/true_tales_of_fair_use_the_most_dangerous_man_in_america/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/debating_the_news_crisis_on_grittv/ Noted independent reporter and commentator Laura Flanders hosts GRITtv, a daily news, arts and culture show aired on cable, satellite and online. She invited me and Tracy Van Slyke, my coauthor for Beyond the Echo Chamber, onto the show yesterday to discuss the transformation of journalism. We tackled a few interesting questions, including whether the recent layoffs in broadcast news will really matter, and why bloggers continue to focus on the Beltway despite a flood of new grassroots content. How can both legacy and independent producers move "beyond pale, male and stale," to inform and empower underserved audiences? Check out the interview to learn more. News from the Future of Public Media 2010-02-25T19:06:28+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/debating_the_news_crisis_on_grittv/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/fair_use_question_of_the_month/ QUESTION: Dear Center for Social Media, I'm working on a documentary film that makes substantial use of video footage and photographs, all of which was shot by one person (the subject of my film), and all of which I have permission to use. Here's my question: the subject of the film took his video footage and pictures and cut together music videos, and I'm very sure he didn't license the music. I'd like to be able to use some pieces of the music videos in my film, because I feel they are critical to illustrating certain points I'd like to make (namely, about his life as a soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan, and how he was developing as a filmmaker… News from the Future of Public Media 2010-02-23T18:20:58+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/fair_use_question_of_the_month/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/fair_use_at_diversifying_participation/ The Diversifying Participation conference held at the University of California, San Diego on Feb. 18-20 and headed by USC’s Henry Jenkins, marked the consolidation of a research field, digital learning. Funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and showcasing many MacArthur-funded projects, the conference featured creative overlaps between educators, youth media practitioners, digital designers, gamers, nonprofit institutions and funders. The overcrowded space—this was one hot ticket—was crammed with panels, so I can’t claim to have even sampled the best, but there was a lot to learn. Our panel on fair use for digital education was alive with questions about negotiating students’ desires to sample the world of copyrighted expression for their remixes and commentaries. Sasha Constanza-Chock (who… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-02-22T15:49:25+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/fair_use_at_diversifying_participation/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/how_do_different_communities_of_producers_judge_the_impact_of_their_media_p/ This article was co-authored by Katie Donnelly. Over the past few months, we've been presenting MediaShift readers with a picture of a more dynamic, engaged, public media future. But how are Public Media 2.0 projects measuring their success in informing and engaging publics? Embracing Digital: A Review of Public Media Efforts Across the United States, a report by Gupta Consulting, gives us an idea of the scope of the challenge: Very few stations define success with concrete metrics. Most examples are anecdotal. ("I just have a sense.") What they consider to be "successful" is very subjective. Those that do have an idea of what success means to them include metrics such as page views, unique users, and calls into station… News from the Future of Public Media 2010-02-17T15:53:31+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/how_do_different_communities_of_producers_judge_the_impact_of_their_media_p/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/fair_use_day_on_npr/ Currently on NPR you can listen to Weekend Edition's report on Fair Use Day. Center's Director Pat Aufderheide is interviewed as well as other experts such as Gigi Sohn and Johnathan McIntosh. The piece originally aired Saturday, February 13. Listen to it now! When Fair Use Isn't Fair To some in Hollywood and the music industry, there's a fine line between using movie and audio clips to create new works and flat-out copyright infringement. Joel Rose reports on the some of the intricacies in fair-use law. News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-02-15T17:06:09+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/fair_use_day_on_npr/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/where_is_your_line_partners_with_mtv/ Where is Your Line?, a project that will be demoed at the soon-to-be-rescheduled Making Your Media Matter conference, has partnered with MTV to have an open conversation about the recognition of abuse and sexuality among teenagers. Nancy Schwartzman, who heads up this project, wrote the following on the project's website: Since its launch, our team has been watching MTV’s “A Thin Line,” a campaign, dedicated to raising awareness of “Digital Abuse,” and helping teens untangle normal versus unhealthy relationship dynamics. They focus on how cell phones can amplify and exacerbate abusive behaviors. Some of my favorite slogans are: It’s a thin line between attentive/obsessive, curious/controlling, love/abuse. I was thinking that we over here at The Line Campaign, have a lot… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-02-14T22:44:39+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/where_is_your_line_partners_with_mtv/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/students_for_free_culture_want_their_fair_use/ The Students for a Free Culture conference, hashtag #fcx, drew participants from throughout the U.S., who negotiated filthy weather on their way to Washington, D.C. Organizer Ben Moskowitz congratulated them not only for making their way through the snow, but also for recognizing the importance of Washington, D.C. for people who care about copyright and creativity. Students for a Free Culture started out in 2003 when a couple of Swarthmore students hacked into Diebold company emails showing how shaky and riggable electronic voting machines were. The organization now has dozens of chapters all over the country and internationally, and it focuses on making information in the higher educational environment as open and accessible as possible. Saturday was full of great… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-02-14T16:32:34+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/students_for_free_culture_want_their_fair_use/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/join_us_monday_night_on_twitter_for_the_first_public_media_chat/ On Monday night, I'm cohosting the first of what we hope will become a weekly chat about public media 2.0. Karen Everhart of Current explains: Public media advocates are experimenting with a new kind of forum: holding a live simultaneous chat using Twitter, the microblogging social network. The first chat is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 15, 2010, at 8 p.m. Eastern. To prepare, organizers are soliciting ideas for discussion via Twitter. Interested people can tweet their suggestions using the hashtag #pubmedia (and read others’ ideas by searching for #pubmedia). To participate, follow @pubmedia for regular updates and to join the Feb. 15 chat. For the Twitter-averse, there are alternative channels: the blog PubMediaChat.org has a feed of the Twitter posts,… News from the Future of Public Media 2010-02-13T16:13:23+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/join_us_monday_night_on_twitter_for_the_first_public_media_chat/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/beyond_the_echo_chamber_book_party_rescheduled_to_tomorrow_night/ In DC and sick of sitting around your house watching the snow blow? Join us on Thursday night, 6:30 at Busboys and Poets (14th and V) for the launch of Beyond the Echo Chamber: Reshaping Politics Through Networked Progressive Media! Hope to see you there. News from the Future of Public Media 2010-02-10T21:13:25+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/beyond_the_echo_chamber_book_party_rescheduled_to_tomorrow_night/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/making_your_media_matter_rescheduling_and_refund_information/ We apologize for the inconvenience that canceling the Making Your Media Matter conference might have caused some attendees, but given the current weather conditions in the area, we are assured this decision was for the best. We have not yet decided on a rescheduled date for the conference, but it will likely be later this spring. All registrations will be honored for the rescheduled date. If you are unable to come to the new date when it is announced, we will begin processing refunds on registration. We will be back in touch soon with more details regarding the rescheduled conference. News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-02-10T16:00:57+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/making_your_media_matter_rescheduling_and_refund_information/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/making_your_media_matter_is_postponed/ Making Your Media Matter is postponed. It was a tough decision, and we thought until today that we could still hold the event. But the combination of more snow, American University closings (and the possibility of more), airport closings (and the possibility of more), and transportation chaos all around the DC area convinced us that postponement would be the wiser choice. We don’t think even a wonderful event is worth taking crazy risks to get here. And we really don’t want you coming here to find out that we can’t open the doors! I’m really sorry about inconveniencing you. I’m also sorry I won’t be spending Thursday and Friday getting inspired by the amazing people who come to the conference… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-02-09T21:01:21+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/making_your_media_matter_is_postponed/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/making_media_work_webcast_today/ Due to the inclement weather, New America Foundation is closed today and they are not able to host in-person attendees. The previously scheduled conference, "Making Media Work" will not be held. This event, however, is proceeding as scheduled in a webcast-only format. You can tune in on this page at 12:15 ET / 9:15 PT today. Please join in the conversation via Twitter -- use the hashtags of #beyondecho and #mpinaf. The economics of media have been turned upside down in recent years, and many organizations are still struggling to make sense of the new landscape. Authors Jessica Clark and Tracy Van Slyke focus on the rise of a new progressive media in their just-published book, Beyond the Echo Chamber,… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-02-09T16:39:10+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/making_media_work_webcast_today/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/how_do_you_measure_medias_influence_in_a_networked_ecosystem/ Influence is one of the "elements of impact" that we're exploring in this series of blog posts leading up to the Making Your Media Matter conference. How can we best evaluate the role of public media projects in shaping users' understanding of an issue, moving users to action (whether that's seeking further information, voting, or political organizing), or affecting policymaking? These are by no means new questions. Throughout the 20th century, scholars, journalists and political commentators offered up various and often competing theories about the influence of mass media. Studies of related fields of communication—advertising and PR, propaganda, campaigning, entertainment—shed light on the prospects for media to move people to what critics often characterized as negative forms of action: impulse… News from the Future of Public Media 2010-02-06T19:14:48+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/how_do_you_measure_medias_influence_in_a_networked_ecosystem/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/realscreen_and_cold_realities/ RealScreen Summit, February 1-3, the annual coming together of documentary cable programmers and hopeful producers, is also an annual cold shower in the realities of making television today. At a panel on product placement in reality programming, one speaker said with not a trace of irony (and remarkable clarity), “Our audiences come to us to escape from reality. That’s the first thing we have to satisfy.” A keynote speaker celebrated the fact that changing technologies make it ever more possible for content producers to tailor their content to the needs of advertisers. The overarching theme seemed to be, Embrace the advertiser. The road to audience attention seemed to be ever more edge-of-seat sensationalism. The makers of “Whale Wars,” a Discovery… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-02-04T14:50:44+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/realscreen_and_cold_realities/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/voice_for_the_voiceless_a_table_talk_lunch_series_at_kay/ On Thursday January 28th, American University's Kay Spiritual Life Center’ sponsored a panel, Tweets & Blogs: Social Media as a Voice for the Voiceless. (CSM cosponsored.) The speakers included:. Emily Jacobi is the Co-Founder and Director of Digital Democracy, a New York-based nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering civic engagement through digital technologies. David Johnson is a Professor of Journalism at American University and teaches courses in digital journalism, interactive storytelling and convergence media. Matt Wood is the Associate Director of the Media Access Project, non-profit law firm and advocacy organization. Emily Jacobi from Digital Democracy began the talk with a Powerpoint reviewing her current work in Burma, Moldova and Haiti.You can watch it on Slideshare here Of particular note is… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-02-01T21:44:12+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/voice_for_the_voiceless_a_table_talk_lunch_series_at_kay/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/crying_shame_at_ucla_fair_use_videos_and_higher_ed/ The University of California at Los Angeles has decided to forbid teachers from posting videos (or, apparently, pieces of them) to their electronic teaching platforms, after an educational media association complained about the practice. It is just a crying shame that UCLA has capitulated to the association’s demands, without considering the effect either on pedagogical practice in its own institution or on the wider world of higher education. (Read about it at Inside Higher Ed here.) The original provisions of Sec. 110 of the Copyright Act, special educational exemptions, were never designed for the digital era, and the amendments to it provided under the 2003 TEACH ACT are crabbed and constrained, the product of tough negotiations between the relatively weak… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-01-30T19:22:10+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/crying_shame_at_ucla_fair_use_videos_and_higher_ed/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/true_tales_of_fair_use_katy_chevigny/ Going into the fifth year after the publishing of Filmmakers’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use, filmmakers are beginning to be each other’s teachers. On a recent trip to New York, I had the pleasure of dining with Katy Chevigny, executive director of Arts Engine. Along with making splendid films, Arts Engine runs the Media That Matters film festival. Katy Chevigny is a “born again” fair user, she says. She also teaches about fair use, both at the IFP Rough Cut Lab and with Arts Engine’s Media That Matters filmmakers. She tells a compare-and-contrast story that’s worth sharing. “When I made Deadline [a film on the death penalty], I was not yet educated in fair us and I was… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-01-28T20:58:05+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/true_tales_of_fair_use_katy_chevigny/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/media_makers_have_your_sayfcc_call_for_comments_and_the_free_press_communit/ The Federal Communications Commission has issued an unprecedented call for comments on the future of media, and the information needs of communities in a digital age. If you're concerned about this topic, don't miss this chance to weigh in on the debate about how policy can shape our media ecosystem. You don't need to be a lawyer or a lobbyist to contribute; as the call for comments notes: The future of media is a topic of great consequence to all Americans, so this discussion should not be the purview of only communications companies and their Washington representatives. All Americans rely on the availability of national, international and local news and information. Consumers can offer views or analysis either through the… News from the Future of Public Media 2010-01-27T17:07:09+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/media_makers_have_your_sayfcc_call_for_comments_and_the_free_press_communit/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/center_for_social_media_featured_on_miro_guide/ Great news! The Center for Social Media's blip.tv channel, where we host all of the videos from our events (like the Human Rights Film Series and last year's Making Your Media Matter) is being featured on the Miro Channel Guide here. Check out the promo for our upcoming Making Your Media Matter Conference, and sign up for the RSS feed of our videos, so you can always see the latest that's happening at the Center! News from the Future of Public Media 2010-01-27T15:38:20+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/center_for_social_media_featured_on_miro_guide/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/public_participation_as_public_media_digital_participation_and_the_national/ We're pleased to present this guest post from Christopher Ali, doctoral student at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Ali holds an MA in Media Studies from Concordia University in Montreal and his research interests include local and community media, broadcasting, and telecommunication policy in Canada and the United States. The Center for Social Media defines “public media” as platforms and projects that convene publics around shared issues. In this post, I’d like to take that notion one step further, to include that of public participation in policy making through digital platforms. Take for instance the National Broadband Plan (NBP). For the past few months the Federal Communications Commission has scoured the nation in search of… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-01-27T15:35:01+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/public_participation_as_public_media_digital_participation_and_the_national/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/voices_of_terezin_art_as_a_strategy_for_survival/ The Center has partnered up with organizations and schools all over campus in an effort to remember survivors of a prison camp from World War II in a city northwest of Prague called Terezin. The camp, during the course of the war held about 100,000 people, a large number of which were artists and musicians. We'll be featuring the film Fighter as part of the program but not until April 7th. In the meantime, check out some of the other amazing events leading up to a play March 19-21 at the Katzen Arts Center. For more information please visit: http://www.american.edu/cla/terezin. Not included below but relevant to the Terezin project, the Goethe Institute and the JCC of Greater Baltimore are premiering… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-01-27T14:50:39+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/voices_of_terezin_art_as_a_strategy_for_survival/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/fair_use_question_of_the_month_im_using_clips_from_a_tv_show_to_make_a_musi/ Hello, QUESTION: Dear Center for Social Media, I have a question that seems to have been touched on, but I'm not sure about my situation and if/where it falls within the Code. I have recently decided to create a music video to a favorite childhood television show. The visuals for the music video are various clips from the show, which is currently the subject of Youtube removals. I also used some music from Youtube that is not, to my knowledge, being removed. My question: Is taking clips from a tv series and stringing them into a short music video changing its meaning or purpose, or would it not be considered fair use because it's overusing the tv and music clips?… News from the Future of Public Media 2010-01-27T14:21:45+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/fair_use_question_of_the_month_im_using_clips_from_a_tv_show_to_make_a_musi/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/fair_use_at_the_sundance_film_festival/ The Sundance Film Festival isn’t just a showcase for movies, but also a place to meet people and exchange information. At the Filmmakers’ Lodge, the festival annually provides space to nonprofits supporting independents at their Outreach Table. Here’s Center fellow Mike Shubbuck’s report from the (cold) front at the 2010 fest: “On Jan. 24 I had the pleasure of introducing some of the Center for Social Media's reports to filmmakers at the Sundance Film Festival’s Outreach Table. Although it was a Sunday morning, quite a few people stopped by to learn more about topics that the Center covers, such as fair use. After talking with a number of documentary filmmakers, what was surprising to me was how many of them… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-01-26T19:10:45+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/fair_use_at_the_sundance_film_festival/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/vote_for_pat_as_a_gamechanger_at_wemedia_feb._3_deadline/ The Center’s Pat Aufderheide was nominated as a GameChanger by members of the WeMedia community. If enough people vote for her, Pat could be chosen to give a keynote at the WeMedia annual conference, where cutting-edge strategies in collaborative and participatory media are featured. It was Pat’s work on fair use that attracted attention in the WeMedia community. Fair use, which creates a “floating” public domain composed of copyrighted work, is a critical tool for a vibrant participatory culture. It’s also a critical part of the movement to loosen restrictive copyright, or what Cory Doctorow calls “copyfighting.” Please vote for Pat here: http://wemedia.com/awards/2010-community-choice-finalists/. And tell your friends! Thanks so much. News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-01-26T14:47:28+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/vote_for_pat_as_a_gamechanger_at_wemedia_feb._3_deadline/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/fair_use_in_the_military/ On January 22, communications experts from the Department of Defense got together in northern Virginia, to share their challenges with incorporating social media. It was an honor to make a presentation on fair use. This was a knowledgeable, engaged, and (as is typical of the military) nicely diverse crowd. I learned a lot too. It’s not as easy as you might think to bring Twitter and Facebook to the Army, as the creators of my.army.mil and of the site for JIEDDO (Joint IED Defeat Organization) explained. Government sites can’t have advertising on them, and need customized applications; generals may not really want to share information; someone has to decide what level of security a piece of tweeted information actually is;… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-01-25T20:32:08+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/fair_use_in_the_military/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/fair_use_at_educause_learning_initiative/ At Educause's Learning Initiative conference, the tech experts at universities around the country get together to compare notes on how best to use technology to help learning. At this year's meeting on Jan. 19 in Austin, TX, members discussed with me how university copyright policies get in their way. They need fair use to be able to help faculty and students make videos for class; to help faculty understand what they can and can’t put on their websites; to help librarians move productively to a digital environment. Too often they face general counsels who don’t know the law, faculty who deal with copyright confusion by trying to hide material on their Blackboard sites, and librarians using inaccurate, limited or outdated… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-01-25T20:22:39+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/fair_use_at_educause_learning_initiative/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/check_out_this_interview_with_precious_producer_lisa_cortes/ As we gear up for next month's Making Your Media Matter Conference on February 11 & 12 (if you haven't yet registered, you still can here), we're looking forward to hearing what Lisa Cortes, producer of Precious, is going to have to say on our Fiction for Change panel. Since its debut at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, Precious has been making waves for its gripping portrayal of 16 year-old Precious, an obese, illiterate and pregnant teenager who is struggling to change the direction of her life. As SVP of Production for Lee Daniels Entertainment, Lisa Cortes is responsible for finding and developing new projects and directors. Her other producing credits include Shadowboxer and The Woodsman, but she began as… News from the Future of Public Media 2010-01-25T15:34:03+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/check_out_this_interview_with_precious_producer_lisa_cortes/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/assessing_how_media_spurs_engagement_responses_to_the_haiti_crisis/ How can media best be used in response to a sudden and devastating crisis? The outpouring of coverage, aid and volunteer labor that followed the catastrophic January 12 earthquake in Haiti reveals the myriad of strategies that producers of both old and new media are using to inform and mobilize publics around this disaster. Celebrities appeal for dollars—and users jam circuits in rush to respond TV hosts, entertainment and political celebrities, and high profile journalists have all been offering up air and face time to convince viewers to contribute aid. This is traditional fundraising in a broadcast mode—capitalizing on mass appeal to capture as many eyeballs and dollars as possible. There's no doubt that this works—Larry King's January 18 Haiti… News from the Future of Public Media 2010-01-23T19:10:04+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/assessing_how_media_spurs_engagement_responses_to_the_haiti_crisis/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/assessing_inclusion_as_a_central_element_of_public_media_2.0/ On February 11-12 the Center will be holding its annual Making Your Media Matter conference, and this year’s theme is “Real Stories, Real Impact.” Leading up to the conference, and over the course of the spring Research Fellow Katie Donnelly and I will be examining methods for assessing various elements that contribute to high-impact public media projects. At their best, such public media 2.0 projects reach millions of diverse users. They rely on the media makers to provide trusted, relevant content and tools that engage them to effectively tackle and solve contested problems, and to influence public debates through personal or collective deliberation and action. Each of these elements of impact—reach, inclusion, trustworthiness, relevance, engagement and influence—play a supporting role… News from the Future of Public Media 2010-01-15T21:00:26+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/assessing_inclusion_as_a_central_element_of_public_media_2.0/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/worlds_fair_use_day/ The Washington, D.C. public interest organization Public Knowledge hosted World’s Fair Use Day on January 12, providing a much-needed focus on fair use as a key asset of copyright policy. For too long, chic chat on copyright has focused on the (all too real) creative stranglehold of “long and strong” copyright ownership, without featuring part of the solution: the highly flexible and adaptable doctrine of fair use. This lively day demonstrated that fair use has become a central part of copyright reform, and that a large part of that reform is within the grasp of anyone who wants to educate themselves about their rights. Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA) kicked off the day, having discovered the importance of fair use when… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2010-01-13T15:34:02+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/worlds_fair_use_day/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/fair_use_question_of_the_month_its_fair_use_in_my_film_but_what_about_on_th/ QUESTION: Dear Center for Social Media, I'm working on a documentary about the history of American journalism--particularly the points in history when journalists were able to use their profession to uncover the truth, or "speak truth to power," like Watergate. We've interviewed a number of journalists for the film, but we're also making substantial use of newsreel footage and archival photographs. I've read the Documentary Filmmakers Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use, and it's been really helpful. I feel like I have a good understanding of where I can claim fair use in the film, but I still have a question. We are also building a website where we'd like to use some of the archival photographs from these… News from the Future of Public Media 2010-01-04T17:18:39+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/fair_use_question_of_the_month_its_fair_use_in_my_film_but_what_about_on_th/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/in_2010_the_future_of_public_media_project_moves_from_analysis_to_action/ After many months of deliberation about "What is public media?" pieces have started to fall into place. Public broadcasting leaders, innovators both within and outside of the sector, nonprofit and educational leaders, funders, and policymakers are all shifting into a new gear—and they're looking to the reports and tools that CSM has created for guidance about how best to transform to serve publics in an open, participatory media ecosystem. Interest in public media 2.0 outside of the usual circles is also growing. I spent the last few months of 2009 describing related possibilities and complications to a range of audiences. At the Library of Congress, I suggested to attendees of the annual FLICC Forum that the "future of reading" might… News from the Future of Public Media 2009-12-27T00:14:00+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/in_2010_the_future_of_public_media_project_moves_from_analysis_to_action/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/why_does_public_media_2.0_matter/ Don't miss this recent short by Nonso Christian Ugbode of the National Black Programming Consortium on why public media 2.0 matters: Why Does Public Media 2.0 Matter? from Nonso Christian Ugbode on Vimeo. We are excited to partner up with NBPC in their upcoming Public Media Corps project. Over at Current, Ugbode explores the potential of this project further, asking: Is public media — often slow to innovate or take risks — capable of creating this new media town square on your TV, on your computer, on your phone? Do public media have a chance of reaching as many Americans as the audiences of commercial media such as CNN? Not today. As it stands, public media's resources for experimentation and… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2009-12-17T17:35:41+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/why_does_public_media_2.0_matter/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/missed_mary_lampson_and_taking_root/ As part of the Center's Human Rights Film Series, documentary film editor Mary Lampson was on campus on October 15th to screen one of her latest projects,Taking Root, and to present a filmmaking master class to students on working as an editor in documentary film. It was great to have her on campus, and a wonderful learning experience for all. If you couldn’t make it to the screening and the class, you can still watch clips from them here. Also, keep an eye out for our Pull Focus interview with Mary, where we will discuss her editing process for Taking Root and her other projects—it should go live in the next few weeks! In the meantime, here is the Q… News from the Future of Public Media 2009-12-10T16:58:36+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/missed_mary_lampson_and_taking_root/ http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/new_report_on_copyright_and_doc_filmmaking_in_south_africa/ The International Copyright Balance and Documentary Film Project of American University, is releasing a groundbreaking report and film on the experiences of South African documentary filmmakers with copyright clearance obligations. The report and film, sponsored by the Ford Foundation, are being simultaneously released at a film screening and workshops with filmmakers December 10-12, 2009, in Johannesburg, South Africa, and on the web at wcl.american.edu/pijip/go/internationalfilm. The report finds that in South Africa as in other countries, documentary filmmakers need to quote other material-including music, still images, news footage or even images from commercial films-in order to tell their stories. Such material is normally copyrighted. Copyright laws in South Africa and around the world allow for the use of such material by… News from the Future of Public Media, Copyright & Fair Use 2009-12-10T15:30:02+00:00 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/new_report_on_copyright_and_doc_filmmaking_in_south_africa/