August 5, 2008Newsletter

The Center is looking forward to an exciting Fall season full of great events, and we hope you'll join us. Check out our film lineup for the 9th Annual Human Rights Film Series. This year, we're focusing on films that look at human rights issues in the U.S. We're also hosting speakers, including some of the filmmakers—Peter Gilbert and Steve James from Kartemquin Films, Sam Pollard , and Marco Williams, all major award-winning documentarians.

We're excited about the blogosphere buzz over our new Code of Best Practices for Fair Use in Online Video. Check out our Future of Public Media blog for the latest news: This month we've discussed the response to Beyond Broadcast, the challenges of managing communities of commenters for online publications, and much more. We're also impressed with the buzz that this year's Beyond Broadcast conference has generated. For more information, or to connect to videos and podcasts from the conference, see below.

Stay updated on the latest news in public media and fair use, and get tips on managing the challenges of social media—subscribe to our RSS feed!

2008 Human Rights Film Series
Human Rights at Home:
A Look At Human Rights In The U.S.
October 15-November 14, 2008

Our 9th Annual Human Rights Film Series showcases films that show how film and video can make a difference for human rights. All screenings are FREE and open to the public.

Screenings will take place at the Washington College of Law (WCL) campus and AU's Wechsler theater.

Visit our website for film synopses and full event details!

Banished
October 15, 2008, 6 pm, WCL
October 16, 2008, 5:30 pm, Wechsler Theatre

Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez
October 22, 2008, 6 pm, WCL
October 23, 2008, 5:30 pm, Wechsler Theatre

At the Death House Door
October 29, 2008, 6 pm, WCL
October 30, 2008, 5:30 pm, Wechsler Theatre

Special Event: Three Years After Katrina —
A week of events exploring the Gulf coast recovery

Film Screening: Cut Off
WCL Nov. 12 @ 6 pm

Film Screening: When the Levees Broke
AU Nov. 13 @ 5:30 pm

National FEMA Trailer Tour
Additional events are in the planning stage. Please check the web for info on additional events taking place throughout the week.

"Why Democracy" Field Report
As part of the Future of Public Media Project, the Center for Social Media has produced a series of field reports that examine innovative media projects for public knowledge and action. In this third report, Research Fellow Greg Fitzpatrick examines the "Why Democracy" project—an ambitious multi-platform, multi-country public broadcasting project—and demonstrates the opportunities and challenges for public media wishing to engage publics across global and digital divides.

Also, take a look at the Center's two other field reports on innovative public media:

• One World's Virtual Bali: When OneWorld.net launched a virtual meeting on global warming in Second Life, who came?
• Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes: How can a social issue documentary film campaign serve as a test bed for innovations that support civic dialog and expand the spaces and practices of public media?

Beyond Broadcast 2008 Videos, Podcasts and Downloads
You weren't able to make it to Beyond Broadcast, but you still want to know what was said? Or maybe you were there, but you'd like to revisit some of the highlights of the day? Either way, videos, podcasts and other downloads—including the transcript of Larry Irving's keynote speech and the Beyond Broadcast Rap Report—are available on the Center's website.

The Buzz around Beyond Broadcast Continues!
The Future of Public Media Project Director Jessica Clark reflects in this blog post on the many responses to the Beyond Broadcast Conference that was held in June—from Current's feature article about the event to the many attendees who were inspired and motivated by what they saw and heard there. Make sure to continue the discussion about Beyond Broadcast and the future of public media on our website, www.beyondbroadcast.net.

Innovation in Focus: PBS Vote 2008
This month, the Center focuses on PBS Vote 2008, a website that aggregates and highlights the best public media coverage of the 2008 election, and provides a whole host of online tools that allow people to engage with each other and discuss solutions to tough political issues.

Like the Center, PBS is part of the Ford Foundation Future of Public Media Initiative, a group of nonprofit organizations with a common goal to push forward into the future of public media. Read More>>

Political Remixers and Fair Use Best Practices
Center for Social Media Director Pat Aufderheide shares a recent discussion she had with New York-based remix artist Jonathan McIntosh about the ways in which the newly-released Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video can strengthen and protect artists who use online video.

Remix Sites Adopt Code of Best Practices
As communities of remixers, vidders, fan fictioneers, and other creative video makers are circulating the word about the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video, Internet video platforms are also doing the same. Blip.tv is letting its users know about the Code, as are Rocketboom, Remix America, and WITNESS. As well, several forward-looking entities in public television, which incorporate user-generated content into their work, have embraced it. These include the Independent Television Service (ITVS), all of the Minority Consortia of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the public TV documentary series P.O.V.

Professors, Remixers and the Code
In The Chronicle of Higher Education, Jeffrey Young did a special feature on the relevance of the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video to college teaching and learning.

Fair Use Question of the Month
Every month, the Center for Social Media answers a new question concerning fair use in documentary filmmaking. This month's question deals with using quotations to illustrate points being made in a film.

Have questions about Fair Use? Our Fair Use FAQ can help!
Do you have questions on Fair Use? Someone else may have already asked. Check out the new Fair Use FAQ, where our most frequently asked questions find answers. Past questions include using media clips in public radio, using news footage, and incidental use.

Producer's Guild Showcases Fair Use
The Producer's Guild of America in New York recently showcased the problem of how to interpret fair use, and a sizeable crowd attended the panel, which featured Best Practices Project Co-Director Peter Jaszi. A complete podcast of the panel on fair use and filmmakers is now available at ScribeMedia.org.

Free Film Screening: The Judge and the General
Join filmmaker Elizabeth Farnsworth for a FREE screening of The Judge and the General , the story of Chilean Judge Juan Guzmán, who was assigned to the first criminal case against ex-dictator Augusto Pinochet. The film is featured in the 2008 season of PBS's P.O.V.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with Elizabeth Farnsworth.

WHEN: August 6, 8 pm
WHERE: The Avalon Theater at 5612 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.

Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program - Request for Proposals
The Sundance Documentary Film Program, in partnership with the Skoll Foundation, will provide $1.2 million in film project grants to enable the development and/or production of new feature-length independent documentary films that frame, examine, and amplify social entrepreneurship as an innovative approach to the central questions of our time.

Deadline for Submissions: August 15, 2008
Awards announced: December 2008

Please visit sundance.org/DocSource and sundance.org/skoll to review Request for Proposals, find more information, and apply online.

Free Film Screening: Frontrunner
Come attend the Washington, D.C. premiere of Frontrunner , a film about a woman's heroic run for president of Afghanistan. The screening is free, but suggested donation proceeds will go to Women's Learning Partnership and WomenRULE.

For more information, visit the film's website, and to RSVP visit the film's Facebook page.

WHEN: October 7, 7 pm
WHERE: E Street Cinema at 555 11th St. NW 555 11th Street NW, Washington, D.C.