December 3, 2007Newsletter
Greetings!
As we gear up to welcome the new year and spring
semester, we look forward to the always-too-popular
2008
Making Your Media Matter conference. Secure your spot now! We'll
be featuring panels on cutting edge tech and social
media, cool demos,
networking opportunities, and a lot more! Read on to
find our new
Fair Use FAQ , and our new report on the PBS
series, P.O.V., a pioneer in public media. If
you're going to the Sundance Film Festival or the Consumer Electronics
Show please look for us. Have a great holiday
season!
Center's Upcoming Events
Registration for the 2008 Making Your Media
Matter conference is now open!
Who should come: Established and aspiring filmmakers, non-profit communications leaders, funders and students looking so learn and share cutting-edge practices in creating media that matters for public knowledge and action.
What you'll find: Panel discussions on the latest tools and trends in creating and distributing social issue media; demos of cutting edge practices; networking opportunities; and--yes--free lunch.
Click here to register and learn more - space will fill up quickly!
Special Screening in honor of MLK Day: Wit, Will and Walls
Jan. 23, 2008, 6:00 pm, Wechsler Theater, American University
Betty Kilby was just a young girl when she took the first steps to a lifetime of work in civil rights and justice for African-Americans in this area. Join us to meet the renowned Betty Kilby Fisher and local filmmaker Paulette Moore, and to view Moore's brand- new Wit, Will and Walls: The Betty Kilby Fisher Story. More information about the film can be found here. Visit our website for more details.
Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes - Free Film Screening
Wed., Feb. 6, 5:30 pm, Wechsler Theater, AU campus
HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, a film by Byron Hurt, takes an in-depth look at representations of manhood, sexism and homophobia in hip-hop culture. This groundbreaking documentary is a "loving critique" of disturbing developments in rap music culture by a fan who challenges the art form's representations of masculinity. Byron Hurt is also an ally of the Center in the good fight to expand fair use rights; Hip Hop reached screens in part because of the Center's fair-use best practices code.
Discussion to follow screening - check out our website for details. Center welcomes Spring 2008 Visiting Filmmakers
The Center is delighted to welcome this spring several filmmakers whose work exemplifies the best in public media. Mark your calendar, and join us for a series of FREE discussions:
Who should come: Established and aspiring filmmakers, non-profit communications leaders, funders and students looking so learn and share cutting-edge practices in creating media that matters for public knowledge and action.
What you'll find: Panel discussions on the latest tools and trends in creating and distributing social issue media; demos of cutting edge practices; networking opportunities; and--yes--free lunch.
Click here to register and learn more - space will fill up quickly!
Special Screening in honor of MLK Day: Wit, Will and Walls
Jan. 23, 2008, 6:00 pm, Wechsler Theater, American University
Betty Kilby was just a young girl when she took the first steps to a lifetime of work in civil rights and justice for African-Americans in this area. Join us to meet the renowned Betty Kilby Fisher and local filmmaker Paulette Moore, and to view Moore's brand- new Wit, Will and Walls: The Betty Kilby Fisher Story. More information about the film can be found here. Visit our website for more details.
Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes - Free Film Screening
Wed., Feb. 6, 5:30 pm, Wechsler Theater, AU campus
HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, a film by Byron Hurt, takes an in-depth look at representations of manhood, sexism and homophobia in hip-hop culture. This groundbreaking documentary is a "loving critique" of disturbing developments in rap music culture by a fan who challenges the art form's representations of masculinity. Byron Hurt is also an ally of the Center in the good fight to expand fair use rights; Hip Hop reached screens in part because of the Center's fair-use best practices code.
Discussion to follow screening - check out our website for details. Center welcomes Spring 2008 Visiting Filmmakers
The Center is delighted to welcome this spring several filmmakers whose work exemplifies the best in public media. Mark your calendar, and join us for a series of FREE discussions:
- Jan. 31:Ethics and Aesthetics in Advocacy Documentary, with Arts Engine's Katy Chevigny
- Feb. 21: Telling the Hardest Stories: Lion in the House, with Julia Reichert and Steve Bogner
- March 27: Digital Storytelling, with Center for Digital Storytelling's Stefani Sese
- April 3: Participatory Video for Social Change, with independent filmmaker Deedee Halleck
Future of Public Media
Look for the Center at Sundance Festival!
Even as the Sundance Film Festival skyrockets in commercial importance, it maintains mission-driven outposts that make it a must-go place for people making media for public knowledge and action. The Filmmaker Lodge's Outreach Table is a gathering spot for the nonprofit public media types, and the Center will be there between Jan. 18-22. The Filmmakers' Lodge is where some of the most interesting panels happen, too. Come by and pick up a Center for Social Media pen!
Celebrating the
Storyteller: Center Honors 20
Years of P.O.V.
For the past two decades, the PBS documentary series P.O.V. has put a human face on issues from around the globe, forging new forms of storytelling in public media.
In celebration of P.O.V.'s 20th Anniversary, the Center hosted a special reception on Nov. 1 and launched its latest report, The View from the Top: P.O.V. Leaders on the Struggle to Create Truly Public Media. Read more about the event and publication.
What does the cutting edge of public media look like?
The Ford Foundation Future of Public Media grantees, an alliance of leading nonprofits, continue to redefine the role of public media by forging new models and practices for the future. PBS has partnered with the Knight Foundation on the Idea Lab blog, ITVS's Global Mobile project brings together audiences from around the world on the topic of food, and OneWorld.net's OneClimate, which represents only a small part of the innovation that the group produces. Read more on the ground-breaking projects that are changing the face of public media.
CSM at IDFA: Reconstructing Public Media
Read the report by CSM Media Fellow Neil Sieling, fresh off the plane from his recent trip to the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), on new financing, new forms of productions, and new modes of distribution in documentary. Read more>>
Center Director Pat Aufderheide Releases New Book - Documentary Film: A Very Short Introduction
Center Director Pat Aufderheide's new book, Documentary Film: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Perss, $9.95) is now available, at bookstores (brick-and-mortar and online!) everywhere. The book provides an authoritative overview of the evolution of and controversies around this genre so fundamental to public knowledge and action. Check out our website to buy the book, read excerpts, and find out what people are saying about it.
The Audience as Patron of Public Media at the Sheffield Film Festival
Read Center Director Pat Aufderheide's blog report from the Sheffield Film Festival earlier in November, where emerging models to fund media for public knowledge and action were discussed.
Even as the Sundance Film Festival skyrockets in commercial importance, it maintains mission-driven outposts that make it a must-go place for people making media for public knowledge and action. The Filmmaker Lodge's Outreach Table is a gathering spot for the nonprofit public media types, and the Center will be there between Jan. 18-22. The Filmmakers' Lodge is where some of the most interesting panels happen, too. Come by and pick up a Center for Social Media pen!
For the past two decades, the PBS documentary series P.O.V. has put a human face on issues from around the globe, forging new forms of storytelling in public media.
In celebration of P.O.V.'s 20th Anniversary, the Center hosted a special reception on Nov. 1 and launched its latest report, The View from the Top: P.O.V. Leaders on the Struggle to Create Truly Public Media. Read more about the event and publication.
What does the cutting edge of public media look like?
The Ford Foundation Future of Public Media grantees, an alliance of leading nonprofits, continue to redefine the role of public media by forging new models and practices for the future. PBS has partnered with the Knight Foundation on the Idea Lab blog, ITVS's Global Mobile project brings together audiences from around the world on the topic of food, and OneWorld.net's OneClimate, which represents only a small part of the innovation that the group produces. Read more on the ground-breaking projects that are changing the face of public media.
CSM at IDFA: Reconstructing Public Media
Read the report by CSM Media Fellow Neil Sieling, fresh off the plane from his recent trip to the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), on new financing, new forms of productions, and new modes of distribution in documentary. Read more>>
Center Director Pat Aufderheide Releases New Book - Documentary Film: A Very Short Introduction
Center Director Pat Aufderheide's new book, Documentary Film: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Perss, $9.95) is now available, at bookstores (brick-and-mortar and online!) everywhere. The book provides an authoritative overview of the evolution of and controversies around this genre so fundamental to public knowledge and action. Check out our website to buy the book, read excerpts, and find out what people are saying about it.
The Audience as Patron of Public Media at the Sheffield Film Festival
Read Center Director Pat Aufderheide's blog report from the Sheffield Film Festival earlier in November, where emerging models to fund media for public knowledge and action were discussed.
Copyright and Fair Use
Look for the Center at CES on Jan. 7, Las Vegas!
At the Consumer Electronics Show, Center director Pat Aufderheide and law professor Peter Jaszi, who directs the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property in the Washington College of Law, will speak about online video and copyright. Many new makers of online video are freely quoting popular culture, but content providers such as NBC Universal and Viacom are eager to control the flow of copyrighted material. Will their efforts to limit piracy run head-on into video creators' rights to quote? Expect a vigorous discussion.
Want your questions on Fair Use Answered?? Check out the new Fair Use FAQ!
Due to the overwhelming number of inquires about our work on fair use and the Statement of Best Practices, we have compiled a list of our most frequently asked questions. In addition, we hope to share a new question with you every month via our fair use blog. This month's question is about fair use and access to footage. Check it out!
Internationalization of Fair Use at Sheffield Film Festival
Center director Aufderheide chaired a panel at the Sheffield Film Festival on international issues in licensing for documentary films. Read more>>
New Center report reveals copyright confusion hurts students, teachers and learning
The Cost of Copyright Confusion for Media Literacy, based on scores of longform interviews with teachers, shows that the fundamental goals of media literacy education-to cultivate critical thinking and expression about media and its social role-are compromised by unnecessary copyright restrictions. As a result of poor guidance, counterproductive guidelines, and fear, teachers use less effective teaching techniques, teach and transmit erroneous copyright information, fail to share innovative instructional approaches, and do not take advantage of new digital platforms.
This is not only unfortunate but unnecessary, since copyright law permits a wide range of uses of copyrighted material without permission or payment. However, educators today have no consensus around what constitutes acceptable fair use practices. The report concludes with a call for educators to develop a consensus around their interpretation of their most valuable copyright tool: fair use. Read more about the report and launch event>>
At the Consumer Electronics Show, Center director Pat Aufderheide and law professor Peter Jaszi, who directs the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property in the Washington College of Law, will speak about online video and copyright. Many new makers of online video are freely quoting popular culture, but content providers such as NBC Universal and Viacom are eager to control the flow of copyrighted material. Will their efforts to limit piracy run head-on into video creators' rights to quote? Expect a vigorous discussion.
Want your questions on Fair Use Answered?? Check out the new Fair Use FAQ!
Due to the overwhelming number of inquires about our work on fair use and the Statement of Best Practices, we have compiled a list of our most frequently asked questions. In addition, we hope to share a new question with you every month via our fair use blog. This month's question is about fair use and access to footage. Check it out!
Internationalization of Fair Use at Sheffield Film Festival
Center director Aufderheide chaired a panel at the Sheffield Film Festival on international issues in licensing for documentary films. Read more>>
New Center report reveals copyright confusion hurts students, teachers and learning
The Cost of Copyright Confusion for Media Literacy, based on scores of longform interviews with teachers, shows that the fundamental goals of media literacy education-to cultivate critical thinking and expression about media and its social role-are compromised by unnecessary copyright restrictions. As a result of poor guidance, counterproductive guidelines, and fear, teachers use less effective teaching techniques, teach and transmit erroneous copyright information, fail to share innovative instructional approaches, and do not take advantage of new digital platforms.
This is not only unfortunate but unnecessary, since copyright law permits a wide range of uses of copyrighted material without permission or payment. However, educators today have no consensus around what constitutes acceptable fair use practices. The report concludes with a call for educators to develop a consensus around their interpretation of their most valuable copyright tool: fair use. Read more about the report and launch event>>
Other News and Upcoming Events
"Virtual Bali" Gives People a Low-Carbon Way to
Attend the United Nations Climate Change
Conference
OneWorld.net is partnering with the United Nations to bring the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali to SecondLife. OneWorld will produce daily live briefings and discussions with key delegates and civil society leaders during the two weeks of the conference, Dec 3rd to 14th. Global citizens will be able to ask questions directly as events unfold. The briefings will take place on OneClimate Island on Second Life and will also be streamed on the web at http://www .oneclimate.net/virtualbali. More information on this unique experiment is available at h ttp://www.oneworld.net/section/us/virtualbali.
SEEING BEYOND SIGHT: Photographs by Blind Teenagers
Two events will shift how you think about vision, perception and what it really means "to see":
Washington, DC: (Fri. 12/7 @ 5:30pm) at Busboys & Poets
Baltimore: (Sat. 12/8 @ 5:30pm) SALON & PARTY at American Visionary Art Museum
MORE INFO: seeingbeyondsight.org/events
Launch of Meaningful Media
Check out Meaningful Media, a non-profit network providing resources to inspire and empower those committed to improving our world through media. Visit the website to learn more about their events.
OneWorld.net is partnering with the United Nations to bring the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali to SecondLife. OneWorld will produce daily live briefings and discussions with key delegates and civil society leaders during the two weeks of the conference, Dec 3rd to 14th. Global citizens will be able to ask questions directly as events unfold. The briefings will take place on OneClimate Island on Second Life and will also be streamed on the web at http://www .oneclimate.net/virtualbali. More information on this unique experiment is available at h ttp://www.oneworld.net/section/us/virtualbali.
SEEING BEYOND SIGHT: Photographs by Blind Teenagers
Two events will shift how you think about vision, perception and what it really means "to see":
Washington, DC: (Fri. 12/7 @ 5:30pm) at Busboys & Poets
Baltimore: (Sat. 12/8 @ 5:30pm) SALON & PARTY at American Visionary Art Museum
MORE INFO: seeingbeyondsight.org/events
Launch of Meaningful Media
Check out Meaningful Media, a non-profit network providing resources to inspire and empower those committed to improving our world through media. Visit the website to learn more about their events.