March 4, 2008Newsletter

The Center's bringing in some terrific visiting artists this month--I can't wait. Meanwhile, did you miss Making Your Media Matter? Please check out podcasts and video clips from the event (thank you to our brilliant grad students!). If you're going to be in Austin for South by Southwest, come by the SXSW bookstore on March 9, where I'll host a book signing of my new book, Documentary Film - A Very Short Introduction. I'm also moderating a panel discussion at SXSW--please read more below. And now's the time to make plans for our Beyond Broadcast 2008 Conference, taking place on June 17. See you soon!

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:

• March 18: Visiting Photographer Carl De Keyzer, from Magnum Photo
• March 20: Environmental Filmmaker Liz Miller, discussing her film The Water Front(Part of the 2008 Environmental Film Festival)
• March 27: Digital Storytelling, with Center for Digital Storytelling's Stefani Sese
• April 3: Participatory Video for Social Change, with independent filmmaker Deedee Halleck

Visit www.centerforsocialmedia.org/events for more information.

Ethnic Media + Public Education = Public Media
How can ethnic media makers work with public schools to better prepare tomorrow's citizens? The Center welcomes D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and other educational leaders from Maryland and Virginia to discuss "Public Education in a Changing Region," in a breakfast press briefing and roundtable discussion for metro- area ethnic media. Co-sponsored by SOC, New America Media and CSM.
WHEN: Wed., April 30, from 9:30-11:30 a.m.
WHERE: Butler Board Room 6th fl. Butler Pavilion, American University
Detailed agenda coming soon!

Film Screening: Testimony - The Maria Guardado Story
When:: April 23, 5:30 pm
Where:: Wechsler Theater, 3rd Fl., Mary Graydon Center, AU campus
FREE
The Center welcomes filmmaker Randy Vasquez and Maria Guardado, whose story of political asylum and civil war is told through the film.
Discussion with Ms. Guardado and Mr. Vasquez to follow screening. Visit our website for more information.

Save the Date - Beyond Broadcast 2008
WHEN: June 17
Read all about it below, in "The Future of Public Media" section, and visit our website for more info.

Save the Date - Beyond Broadcast 2008 on June 17, Washington, D.C.!
Over the past few years, Beyond Broadcast has become a can't-miss destination for innovative media- makers, scholars and policy experts seeking to understand the evolution of public media in a digital, participatory era. The theme of this year's gathering is "Mapping Public Media," and we'll be using mapping and visualization tools to examine shifting forms, functions and fiscal strategies for public media projects. We'll also be featuring demonstrations of how makers are using participatory tools like Google Earth to create dazzling interactive maps for public knowledge and action.

Who will be there?

• Public Media Leaders from PRX, The National Minority Consortia, ITVS, P.O.V., PBS, NPR, and more
• Media Scholars from the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, MIT's Center for Future Civic Media, and Annenberg West
• Cutting-Edge Creators of digital media for public knowledge and action: participatory mapmakers, citizen journalists, DIY videographers and global bloggers

Visit our website for updates and more info.

Public Media--Read All About It
The first book chapter to emerge from the Future of Public Media research done at the Center is now in circulation. Participation and Media Production: Critical Reflections on Content Creation, edited by Nico Carpentier and Benjamin De Cleen (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008) includes several essays on the challenges of developing public media in the digital, participatory era, including "Mapping Publics and Issues in The War Tapes," published by Pat Aufderheide and Katja Wittke. Their analysis can be found here. Read more>>

New Center Mapping Public Media Initiative Charts the Cutting-Edge
How can mediamakers, researchers and funders recognize and understand public media in a participatory, digital era? The goal of the Center for Social Media's Mapping Public Media initiative-funded by a grant from the Ford Foundation-is to reveal the resources and connections that sustain this active, productive, but rarely visible world devoted to helping audiences recognize themselves as publics and act from that knowledge.

The initiative's analysis contrasts two research methods-case studies by CSM fellows and Web network mapping by the Amsterdam-based Govcom.org Foundation-to examine three innovative public media projects. The findings suggest both distinct characteristics shared by public media, and multiple arenas for future research. Read more at centerforsocialmedia.org/mpm.

Innovation in Focus: The National Black Programming Consortium's New Media Institute
This month, the Center focuses on NBPC's New Media Institute, a seven-week workshop that trained new media producers on the latest digital tools and platforms. Like the Center, NBPC 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>>

Public Media--What's the Question?
The Independent Television Service's president, Sally Fifer, has become something of a guru on the future of public media. In her Letter from the President in this issue of ITVS' Beyond the Box magazine, she hits the nail on the head. Too often, she says, people in public broadcasting are worried about how to get onto as many of the new screens a possible. But, she says, "the real question may be: How can all this media make people's lives better?" Public media's job "means providing content that connects people, that helps divided communities talk, that gives voices to the seldom heard, and that offers insight into the tough decisions people face in their person, social and political lives." Amen!

Alliance for Justice in the Spotlight at Special Center Event
For almost 15 years, the Alliance for Justice has been using cutting-edge new media strategies to engage the public to advance the cause of social justice, civil rights and public empowerment - long before these tools became a part of our daily lives. Last week, the Center for Social Media welcomed Nan Aron, president of the Alliance for Justice, and filmmaker Glen Pearcy for a public lecture to discuss his newest film, Supreme Injustices and related digital outreach strategies. Read more>>

UFVA Fair Use & Free Speech Contest - $500 for best fair use!
The Center is collaborating with UFVA on a contest for the best short documentaries employing fair use, made by higher education students and faculty. Click here for more information and to download a submission form. The deadline is May 1, 2008.

Look for the Center at South by Southwest, Austin, TX!
Panel: Is Fair Use Fair?
Saturday, March 8th, 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM

If you can't make it to the panel, you can find Pat at a special book signing for her new book, Documentary Film: A Very Short Introduction.

Where: SXSW Bookstore - located in the Trade Show + Exhibition
When:2:30pm, Sunday March 9

Read more about Pat's work and her book in a feature article in American Today.

Fair Use on Trial, and Knowledge Wins
Chicago filmmaker Floyd Webb wanted to make a movie about a colorful martial arts figure, who called himself Counte Dante. The grandmaster of the Black Dragon Fighting Society, William V. Aguiar III, tried to stop him by blocking his access to images of Counte Dante and material from his training video. But Webb had attended an Independent Feature Project panel discussion of the Documentary Filmmakers' Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use. (IFP was a signatory and co-author of the document, which was facilitated by the Center and the Washington College of Law. Read more>>.

Recut, Reframe, Recycle Making Waves
Recut, Reframe Recycle: Quoting Copyrighted Material in User-Generated Video, a new study co-written by Pat Aufderheide and Peter Jaszi, co-director of the law school's Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, continues to receive attention for presenting a first-of-its-kind analysis of how online videos use copyrighted material could be both legal and at risk for private censorship. Read an interview by MIT's Henry Jenkins, with Aufderheide and Jaszi on the study and what this means for the future of user- generated content.

Fair Use FAQ Featured Question of the Month - Using News Footage
Want your questions on Fair Use answered? Someone else may have already asked. Check out the new Fair Use FAQ, where our most frequently asked questions find answers. This month's featured question: news footage use.

2008 Flaherty Film Seminar, "The Age of Migration":
The 54th Robert Flaherty Film Seminar will be held June 21-27, 2008 at Colgate University, Hamilton, New York. Guest curator Chi-hui Yang, Director of the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, will program the seminar titled "The Age of Migration." Register to join national and international media artists, critics, scholars, curators, librarians, and students for a week of intensive film viewing and impassioned discussion in a relaxed retreat environment. The early registration deadline is May 1, 2008. Limited fellowships are also available and the fellowship application deadline is March 14, 2008. For more information about the 2008 Flaherty Seminar, registration, and fellowships please visit www.flahertyseminar.org.

Women in Film and Television International - INTERNATIONAL SHORTS SHOWCASE on March 8
Celebrating International Women's Day, March 8, Women in Film & Video of Washington, DC (WIFV), Women in Film and Television International (WIFTI) and LUNAFEST present two showcases of women-directed films to benefit WIFV, WIFTI and the Breast Cancer Fund.
Date: Saturday March 8, 2008
Time: screenings between 2:00 - 9:00 pm
Reception: 7:00-8:00 pm
Location: Goethe Institut, 812 7th Street, NW Gallery Place Metro, Washington, DC 20001
Go to http://www.goethe.de/ins/us/was/deindex.htm for info on event cost, scheduling & more info.
RSVP: exec@wifv.org