The Center is having an active, productive summer. Our new deputy director, Noelle McAfee, has joined us. Shortly, the SILVERDOCS Documentary Festival will take place in the Center's backyard of Silver Spring, Maryland. At the beginning of August, look for me along with Peter Jaszi and Brigid Maher at the UFVA conference at Colombia College in Chicago.

Please think about forwarding this e-newsletter to friends and colleagues so they can sign up to stay informed about the fall events schedule - to launch in the next issue - as well as updates on the Center's research activities. Have a great summer!

The Center's work to expand the useability of user rights in copyright continues to travel. Veteran copyright lawyers, at a meeting of The Copyright Society last month in New York, watched the film Stories Untold, by Brigid Maher, and heard a discussion by Peter Jaszi and others about the extraordinary First Amendment consequences of rigid copyright clearance practices. As Jaszi explained, "It is not the law that has changed-it is custom." And custom, he pointed out, could be changed with tools such as a statement of best practices in fair use. Although fair use continues to be an important feature of the law, many makers and gatekeepers act as if it were almost illegal.

Communication scholars debated the implications of this copyright clearance culture, after watching Stories Untold and hearing a panel discussion at the International Communications Association conference held in New York at the end of May. Attendees received a free copy of the DVD. "I'm so glad to see that we have teaching tools that act as demonstrations," one said.

Untold Stories II coordinators Peter Jaszi and Pat Aufderheide will also participate in a panel on the clearance culture and the need to assert user rights in documentary filmmaking practice at the University Film and Video Association annual conference in Chicago in August. Look as well for Aufderheide's presentation at the Visible Evidence conference in August in Montreal, Canada.

The Center's Untold Stories II project continues with workshops and panels in Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago upcoming.

Center research assistant and AU grad John Cheney attended the FreePress' National Conference for Media Reform in St. Louis, MO on May 13-15th. The conference is a biannual event aimed at creating informed discussion on media policy debates. This year it was attended by over 2,500 people from all 50 states and 11 different countries. In an attempt to redirect media toward serving public, rather than special interests, conference attendees participated in sessions dealing from the status of public television in the US to the future of copyright and fair use laws.

Bill Moyers, a former White House spokesperson and award-winning journalist, closed the conference with a plenary speech focused on the state of media today and the current controversy over complaints of partisanship at PBS. Moyers promoted the public media sector as a key element in democracy, and quoted an article in "In These Times" written by Center executive director Pat Aufderheide (listen to Moyers' speech online). Other notable presenters included TV personality Phil Donahue, journalist Naomi Klein, activist Medea Benjamin and Congressperson Bernie Sanders.

Filmmaker Tia Lessin visited the Center in March, co- teaching Social Documentary with Pat Aufderheide, as well as presenting clips from her work and discussing "Making Controversial Documentaries."

Center research assistant John Cheney sat down with Lessin to discuss her body of work. "My passion for social justice informs everything I do" said Lessin, "I'm drawn to tell stories that aren't being told, to confront people in power, expose injustice, and use the camera to make change happen."

The fifth annual MEDIA THAT MATTERS FILM FESTIVALis produced by MediaRights, an organization dedicated to maximizing the impact of social-issue documentaries by connecting filmmakers, educators, nonprofits and youth.

A jury of media professionals, activists and filmmakers met in February to choose the sixteen official selections that make up this year's slate of films out of a pool of over four hundred and fifty submissions from around the country. The jury included Morgan Spurlock, director of Super Size Me, Tia Lessin, producer of Fahrenheit 9/11 and Sean Wilsey of McSweeney's, as well as librarian Jessamyn West (Librarian.net) and teen filmmakers from Manhattan Neighborhood Network's Youth Channel.

"We were thrilled to double our number of submissions from last year," said Katy Chevigny, Executive Director of Arts Engine, Inc. "There is an increasing demand for independent media, and we've found the most entertaining, timely and innovative work out there. We can't wait to bring these vital perspectives to audiences around the country."