RESOURCES FOR ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Center for Social Media Reports

Documentary Filmmakers' Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use
(November 2005)
Download this useful handbook, written by veteran filmmakers to help other filmmakers understand some instances where using copyrighted material without clearance is considered fair use. Looking for examples of 'fair use'? Go to the Center's online collection of illustrative examples>>

Untold Stories: Creative Consequences of the Rights Clearance Culture
(November 2004)
The problems that documentary filmmakers face in getting and controlling rights for their creative work--and the consequences for cultural creativity--are the focus of this research project funded by the Rockefeller Foundation.

Youth as E-Citizens (March 2004)
What do youth do online besides chat and play video games? Well, they register to vote, find opportunities to volunteer in their communities, work as journalists, and coordinate political demonstrations, for starters. “Youth as E-Citizens” analyzes and showcases this new online civic phenomenon with a print report and an online “tour.” Primary funding by Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE).

Digital Futures: A Need-to-Know Policy Guide for Independent Filmmakers
(January 2004)
A Joint Project of the Center for Social Media and Independent Television Service
Digital technology is transforming filmmaking. And policymakers are scrambling to catch up with the changes. What policies are good for independent filmmakers? What are the hot issues, and what are the positions that best support the creativity and diversity that independent filmmakers represent? Digital Futures: A Need-to-Know Policy Guide for Independent Filmmakers answers those questions with to-the-point answers. Funded by the Ford Foundation.

What Keeps Social Documentaries from Audiences-And How to Fix It (January 2004)
By Pat Aufderheide
What happens to U.S. social documentaries after they are first seen at a film festival or on television? Far too little—in spite of evidence of rising interest in the genre. Read the results of research and an expert convening on the topic and find out not only about the problems, but suggested solutions. Funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

In the Battle for Reality: US Documentaries for Social Change (December 2003)
What difference can a documentary make? This fact-filled report by Center co-director Pat Aufderheide, with many case studies of successful strategic use of social documentaries, answers that question. Funded by the Ford Foundation.

War Beyond The Box (April 2003)
The Center for Social Media scanned the internet to look at some of the media strategies being used during the war in Iraq. The war spurred many types of communication; they are categorized and links to examples are provided.

Media as a Social Tool: Conference Report (June 2002)
The final report of the Center for Social Media’s June 2002 conference on central issues for research on media as a social tool.

TeenSites.com: A Field Guide to the New Digital Landscape (2001)
TeenSites.com examines the burgeoning interactive communications environment, and explores how teens are shaping and being shaped by digital culture. This report, created under the auspices of the Center for Media Education headed by Kathryn Montgomery previous to her arrival at American University, provided the platform on which Prof. Montgomery and former CSM research director Barbara Gottlieb-Robles continued their research on youth and digital media in “Youth as E-Citizens.”

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