Beyondmedia Education is a Chicago-based 501c3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to collaborate with under-served and under-represented women, youth and communities to tell their stories, connect their stories to the world around us, and organize for social justice through the creation and distribution of media arts.
Recently, Chicago Public Television station WTTW’s Image Union refused to air Beyondmedia Education’s award-winning documentary Turning a Corner, claiming that the content is inappropriate. As part of the award, Turning a Corner was to be screened on WTTW’s Image Union program. Created in a media activism workshop with members of Prostitution Alternatives Round Table (PART)—15 women who had been street-level sex workers in Chicago—the film recounts their battles with homelessness, violence and discrimination and provides insight into Chicago’s sex industry. Beyondmedia Education recently won the Chicago Reporter’s John A. McDermott Documentary (short) Film Competition for Turning a Corner. WTTW’s refusal to air the program cites the sensitive subject matter—sex workers in Chicago—as the reason for their decision.
In response, and due to other recent events that have challenged access to free press in Chicago (including Loyola’s takeover of WLUW and the buyout of the Chicago Reader and the firing of key writers) on January 17th Beyondmedia Education organized a meeting at Columbia College for community and independent media makers to come together to build a media justice plan for action addressing issues of censorship, inequality in media access, and the increasing corporate control of media in Chicago.
In January, YMR interviewed Salome Chasnoff, Executive Director of Beyondmedia.
YMR: In your own words, please discuss the important issue of community access to public media as it relates to the youth media field.
Chasnoff: It’s to recognize the reality that young people are part of our world. We are all in this together. We all need to communicate in the same space. Adults are very quick to complain that young people don’t communicate with them—that there is an invisible divide between the generations both in the public and private spheres. For example, “I don’t understand their music, dress, etc.” Media—public communication—is a way for these divides to be bridged and the public forum to be rebuilt.
In some ways, media reflects what is happening on the ground and in some ways it constructs what is happening. We can see the public and private as co-creative. Through media making we can repair the social fabric. Youth media is key to that enterprise. Technology is the means but the end result is larger. Youth are going to run the world and they are the vibrant voice of today. That has to be reflected in everything—including public access—and adults need to be accountable to young people. The only way to do that is to hear them. But young people also need to take responsibility for speaking and participating—and fight for the space in which to do it. If youth have something to say in the public space and that access is blocked—that is censorship.
YMR: About 30 people attended the media justice meeting you organized at Columbia College. What was the overall outcome?
Chasnoff: There were all kinds of groups that attended the meeting. Beyondmedia works with many different cohorts. Attendees included policy makers, media makers, academics, and youth media. Unless we are trying to develop an initiative, it is normally difficult to get these groups together. Everyone is so busy. People need to have a particular, shared objective.
In the break-out groups, there was a concern for university accountability (journalism/media programs). Students are being trained for jobs that do not exist—therefore, universities must share resources and be transparent in their programs.
People want to continue meeting and bring in more groups and definitely more young people (for youth voice). We are developing a listserv and the next meeting will be at Southwest Youth Collaborative in order to change the context of each meeting to reflect the diversity of voices. We are committed to win-able battles.
At the meeting, we talked about a live weekly forum where people could express their views on a particular issue (a hot issue) that could be broadcast locally. This would work well for young people and all different marginalized groups. Parents are complaining that they do not know what their teens are thinking. Youth can speak through media and adults can learn a lot from that.
YMR: How can educators, media justice organizers, community members and young people collaborate and support each other in doing this type of work?
Chasnoff: An important thing is to remember that we are all involved in the same project. What we do is about all of us. We don’t have to actively collaborate to keep each other’s best interests in mind. If what we are creating is for everyone, than we are collaborating. We have to remember to keep our blinders off and always expand our vision so it includes more and more issues, people, and audiences. If we are acting out of a social justice model, than ultimately, what we do will serve the greatest good.
YMR: What role can independent and community media play in accessing young people within public media?
Chasnoff: This is already happening. I’ve been a media maker for twenty years and I have seen youth media grow from something non-existent to a viable field. Part of that is the way technology has grown—young people have more access to media tools and knowledge. Public media must create a space of access for marginalized voices.
For example, independent/community media must have opportunities for young people to become involved and expand their frame as a result of talking to young people. Youth must learn how to engage media with solving issues or problems that concerns them.
YMR: One specific question at the meeting was “what kind of a job is Chicago public media doing in representing the public interest”? How does this relate to youth media?
Chasnoff: I think people would find youth media (and marginalized voice/media) interesting in Chicago. The Chicago public likes to be challenged and entertained. Many want to be active, critical viewers. The work we make here in Beyondmedia is not entertainment based and yet we get a lot of positive responses from a diverse array of people.
Rarely has my breath been taken away by mainstream media. But when someone is taking public space for the first time after making their story their entire lives, it is totally unique, fresh and surprising. It has the capacity to capture people’s imaginations and they can learn from that. It is not a story that is made to sell a product. It is a story that is expressing lived experience and, therefore, something most people can relate to, recognizing the truth in storytelling. The problem with a lot of university filmmaking programs is that state-of-the-art equipment is available to learn on but you might as well watch the products on mute—they are boring. The focus is warped in my opinion. Young people that really want to grab the power of these tools in their hands and use them to express their unique vision and get something that would make their world better—that is exciting.
YMR: What strategies can youth media educators use to access public media more effectively and consistently?
Chasnoff: Develop relationships with gatekeepers of public media and educate them to what youth media could bring to them and their audiences. Try to work creatively together. Develop programming that would allow youth to “see” behind the scenes how public media is made (and even develop roles for them such as internships and/or career paths). Work with public media such as NPR, PBS and even universities to develop resources. If taxpayers support and “own” these outlets, then they should reflect our vision. Young people and adults must fight to own public voice. We can’t take our ownership for granted—we have to fight for it on a daily basis. The relationship between public media and free speech/democracy is indivisible because you can’t have one without the other.
For example, as a result of the response from our colleagues and peers, Beyondmedia did win a battle. It’s not official yet but, despite the set back with WTTW’s Image Union, it looks like our full documentary will be aired on WTTW’s regular programming in the spring in an even better time slot and not just the initial short version proposed to air. This proves that there are win-able battles out there when you mobilize your troops in the field and beyond.
Author: Ingrid Hu Dahl
Calling All Youth/Youth Media Bloggers: Elections and the Youth Vote
YO! Youth Outlook Multimedia and WireTap are proud to announce the first ever Youth Media Blog-a-Thon to be held on Wednesday February 20th.
We are calling all young bloggers (between the ages of 14-26) – along with any bloggers dedicated to writing about youth issues and youth media – to blog on Feb. 20th about:
Elections and the Youth Vote
Give us your opinion on:
• Why is the youth vote garnering so much attention this year?
• Data shows the youth vote increased in almost all states, is this something you noticed in your own state? What did it look like?
• What are the most important issues facing young people: Is it the war, the economy, immigration, education, health care?
• What youth voter education group is doing the best work?
• Is voting relevant? Do you feel disenfranchised?
• Much of the debate around the primary election focused on race v. gender – what was your opinion on this?
• Do you think a new leader will make a difference?
If you are interested in being a part of the Youth Media Blog-a-Thon, please email Neelanjana Banerjee at nbanerjee@newamericamedia.org.
About: This is the first of a series of monthly Youth Media Blog-a-Thons that aims to virtually connect the youth media community by asking them to respond to one topic and to engage with each other. We hope that these monthly events will foster more dialogue between youth media leading to connectivity as media makers and as activists.
Confirmed Bloggers So Far:
YO! Youth Outlook Multimedia (http://www.youthoutlook.org)
WireTap Mag (http://www.wiretapmag.org)
Drop That Knowledge (http://dropthatknowledge.wordpress.com/)
Confirmed Bloggers Continued:
Grits and Eggs (http://jaysplayground.blogspot.com/)
Ill-literacy (http://www.ill-literacy.com/blog/
The Cheddar Box (http://thecheddarbox.wordpress.com/)
Youth Ministry Exchange (http://www.ymexchange.com)
Vanessa Van Petten (http://vanessavanpetten.com/)
Sponsoring Organizations:
For over 15 years, YO! Youth Outlook Multimedia has been a leader in youth-produced content in the Bay Area. Through our active website (http://www.youthoutlook.org), YO!TV – a weekly 30-minute television show on local KBCW, and our weekly YO!Radio segments aired on KALW 91.7 Information Radio and 106.1 KMEL, YO! gives young people a voice on the issues they most care about. YO! content is also regularly syndicated in the San Francisco Chronicle, The Oakland Tribune and more. The YO! blog has been active for over a year.
WireTap is a national news and culture magazine by and for socially conscious youth. Our online community promotes social justice, inspires action and gives young people a voice in the media. Wiretap provides free, daily content to over 60,000 monthly visitors and 14,000 weekly newsletter subscribers. Our award-winning journalism and youth commentary is syndicated every week on the Nation.com, AlterNet.org and Chicago Sun Times, college papers, and hundreds of our stories get linked to in widely read blogs and websites from Mother Jones blog to Fear of a Brown Blogger to social networking site MyBloc.net.
Immediate opening for full-time TV Producer/Editor
Democracy Now!, a Manhattan based daily independent TV/Radio/Internet news hour, seeks TV Producer/Editor. This position is responsible for the production of all visual elements of our live daily broadcast.
Duties include editing B-roll packages, SOTs and VOs, monitoring news feeds, LIVE on-air playback, some field production, remote studio booking, and stringer coordination. This position requires familiarity with DN and good journalistic judgment. Other qualifications: 3-5 years TV news experience, ability to execute very competent and fast Final Cut Pro edits under pressure, proficiency in Photoshop, familiarity with media servers, ability to send and receive video through an FTP client, excellent camera, communication, and computer skills.
This is a full-time evening position with benefits and salary based on experience. Please email your resume, cover letter and reel to job@democracynow.org with TV Producer as subject. No phone calls please.
Call for Research: Youth Media
Next month IssueLab will be focusing on Youth Media and Research. Mindy Faber, a leading practitioner in the field will be serving as their very first guest editorialist – culling the nonprofit sector for research and analysis on this vibrant yet somewhat under-studied topic.
Over the last few decades, the proliferation of low cost digital media production tools has given rise to an expanding number of after-school programs that use digital media to engage young people in art, organizing, journalism, citizenship and leadership development. The explosion of this new media is redefining how youth learn, create, and participate in the public sphere.
Although the issue of youth and their relation to the media is taking on a new sense of urgency among educators (from IssueLab’s point of view), policy-makers and social researchers, research on the topic is still difficult to find. This is why we asked Mindy to serve as a guest editorialist for Issuelab’s March edition of the CloseUp.
If you are a noprofit and are doing work in the field of youth media and the new digital networked public, please register at IssueLab today: http://www.issuelab.org/call_for_research
IssueLab’s Youth Media CloseUp will include research on the following topics:
Copyright and intellectual property in a digital age
Global and youth development through media
Digital learning and education, formal and informal approaches
Communication rights of youth
Media literacy and citizenship
The role of youth media in social justice movements
Expose Your Work to a Broader Audience in 3 Easy Steps
1. IssueLab is a free service to all participating nonprofits. The process for listing your research takes about five minutes. Register your nonprofit with IssueLab through our simple web-based form. You will receive an email asking that you verify your registration. Once this is done, you are ready to list research.
2. Log into your account and add as many publications as you would like. Once we have approved a publication your listing will be “live” and available to the public.
3. Edit, hide, delete or add as many listings as you wish. (You can also track the number of users downloading your work and visiting your organizational profile by simply logging into your IssueLab account.)
Adding your research to IssueLab’s CloseUp means that it will get featured in next month’s eNews, regular RSS feeds and any outreach we do to blogs, journalists and digital librarians.
Got Questions?
If you have any concerns or questions contact Gabriela Fitz at gabi@issuelab.org.
3rd International Youth Media Summit
Media Education Centre invites organizations, schools and other institutions working with media to nominate two young media enthusiasts 15-22 years old to participate during August 20th to 27th in Belgrade, Serbia. The young participants must be candidates as Student Filmmaker and Student Diplomat.
This Summit will continue the work started in 2006, and will incorporate changes based on last year’s feedback from the first (Los Angeles) and second (Sydney) Summit. One of these changes will be a greater emphasis on developing media production skills. Also, the student delegates will be broadcasting on a daily basis via Serbian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio, internet Radio, podcasting and vodcasting…
We are asking those countries with the ability to raise the necessary funds to provide their own airfare to Belgrade, Serbia. Any funds raised by 3rd IYMS organizers will be used to pay part of airfares for delegates from economically disadvantaged regions, or countries facing humanitarian challenges.
* All delegates must be 15- 22 years old being represented by a recognized media program at a school, arts and/or cultural non for profit Non Government Organization. (We are looking for delegates who will continue to advocate, addressing Summit issues locally, regionally, nationally and internationally at all times.
* Student delegates will need to complete their initial assignments and submit them to 3rd IYMS organizers.
* You will also need to fill out an application. On the application, you will find directions for those requesting financial help for plane fare.
* Adults wishing to take part in Summit 2008 should fill out an application and address the professional capacities in which they can mentor/supervise students.
* Please start to research what you will need to do for a visa to Serbia, and the timeline.
* To insure that the Summit can cover some expenses: a registration fee of $300US (€220) is required per participants upon their acceptance.
Please note that 3rd IYMS will provide local transport within the Belgrade Airport and Youth Hostel situated at the centre of Belgrade, Training and Facilitation by industry professionals as well as accommodation including Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner for the duration of the summit.
At the moment we have applicants from: Armenia (2); Australia; Austria; Bangladesh; Canada; Croatia; Georgia; Germany; Ghana; Greece; Israel; India ; Japan; Kenya; Italy (2); Liberia; Mexico; Montenegro; Nepal; New Zealand; Palestine; South Africa; South Korea; Serbia (2); Slovenia; Sweeden (2); The Netherlands; UK; UK Scotland; USA (4)…..
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any more information. We are looking forward for friends, presenters and sponsors of the 3rd Summit in the year 2008.
Yours truly,
Miomir Rajcevic
3rd Summit Coordinator
www.roamingreporters.net/RRWP
www.IYMS.eu
www.cifej.com
Job Opening at Knight Foundation: Online Community Manager
We have a new, innovative and exciting job opening here at the John S.
and James L. Knight Foundation in Miami: We are seeking a digital media
maven who will create for Knight a vibrant online discussion community
focused on journalism excellence, communities and issues of systemic
change.
The Online Community Manager will serve with others as Knight’s eyes,
ears and voice in the blogosphere. S/he will attract, facilitate and
moderate user-generated content on Knight’s web sites, and increase
online visibility of a foundation that is dedicated to shaping how the
digital revolution will impact the future of journalism and communities.
The successful candidate lives and breathes the blogosphere, with
exceptional communications and writing skills. A track record in
creating lively and engaged online audiences and community is key. While
this position requires communications more than technical skills,
proficiency in creating and managing user-generated web content is
vital.
The attached summary describes this opportunity. Please share this
information with colleagues and friends who might be both qualified and
intrigued. They can visit www.knightfdn.org
for further information about Knight, our work and this position.
Interested candidates should email their resumes and links to examples
of their work to careers@knightfdn.org
Resumes should not be sent to me.
We’ve posted a Youtube video to give anybody interested a sense of what
Knight is like as a workplace. The video is at
www.kflinks.com/ocmanager. Note our great views of Miami Beach.
Marc Fest
Director of Communications
Office Tel.: (305) 908-2677 | Fax: (786) 924-2977
e-mail: fest@knightfdn.org
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Writing the Story of Transformation
200 South Biscayne Blvd., Suite 3300, Miami, Fla. 33131-2349
For more on the Knight Brothers’ foundation and transformational change,
go to http://www.knightfdn.org/annual.
TOWARD A CRITICAL RACE PRAXIS IN EDUCATION AND SOCIAL LIFE: Call for papers
Second Annual Critical Race Studies in Education Conference
“TOWARD A CRITICAL RACE PRAXIS IN EDUCATION AND SOCIAL LIFE”
May 16-17, 2008
The University of Illinois at Chicago
Critical race theorists have increasingly challenged the education community to more fully consider the processes, structures, practices and policies that create and promote persistent racial inequalities in education and in the broader society. For example, they have demanded that the “achievement gap” be viewed, along with other gaps in income, housing, employment etc. as a consequence of racism. While these analyses have proliferated and scholars of color have managed to publish their work with prestigious educational journals and book presses, there has been little iscussion about how to develop a critical race praxis in education that might have transformative possibilities. This conference is designed to bring together scholars, activists, educators, students and community members who are concerned about the persistence of racial inequalities in education and in the broader society. The conference organizers invite papers that document scholarship, teaching, activist work at the local level, and community organizing efforts aimed at transforming racist practices, policies and systems in schools and in the broader society. More specifically, your proposal should address one of the following sub-categories:
1) Engendering Justice and Critiquing Systems of Oppression for Black and Latino Youth (Facilitated by David Stovall, UIC)
2) Life in Schools: Critical Counterstories and Testimonios by and about Urban Teachers (Facilitated by Tara Yosso, University of California at Santa Barbara)
3) The Apartheid of Knowledge in Higher Education (Facilitated by Lynette Danley, University of Utah)
4) Critical Conceptual or Empirical Analyses of the Links between Race, Class and/or Gender and Sexuality (Facilitated by Michelle Jay at the University of South Carolina and Theodorea Berry, The American College of Education, Chicago)
5) The Globalization of Racism and White Supremacy in the new world order (Facilitated by Marvin Lynn, UIC & Danny Martin, UIC)
Proposals should include the following:
* A cover page which includes title of paper, as well as name,
affiliation, contact information, and a 100 word abstract
* No more than a 1000 word descriptive summary that should include:
1. A theoretical framework section that shows how the paper draws from Critical Race Theory
2. An explanation of the methods (empirical, conceptual or theoretical) and a summary of the results.
3. A conclusion and educational significance section that illustrates how and why the topic is important and worthwhile for improving or transforming education for racially marginalized youth
Criteria for Evaluating Proposals
* Connection to CRT
* Quality of Writing and Organization
* Overall Contribution to the Field of Critical Race Studies in Education
Please go to: http://education.uic.edu/events.cfm?
page=critical_race to
register or contact UIC Department of Curriculum & Instruction Secretary, Sharon Earthely at earthely@uic.edu or at 312-996-4508 in order to register by phone.
> Marvin Lynn, Ph.D.
> Associate Professor
> Director of Elementary Education
> Department of Curriculum and Instruction, MC 147
> University of Illinois at Chicago
> 1040 W. Harrison St.
> 3030 EPASW
> Chicago, IL 60607
> Phone: 312-355-0568
> Fax: 312-996-8134
UNICEF-VOY Radio Drama Competition
The Unite for Child Survival Radio Drama Competition is an opportunity
to help people pay attention, get involved, take creative action and
unite to help children in their communities
survive and thrive. Young people are invited to send in a written script
for a radio drama. Radio scripts will be reviewed by an international
panel who will select eight finalists, one
from each region, and one winner, who will be featured on the UNICEF
website. The winning script will be produced and broadcast on UNICEF radio.
Please send your radio script, personal information and plot summary
before 15 December 2007 to the Voices of Youth Mailbox: voy@unicef.org
or for more information, please see
http://www.unicef.org/voy/takeaction/takeaction_4002.html.
New York Women in Film & Television Scholarship
Through the generosity of Loreen Arbus, New York Women in Film and
Television is offering a $2,500 scholarship for a woman with a physical
disability who is studying film, television or communications in the
Tri-State area.
The funds may be used for tuition and fees for a college, university or
established training program in the moving image media or for production
costs for a student film or video project.
To apply for the scholarship, send a resume and a written 2-4-page
description of your current work and goals as a filmmaker. If funds will be
used for a film or video project, and a work-in-progress is available, a DVD
should be included.
Applications should be sent to:
New York Women in Film and Television
Loreen Arbus Scholarship
6 East 39th Street, Suite 1200
New York, NY 10016.
The deadline for application is Friday, November 30, 2007. If you have any
questions, please call Administrative Director Sue Marcoux at 212-679-0870, ext. 25.
Continue reading New York Women in Film & Television Scholarship
Youth Media Educators Forum at NAMAC
At the NAMAC Conference “The Frontier is Here” in Austin, TX, a two-part Youth Media Educators Forum was organized to provide an opportunity for youth media educators to network, identify needs and interests of each attending organization, and discuss issues specific to the work of youth media educators.
The two part forum was sponsored by Youth Media Reporter, Global Action Project, Youth Media Learning Network and Listen Up!
Educators representing approximately twenty organizations across the U.S. (including Appalshop, Reel Girls, Twin Cities Media Network, BAVC, St. Paul’s Neighborhood Network, and Wide Angle) participated in open dialogue (similar to what Steve Goodman and Diana Coryat call for in the 2004 OSI white paper “Developing the Youth Media Field”), reflecting on emerging trends, updates and best practices, and face time with colleagues.
Topics ranged from the importance of inter-generational dialogue in the field, defining youth (teens of up to 25), online distribution, archiving material, incorporating more face time with other organizations, after school partnerships, art vs. technology, social and media justice, the role of the educator with youth producers, storytelling, making media accessible and translatable, and funding opportunities.
If you would like to be a part of organizing future Youth Media Educators Forums or start a forum of your own, feel free to contact me at idahl@aed.org.