A Closer Look: Case Studies From NAMAC's Youth Media Initiative by NAMAC

acloserlook Media Ar ts 2003

CASE STUDIES FROM NA MAC’S YOUTH MED IA INITIATIVE

The National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC) is the national service organization for the media arts field. Our mission is to: • • • • •

strengthen the influence of media arts organizations, making them an integral par t of their communities; facilitate the support of independent media artists from all cultural communities and geographic regions; integrate media into all levels of education and advocate for media literacy as an educational goal; promote socially responsible uses of and individual access to current and future media technologies; encourage media arts that are rooted in local communities, as well as those that are global in outlook.

NAMAC fulfills the fundamental purpose of building and strengthening the field’s infrastructure by providing services in the areas of organizational and leadership development, convening the field, research and policy, and encouraging public awareness of independent media. Our programs include LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE training for media organization leaders; CAPACITY-BUILDING grant assistance for organizational development;a biennial NATIONAL CONFERENCE and quarterly REGIONAL GATHERINGS which bring together independent media producing participants to share information,identify issues and initiate projects aimed at advancing the field;current RESEARCH and INFORMATION SHARING in THE KNOWLEDGE NETWORK FOR THE MEDIA ARTS (www.namac.org) and through our annual PU BLICATIONS, quarterly REPORTS and weekly electronic BULLETINS;and collaborative efforts with peer organizations to ADVOCATE for the interests of the media arts field in CU LTURAL and TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICYMAKING. This publication is part of our special YOUTH MEDIA INITIATIVE which is gathering and disseminating research about youth media programs and practices nationwide. Collectively, NAMAC's members provide a wide range of services in support of independent media,including education,production, exhibition,distribution, collection-building, preservation, criticism and general advocacy. Our members include media arts centers, production facilities, university-based programs, community technology centers, museums, film festivals, media distributors, film archives, after-school programs, community access TV stations and individuals working in the field. Combined,these organizations serve approximately 400,000 artists and other media pr ofessionals nationwide. The field’s independent producers, who work outside the commercial telecommunications industry, offer Americans a vital alternative to the mainstream media.NAMAC’s member organizations help them overcome tremendous barriers in order to bring personal visions and community-based perspectives to the mediawatching public.

N AMAC NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR MEDIA ARTS AND CULTURE 145 Ninth Street,Suite 250 San Francisco CA 94103 t 415 431 1391 f 415 431 1392 namac@namac.org www.namac.org

acloserlook Media Ar ts 2003

CASE STUDIES FROM NAMACâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S YOUTH MEDIA INITIATIVE

KATHLEEN TYNER, Editor DANIEL "DEWEY" SCHOTT, Program Director JACK WALSH, 2003 Acting National Director

Funded by a grant from the Youth Initiatives Program of the Open Society Institute with additional support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation,the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Acknowledgments Many hands came together to publish this special youth media edition of A Closer Look: Media Arts 2003. Thanks go to participating youth media organizations who worked with an impressive group of writers to conduct the case studies.These include Community Arts Center, Cambridge Massachusetts;Media Bridges, Cincinnati, Ohio;Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN) Youth Channel,New York,New York;OtherFriday, Maui,Hawaii; REACH LA, Los Angeles, California;Spy Hop, SaltLake City, Utah;and Tech Team,a statewide project of South Carolina Educational Television. Thanks also to Jack Walsh,2003 Acting National Director and Daniel "Dewey" Schott,Program Director of the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture who worked with the team to develop and manage the project from its inception.Our stellar copy editor, Bob Nowacki, worked meticulously to make this journal fresh, remarkable,and a pleasure to read.Margaret Tedesco at seeing words design used her considerable talent and skill to marry form and content creatively. Many thanks to filmmaker ScottStark for PERL programming for the online youth media questionnaire. Youth media experts and researchers came together to generously help us field testthe questionnaire. Thanks to our colleagues Maria Byck,Meghan McDermott,Maureen Mullinax,Shelley Pasnik,and jesikah maria ross, who made the questionnaire a much better instrument. Christine Metropoulos also provided important assistance with the data presentation design. Last,but notleast,many thanks to the Open Society Institute. Their support for the NAMAC Youth Media Initiative made A Closer Look 2003 possible. Kathleen Tyner Editor, A Closer Look 2003

This publication may notbe reproduced withoutprior permission from NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR MEDIA ARTS AND CULTURE 145 Ninth Street,Suite 250 San Francisco CA 94103 t 415.431.1391 f 415.431.1392 namac@namac.org ÂŠ 2003 National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture Image Credits: Fro nt , back and inside cover images co u rt e sy of REACH LA. All other images co u rt e sy of corresponding organizations.

I N T RO D U C TI O N :

Mapping the Field of Youth Media b y K a th l e e n Ty n e r

S P Y H O P P R O D U CT I O N S A N D T H E U N I V E RS I T Y O F UTA H S H A P E A N E W VI S I O N F O R M E D I A L I T E R A C Y by Rebecca DaPra

A PL AC E TO B E H EA RD :

The Cambridge Community Art Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Teen Media Program by Adriana Katzew

REACH L A:

Reaching Out in New Directions by Jim Moran

M A NH AT TA N N E I G H B O RH OO D N E T WO R K YO U TH C H A N N E L : A Grand Experiment in Youth Governance by Shelley Pasnik

OT H E RF RI DAY:

Media Arts Mentoring (Island Style) by Diane Peters and Kathleen Heid

T E C H N O - F OX E S :

Linking Girl Power to Technology by Candace Thompson

MEDIA BRIDGES:

Spanning Divisions in Cincinnati by Tom Zaniello

M A P P I N G TH E F I E L D :

A Survey of Youth Media Organizations in the United States with Discussion of Results by Kathleen Tyner and Rhea Mokund

Artwork by Christopher Harris courtesy REACH LA.

INTRODUCTION:

Mapping the Field of Youth Media by K a th l e e n Ty n e r

his year, A Closer Look:Media Arts 2003 is devoted to youth media, a concept that encompasses a broad range of organizations that employ employ a dizzying array of media to serve youth for diverse purposes.This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s issue is a project of the Youth Media Initiative, a pioneering three-year project launched in 2003 by the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture to support this growing field and contribute to the growing knowledge base about youth media. Because research about youth media programs is only beginning to emerge, it is difficult to analyze the scope,impact,and character of the field.The seven case studies and one quantitative survey in this issue add to the body of evidence about the work of youth media organizations across the United States.They clarify the rationale for youth media programs and highlight best practices,promising models,and lessons learned that can be used by other media arts practitioners to creatively and strategically respond to the needs and dreams of the youth they serve. In an attempt to portray the field accurately, the organizational case studies chosen for this issue represent a range of approaches and a geographic diversity. They showcase organizations that are developing successful models,conducting evaluations, solving problems,or meeting organizational challenges in new and innovative ways. These organizations use youth media to support conflict resolution in Cincinnati;as part of a social justice and health initiative among gay, transgendered,and lesbian teens in Los Angeles;to promote girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;use of information technologies in South Carolina public schools;to encourage teensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; multimedia learning in informal social settings at a shopping mall in Hawaii;as college preparation for underserved youth in Salt Lake City;and to make use of innovative distribution channels in New York City. All the case studies offer multifaceted approaches and reveal common themes about strengthening and amplifying youth voices.The programs apprentice youth to strategically use a range of media forms,content,and conventions.Along the way, they encourage civic engagement,model peer leadership activities, value artistic expression,and embody the belief that youth media contributes to a more balanced repre sentation of youth.The programs demonstrate intergenerational collaboration and are marked by dynamic and charismatic leadership.The case studies demonstrate the use of new literacy tools in collaborative, youth-centered,and creative learning environments. Tensions between competing trends in youth media also pop up.Unsurprisingly, these strains reflect differences in ideas about the underlying value of the arts, and most are merely a matter of degree. We can see the various rationales for youth media as a "continuum of benefit." Some youth media programs promote self-expression and customized learning for the individual.Other programs place social action at the center of their work and encourage students to produce media for the greater good. Most of the youth media practitioners in the studies navigate within organizational frameworks that attempt to reconcile the needs of individuals with their responsibility to social justice.

I N TR O D U C T I O N :

Mapping the Field of Youth Media

The programs also differ in their view of the relative value of media production.Some see it in service to overarching social and life skills programs th at serve youth,especially traditionally underserved youth.Others are more willing to assign it an intrinsic value and feature it prominently. In addition,the organizations make an ongoing effort to balance media analysis and production.Practitioners know that hands-on work informs media analysis, which in turn informs subsequent production.The case studies reveal efforts to balance the traditional emphasis on production in youth media programs with viewing and critical thinking as well as with representing. Because the construct of school-aged "youth" is the main constituency for these media programs, educational theories and practices also come into play. In particular, the gap between formal,public schooling and informal educational settings looms large. Although students are sophisticated users and viewers of video, multimedia computing,interactive gaming,and text messaging in the real world,predigital definitions of school success require young people to park their media skills and cultures at the schoolhouse door. Youth media programs bridge the gap between studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;use of advanced technologies at home and in social settings and their dismal integration into the formal school curriculum.They leverage studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;expert knowledge of media and move them to new levels of learning.Many of the programs negotiate both informal and formal learning environments in the course of their work. Although the case studies offer insight into a cross-section of youth media programs to provide valuable lessons for the field,researchers know that anecdotal evidence is not enough to generalize widely about the nature and kind of activities that can move youth media programs forward.Even advocates of youth media have charged that youth media has been informed by many "heartwarming stories" but not enough hard evidence of impact,success,and lessons learned. The NAMAC Youth Media Initiative therefore worked with Hi-Beam Consulting to conduct a pioneering quantitative study of youth media organizations in the United States.Fifty-nine youth media organizations responded to an online NAMAC questionnaire about their organizational structure,mission,and practices. The study also investigated the capacity and need for new and existing youth media programs.The results are included in the final article of this issue, "Mapping the Field:A Survey of Youth Media Organizations in the United States." This information provides a mother lode of baseline information that can be used by a wide range of researchers to study and track the field of youth media over time. Together, the quantitative and qualitative studies in A Closer Look:Media Arts 2003 provide valuable insight and practical strategies for youth media advocates as they move the field forward.

KATHLEEN TYNERis CEO and President of Hi-Beam Consulting in San Francisco. She is author of numerous books and articles on media education,including Literacy in a Digital World: Teaching and Learning in the Age of Information.

SPY HOP PRODUCTIONS AN D THE UNIVERSITY OF U TA H S H A P E A N E W V I S I O N F O R M E D I A L IT E R AC Y b y R e b e cc a D a P ra

gathering gaze

anet Wandra suggested in an article in Wide Angle in October 1994 that "children,in relation to film, have what might best be desc ribed as a ‘gathering gaze.’ Through the gathering gaze they attempt to acquire data,and through data,knowledge and … understanding." A gathering gaze is the best way to describe the youth in Salt Lake City, Utah, who

make ethnographic documentaries that investigate the "other side of the tracks." In Salt Lake City, the expression "the other side of the tracks" resonates because the city is literally divided in half by north/south-running railroad tracks and freeways.Historically, immigrant and minority families and laborers have settled on the "Westside," and middle-and upper-class residents have lived on the "Eastside." Students from the Eastside who attend the University of Utah, located on the east foothill of the Salt Lake Valley, far outweigh the

westside

number of students attending the university from the Westside.This year, Spy Hop Productions and the College of Humanities at the University of Utah instituted a collaborative program that addresses both of these issues—division and diversity—while engaging

HHRHH

youth in media production. Founded in 1999 by Rick Wray and Erik Dodd,Spy Hop Productions is a not-for-profit youth

eastside

media center that offers classes to help adolescents cultivate their visions and voices via the big screen,the airwaves,and the World Wide Web.Spy Hop provides a creative and dynamic media studio environment where young people from both Eastside and Westside actively engage in the production of their own narratives and find answers to the chal-

the other side of the tracks

lenges they face in their own lives.Spy Hop additionally offers students opportunities to work with media professional mentors,media literacy practitioners,and instructors. Located in a small downtown studio, complete with the latest in digital technology, Spy Hop provides educational opportunities that bridge the gap between "in-school" and "out-of-school" learning.Their programs enable youth,in a constructive,empowering, and rewarding manner, to communicate ideas,experiences,and feelings by creating their own short films, musical scores,and Web pages.Spy Hop also fosters positive interactions between students,mentors,and industry professionals.Students at Spy Hop have the opportunity to gain vocational skills and also to create relationships with local businesses and now with the University of Utah.

THE UNIVERSITY’S COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY AND THE COMMUNITY When President J. Bernard Machen took office at the University of Utah in January 1998, his agenda was to better develop community connections,particularly with Salt Lake

north/south

City’s Westside communities.As a catalyst,Machen also pushed a strong initiative to diversify the student population at the university. Dr. Robert Newman,dean,and Dr. Maureen Mathison,associate dean of the College of Humanities,share Machen’s vision. In 2002,they also wanted to expand the college’s course offerings in visual media."Visual media," Mathison believes,"is extremely important because it’s been undertheorized and underpracticed in academia.It hasn’t been valued.It’s been with us forever, and it’s something we haven’t paid much attention to because we’ve been so based in print literacy that we don’t think of visual literacy as literacy. This area,though,is becoming increasingly important because of technology and popular culture.So we need to start programs that theorize and help students to become critical thinkers in that area."

S PY H O P P R O D U C T I O N S A N D T H E U N I V E RS I T Y O F U TA H S H A P E A N E W V I S I O N F O R M E D I A L I TE RA C Y

HHRHH In late spring 2002,Newman and Mathison met with Wray

themselves and the culture of those around them. Says

and Dodd,toured Spy Hop’s facilities,and explored possible

Mathison,"The notion of the documentary, the ethnographic

collaboration.Newman says their meeting solidified the

documentary, is really critical to this because what we’re

College’s desire to work with Spy Hop."We’re interested in

interested in is documenting everyday lives of people,and

working with anyone who is creative and innovative and pro-

that serves as an educational tool.It’s not just learning cam-

duces interesting works of knowledge and ways of coming

era work,or about the technical aspects of visual literacy,

about knowledge.Also, Spy Hop is very interested in reaching

visual media, but it’s also learning about history, culture,lan-

out to ‘at risk’ youth,and has a strong Westside initiative,like

guage—musical ability because there’s usually a soundtrack.

the University does;I think their motivations are very similar,

It’s a holistic way of thinking.It brings together a lot of differ-

or parallel to ours,so it made sense to collaborate." Mathison

ent kinds of skills at one point to create an end product."

seconds that notion."We agreed with their philosophy of teaching and learning,and we thought there was a compati-

Once Mathison approved the syllabus,Bradley started recruit-

bility between us.Their approach is really cutting edge in a

ing students.He asked teachers,administrators,and commu-

lot of ways,and we recognize that and wanted them to be a

nity leaders in every Salt Lake Valley school and also recruited

part of what we do."

in schools and organizations like the Boys and Girls Club.

ORGANIZING THE COLLABORATION

project.About half the applications came from students

Wray, Dodd,Newman,and Mathison hit upon the idea of cre-

whose teachers told them about the program,and the other

Many teachers invited him into their classes to talk about the

ating a 1000-level class for Spy Hop to teach that could be

half came from students Bradley directly recruited.Bradley

offered through the College of Humanities for college credit

notes,"It’s a challenge to get kids interested in ‘documentary,’

to both high school and college students.Class time would be

and we had a few kids who applied specifically for the film-

divided between the Spy Hop studio and a classroom in the

making opportunity, but quite a few of them applied because

Language and Communication Building on campus.The class

they were interested in the topic more than filmmaking. We

would create three documentary films about the Westside.

pretty much took everyone we could get a commitment from

The topic was chosen for this collaboration because Spy Hop

(we weren’t overwhelmed with applications),although we

already had an agreement with Salt Lake’s Center for

did go through a full application process with the applica-

Documentary Arts to do a series of projects called Crossing

tions and then interviews for the value of the process."

the Tracks:Remapping the Westside. The project’s focus seemed particularly appropriate for collaboration with the

Keeping students in the course proved as tough as recruiting

College of Humanities because of their interests in develop-

them.Five of the kids who originally started out in the pro-

ing a stronger relationship with the Westside.

gram dropped out. The high school students had time conflicts for nearly the full course of the school year because

After the initial meeting,Spy Hop program manager Matt

their course work started in October, three months before the

Bradley was pulled into the mix.Bradley, a doctoral student at

college students joined them.The classes, which were held on

the University of Indiana,Bloomington, whose studies center

Monday and Wednesday from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.,also over-

on youth documentary and who is a Salt Lake native, was the

lapped with jobs and school-sponsored activities like sports,

only person on staff at Spy Hop unconditionally qualified to

drama,and debate.Three students dropped the course before

teach at the university level.He collaborated closely with

the official university course got under way. "Two of the stu-

Mathison to develop the course in detail, working hard to

dents who dropped," says Bradley, "were refugee youth from

draw up a syllabus for the class that would not step on the

Bosnia who had conflicts with jobs.Another one of them

toes of the Film School.The solution was to offer a different

had conflicts with her basketball schedule,and so she had

sort of filmmaking class—a class in making a documentary

to drop before we started at the university in January.…

from an ethnographic perspective.The ethnographic

Accommodating the busy schedules of the high school kids

approach was crucial not only because it separated the course

was a huge challenge."

from Film School offerings but also because students would learn to think critically as they gathered information about

"Visual media," Mathison believes, "is extremely important because it’s been under theorized and underpracticed in academia. It hasn’t been valued. It’s been with us forever, and it’s something we haven’t paid much attention to because we’ve been so based in print literacy that we don’t think of visual literacy as literacy. This area, though, is becoming increasingly important because of technology and popular culture. So we need to start programs that theorize and help students to become critical thinkers in that area." —Dr. Maureen Mathison,Associate Dean of the College of Humanities,University of Utah While Bradley persevered in recruiting and maintaining stu-

Mathison sees a program like this as being on the cutting

dent interest,Mathison and Newman went to bat for the

edge of education,and while some might see being on the

high school students with the university admissions board

cutting edge as risk,she sees it as a responsibility. "Trust and

and the college curriculum committee so that the high school

continuity are key to making this work. We’re making a com-

students could enroll for up to three credit hours for taking

mitment to people,and we have to follow through on that. I

the course.Although letting high school students earn college

don’t want to call them [the students] risks.I want to call

credit before completing high school,and without putting

them responsibilities.Doing this is only a risk if we don’t fol-

them through the full-scale admissions process,might seem

low through.… A risk is to let people come up here to fail. I

to be a lowering of standards,Newman does not see it that

would turn that around and say that it’s a responsibility not

way. "I don’t interpret it as a lowering of standards.I interpret

to let that happen."

it as,first of all,giving people who haven’t gone through the normal mainstream process an opportunity and elevating

GOALS AND BENEFITS

diversity on campus,and that’s to my mind possibly elevating

For the university and the College of Humanities,collaborat-

the educational experience, making it a more quality educa-

ing with Spy Hop is another opportunity to break down the

tional experience.It’s not a matter of lowering standards …

wall between the university and the Westside community.

we expected them to perform at the same level of other stu-

"A lot of people don’t think we’re accessible; we’re the ivory

dents,so the expectations were not diminished whatsoever."

tower; we’re up on the mountain," says Mathison."You can see this in one of the films they [the students] made—the

In her negotiations with the admissions board and the col-

Westside has the oil refineries,and the Eastside has the uni-

lege curriculum committee,Mathison made a strong argu-

versity. That typifies what the Westside thinks in some ways.

ment for valuing alternative knowledge,and she advocated

We want people to say the Westside also has the university.

turning away from the traditional process that values cultural

That’s our goal.This is an institution that serves all people in

capital and socioeconomic class so that the university could

the state of Utah." By targeting high school students through

provide access to the students they want to serve.Some

Spy Hop before they’ve made a decision about college,

members of the committee questioned her request because

Mathison hopes students will be more apt to consider the

university outreach programs generally take place at the high

University of Utah.She also sees this as an opportunity

schools,or if students come to campus,they are in non-credit-

where the university and the community can come together

bearing courses.Mathison’s answer was simple."We felt it

to build a stronger university and a stronger community by

was important for them to come here because unless you

sharing knowledge.

actually go to a place you don’t feel ownership or entitlement,and you don’t get that unless you actually have the

Administratively for Spy Hop,the collaboration means valida-

experience." Her arguments swayed the board and commit-

tion and greater credibility. It also advances their chances for

tee,and the students were allowed to enroll in the course via

being awarded grant money. As an instructor, working with

concurrent enrollment.Bradley applauds Mathison’s efforts

the university to teach a Spy Hop class is appealing because

and agrees that,"if the university is serious about attempts to

the pressure of being enrolled in a college course increases

reach out to the community to provide greater accessibility to

student ownership."When a student is not paying for a

diversify itself,then it needs to think about the way it mea-

class—Spy Hop offers scholarships to their students and

sures,and what it counts as valid knowledge."

keeps the cost of enrolling in their courses as low as possi-

Nevertheless,two students who had been attending the

you may be less likely to show up, less likely to follow

course at Spy Hop in the fall were not allowed to enroll at the

through on commitments, less likely to be here consistently.

university in January because they could not meet the admis-

When they’re getting a grade,then it does tend to encourage

ble—and there’s no type of evaluation," says Bradley, "then

sions criteria, even after the criteria had been slightly altered.

a little bit more participation and consistency where at other

Spy Hop hired these two students as assistants so that they

times,that may not be there.It gives them something else to

could continue to work on a project in which they were

work for. Plus, it really opens up opportunities for a lot of kids

already deeply invested.

who wouldn’t go to college to have that college experience."

S PY H O P P R O D U C T I O N S AN D T H E U N I V E RS I T Y O F U TA H S H A P E A N E W V I S I O N F O R M E D I A L I TE RA CY

Spy Hop provides a safe milieu for students to get a taste of

the films at a public screening at the city library increased

college because the students are already comfortable in its

students’sense of responsibility. Many came in on the week-

environment.In their eyes,the campus becomes an extension

ends or stayed late into the evening to work.Some had the

of Spy Hop.Thus,the organization acts as a transition,both

needed software at home and reportedly stayed up all night

geographically and socially, between the university and the

to get the work done.

high school or the neighborhood."Because the university is located up on the east bench," says Bradley, "many of the

Although one of the goals of the collaboration was to bring

youth who participated in the program were a bit intimidat-

together and value different kinds of knowledge,Bradley also

ed to go there.They had been taught Westside kids don’t go

admits it was challenging to find balance in a classroom com-

to the university, and it was a part of town that they weren’t

posed of college seniors in their twenties and 16-year-old high

familiar with.But to be able to go from Spy Hop to the uni-

school juniors.In some ways,he thought it was good because

versity together made the transition more comfortable for

people work at different levels at different skills.

them." As a result, attending college at the University of Utah could become a choice that might not previously have been in their vision.

"Knowledge," he says,"was uneven across—not between— the students." As a result,both he and Mathison hoped mentoring relationships would evolve in which the high school

Notably, when asked if they saw the course as a college class,

students could learn from the college students the realities of

most of the students said no, it was a Spy Hop class.Mathison

being a good college student,and the high school students

still hopes the experience will be an encouraging one that

could teach the college students about camera techniques

resonates positively with them later when they think about

that they had been versed in by Bradley in the fall and also

the university. The important thing,she says,is that "they’ve

about life’s realities on the Westside.

been working with an organization,and now it’s moved, but the critical thing is that it has moved.So there’s an associa-

Though mentoring relationships did develop,the high school

tion with the university, even though it may not be as explicit

students struggled with the required reading and with writ-

to them at this point."

ing college-quality work.However, when they worked in their groups,the students valued and complemented each other’s

OWNERSHIP AND BALANCE

different ways of knowing.In general,putting the students

For Bradley, one of the key issues he gr appled with was find-

into groups proved to be a good thing.But,as always,there

ing the right balance between giving enough teacher support

are pros and cons to group dynamics.The groups had an

and giving the students room for ownership and personal

uneven dispersal of college and high school students.One

success."Helping them to maintain ownership is obviously

of the groups had one college student, but when he stopped

something that is very difficult. You have to find that balance

attending the course towards the end of the semester for per-

between not leaving them somewhere where they’re com-

sonal reasons (though he was still enrolled),the remaining

pletely frustrated or intimidated because they don’t have the

three high school students had to pick up the pieces.The

knowledge to be able to do something, but still not doing it

situation would not have been as bad if he had not taken on

for them, leaving it in their hands to accomplish."

so many leadership responsibilities.One of the high school students,Ben Carthel,took on the leadership role for his

Students had different reasons for wanting to participate in

group and did the best he could with just a few weeks until

the class.Some wanted to learn or build their video produc-

the deadline.He had a piece, It Began West, ready for the

tion skills;others were interested in the topics;others were

screening at the end of May, but compared to the other two

there simply to try something they had not done before.

films, it still needed another month’s worth of group effort.

Consequently, devotion to the project varied.

The other groups’members stuck with their projects and did

Deadlines helped to increase student ownership. The demands

composed of highly independent students accustomed to

of filming and producing three fifteen-minute documentary

producing their own work;they had to learn about negotia-

films in sixteen weeks in time to earn a grade and to show

tion,stylistically and otherwise.

well.The group that produced The Other Side of the Track was

HRH All of the students had difficulty with the concept of ethnog-

vide seminars on financial aid,or get the Vice President for

raphy. They wanted a clear, concrete answer as to what it

Diversity more deeply involved,or possibly introduce the stu-

was, but Bradley wanted to problematize the term for them,

dents to ethnic student associations on campus. Regardless of

so he explained that,historically, ethnography has been the

the means,Mathison is determined to "create support sys-

study of "the other." Using this definition as a base,he pushed

tems to facilitate their comfort with college work and being

his students to explore the historical as well as the contempo-

comfortable on campus." She wants to attend and help with

rary implications of ethnography. They raised questions

more of the classes herself so that she too can build personal

about who gets to study whom and about the relationships of

relationships with the students.

power and privilege.This exploration created an interesting dynamic in the classroom because when students referred to

Lesson 2 Administratively, Mathison admits that as a new associate

the "other" that they were studying for these documentaries,

dean she doesn’t always recognize that things she took for

members of that "othered" group were sitting in the chair

granted as a professor are organized differently at the admin-

next to them.The students had to think very critically about

istrative level.A prime example of this was getting grade

how they gather, create,and output their ideas about the

sheets and teacher evaluation forms to Bradley. Normally, this

world around them.

sort of mundane paperwork would be taken care of by a department, but,because the class was being offered by the

COMMUNITY FEEDBACK

college instead of a department within the college,she had to

When the students premiered their work in May at a screen-

take care of these details herself and fell a bit behind the nor-

ing,question-and-answer session,and panel discussion at the

mal schedule for such things.

Bradley were thrilled with the community feedback.Because

Lesson 3 When Bradley next teaches the course,he intends to put

this was the first time Spy Hop had ever included a panel dis-

more weight on the readings.He says he let the readings

cussion with a screening,Bradley says it’s a bit hard to mea-

slide because the end products of the course were films,not

sure the community’s comments, but "people seemed really

papers.Even though he discussed readings in class,Bradley

city library, about 175 people attended.Both Mathison and

honest." The comments were diverse.Some audience mem-

admits,"I didn’t have that same type of expectation about the

bers were concerned that the films reified Westside stereo-

reading in this class,and I’m afraid I may have done a disser-

types.Others enthusiastically applauded the films because

vice [to the high school students] because when they do go to

they saw this as the first time the issue of how the Westside

college those expectations are there,and they’re going to

is constructed had been represented.He sees the commentary

have to do their readings."

as a "stepping-stone to conversation.People can start thinking about,and questioning,and talking about what are these stereotypes? What are the ways we’re thinking about our

challenging.Because two groups worked very well and one

community? And use these to facilitate those conversations."

group did not work quite as well,Bradley says,"I would like to

According to Mathison,the films should continue to foster

have more short meetings with groups to make sure they’re

conversation.They were immediately scheduled for screening

on track.I may have left a little bit too much for them to do."

at a Westside Partnership Board meeting in summer 2003

He did meet with them three or four times, but in retrospect,

and again in October 2003 at the Western States Rhetoric and

he does not think this was enough to make sure that the

Literacy Conference hosted by the University of Utah.

groups kept the work equitable across the group.

LESSONS LEARNED

Lesson 1 Mathison and Newman learned that this program was a good thing to do and th at it is worthy of expansion.And because the high school students’relationship is stronger with Spy Hop than with the university, Mathison says she would like to find ways to be more supportive of the high school stu dents when they are on campus.The university might pro-

Lesson 4 The process of working in collaborative teams also proved

Lesson 5 At the beginning of the semester, he had intended to have the students write journals.This didn’t happen.Instead,students wrote end-of-semester responses in which they had to write about what they learned,and they had to write self and group evaluations.Sticking with the journal in the future will let him keep up with what each person is doing, what their responsibility is,and how they are following through within

S PY H O P P R O D U C T I O N S A N D T H E U N I V E RS I T Y O F U TA H S H A P E A N E W V I S I O N F O R M E D I A L I TE RA C Y

their group.Bradley feels this is particularly important because the high school students are less likely to be familiar with the expectations of group work at the college level and with what college-level quality is.

FUTURE OUTLOOK The future of this partnership is bright.Both Spy Hop and the College of Humanities look forward to planning next year’s class.The topic has yet to be decided.Mathison suggested looking at stereotypes and countering them;Bradley suggested looking at Eastside stereotypes or perh aps looking at refugee groups in the Salt Lake Valley. Both are open to the other’s ideas. The college believes this class has tremendous growth potential.Students will be able to take the class as many as three times,as long as the thematic focus is different.If there are enough students interested,the college is open to offering two sections during the 2003–2004 school year. And though they would like to be able to offer more sections than that, they are currently confined by the amount of equipment available to them.If a proposal to house the class in either the English or Communication department is successful,that

"The notion of the documentary, the ethnographic documentary, is really critical to this because what we’re interested in is documenting everyday lives of people, and that serves as an educational tool. It’s not just learning camera work, or about the technical aspects of visual literacy, visual media, but it’s also learning about history, culture, language— musical ability because there’s usually a soundtrack. It’s a holistic way of thinking. It brings together a lot of different kinds of skills at one point to create an end product."

issue might be quelled.Alternatively, if the class does not correlate with the vision of either one of those two departments,Mathison suggests that perhaps the class will evolve in conjunction with the Documentary Center currently

—Dr. Maureen Mathison,Associate Dean of the College of Humanities,University of Utah

developing in the College of Humanities.Although the details of their future collaboration have not yet been defined,the staff at Spy Hop and administrators at the university are committed to their responsibility to positively shape the vision of Salt Lake City’s Westside youth through the media arts for years to come. For more information aboutSpy Hop, you can visit www.spyhop.org. More information about the University of Utah’s College of Humanities is available at www.hum.utah.edu.

REFERENCE Wandra,Janet.1994."A Gaze Unbecoming:Schooling the Child for Femininity in Days of Heaven." Wide Angle. 4–24.

REBECCA DAPRA is a second-year doctoral student in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah,where she studies rhetoric, gender, and culture. She is editor of the Rocky Mountain Communication Review, an online graduate communication journal.

A P L A C E TO B E H E A R D :

The Cambridge Community Art Center’s Teen Media Program b y A d r i a n a Ka t ze w

cross from Boston,on the other side of the winding Charles River, lies the city of Cambridge,home of two prestigious academic institutions— Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).Sandwiched geographically between these universities,in Central Square,is "Area Four," a working-class neighborhood with the highest

percentage of families living below the poverty line and also with the most diversity. It is in this part of Cambridge that the Community Art Center resides.Founded in 1932 by a group of local parents,the center was initially housed in the basement of Harvard’s BuschReisinger museum.It has moved several times but has always maintained a connection with Newtowne Court,a public housing development across the street from its current location on Windsor Street.Its participants are mostly children and youth of color. Tucked into the back of a building that also houses a community and health center, the center offers two after-school arts programs:the School Age Child Care Program for 5- to 12-year-old children,and the Teen Media Program (TMP) for youth ages 11 to 19.Compared to any other space in the center, the TMP room is the largest. Teens congregate around a big table to discuss their projects or lounge on the futons in the room.

“I think kids who live in struggle tend to produce work that connects to social justice; it’s just the nature of what people do. When they’re being oppressed, they tend to make art that says, ‘don’t oppress me’ without even being told to do so.” —Susan Richards,Executive Director, Community Art Center

As part of a strategic plan for the center, Commart and Associates (1997),a Massachusetts consulting firm,conducted more than thirty interviews with constituents of the center and found that the key strength of the center is the TMP. The TMP seems to be so much the focus of the center that one staff member called the School Age Child Care Program "its neglected stepchild." The focus on the TMP is due in part to the long and strong connection of Susan Richards, who became its teacher/director in 1985 and remained in that role until 1994, when she became the center’s executive director. Even now that she has left the center, her connection with the TMP persists,as she stays in touch with several alumni from the program. With Joe Douillette as its director from 1997 to 2002,the TMP gained national recognition by organizing and hosting the yearly Do It Your Damn Self!! National Youth Video and Film Festival. Desi Washington,current director of the center, explains that,in comparison to the School Age Child Care Program,"the Teen Media Program has a higher profile;and even beyond that,the film festival has an even higher profile." He recalls that at a conference he attended with Douillette,nobody knew of the Community Art Center, but everyone knew of the Do It Your Damn Self!! Festival. According to evidence gathered from observations,interviews,questionnaires,and a review of related documents,the impact of the TMP is clear. The program’s strength lies in the following areas: A second home and family Mentorship Reaching outproactively Working together and deciding together A place to be heard

A P L A C E TO B E H E A RD :

The Cambridge Community Art Center’s Teen Media Program

"I have been in this program for so long that everybody here is so kind and caring. It’s like everywhere I go I have another brother and sister. Whenever you are down, they are always there to pick you right back up. They are there to help you through your problems and anything else that you need help with." —Michelle, a former TMP member

A SECOND HOME AND FAMILY

In a grant application to the National Endowment for the

Although one of the program’s stated goals is "to improve the

Arts,Myrlande said that the staff "treat us good because they

lives of teens by offering a consistently safe,supportive,and

treat us like we are their own children." This sense of family

positive environment," the teens experience it as far more

is evident in the center’s kitchen.Karen,the cook—herself a

than that.For them,the TMP is a second home,and the mem-

member of the center back in the ’70s when she was in gram-

bers of the Community Art Center are an extended family.

mar school—leaves the door to the kitchen open and is fre-

For many of these young people,this sense of home and of

quently visited by program members,especially the girls.On

family is the result of their growing up in the center, starting

any given day, one to four girls are in the kitchen helping and

first as little children in the School Age Child Care Program

talking with Karen.Karen is a confidante to these girls, who,

and then graduating to the TMP.

she says,"will come to me and talk to me before they go to talk to their parents." Karen explains that the children and

This sense of home extends to graduates of the TMP. John

teens come to her because,amidst the continuous turnover of

Will,now a senior in college studying engineering,started

staff members at the center, she has stayed with them since

coming to the center at age 10,only three weeks after he

she became the cook about ten years ago. "I haven’t aban-

immigrated from Haiti.He still visits the center often.A pre-

doned them,I haven’t left them like everybody else,and if

vious staff member remarked that "he’s still here;he’ll always

there’s a problem,they can come to me,talk to me."

be here ’cause not only have we given [him] art; we’ve given [him] a great big sense of community." At his graduation

MENTORSHIP

from the TMP program three years ago, he described the cen-

Mentorship is an important aspect of the teamwork and

ter as "my home; it’s my second home," and three years later,

collaboration in the TMP. The artist-in-residence program,

he still refers to it as "my own background;that’s where I

started in 1998,provides a strong mentorship component

came from."

for teens.While some of the center’s and TMP’s promotional material describes this program as being "in full swing," it is

Michelle,a former TMP member, started coming to the center when she was 6 or 7 years old.Her view is very positive:

sporadic.Only a few artists in residence have worked in longterm projects with the teens—notably, Boston-based filmmaker Robert Patton-Spruill and West African filmmaker

I have been in this program for so long that everybody here is so kind and caring. It’s like everywhere I go I have another brother and sister. Whenever you are down,they are always there to pick you right back up. They are there to help you through your problems and anything else that you need help with.

Abderrahmane Sissako. Other mentors include three TMP alumni who taught photography, video, and graphic design. Yet the impact of the artists on the teens is clear. Those who worked with the artists speak of this experience without prompting.

Myrlande is another member of the TMP whose ties to the

Other mentorship opportunities are conducted in informal

center are long.She has been coming to the center since she

settings.For example,as part of the Do It Your Damn Self!!

was 5 years old.In sharing her story, Myrlande talks about

Festival,the center’s staff,board members,and other commu-

how her parents,as Haitian immigrants,"didn’t really have a

nity members are invited to attend the screenings to help the

lot of experience with things and didn’t know much,so they

members run and facilitate discussion groups with the teens.

wanted to send us to a place that ... could take care of us after

An even greater impact comes from the kind of informal

school, where we got help with our homework." Since the

mentorship that takes place between the program directors

family lived right next to the center when it was in the base-

and the members and among the teens themselves.Both

ment of the Newtowne Court housing project,Myrlande and

participants and alumni speak about the support they have

her older sister were sent to the center. Initially, Myrlande

received from their respective directors.They say the directors

only thought of the center as a place to go after school, but

and teachers have played vital roles in their lives and have

now "sometimes I call it my second home ’cause I’ve been

made a lasting positive impact on them.Beyond their tech-

here so long."

nical knowledge of video and photography, they are mentors who are personally involved with the participants.

When asked what he remembers most of the TMP, Tyrone

Douillette’s positive relationship with the teens is due in part

Bellitti,an alumnus who is a professional photographer and

to the fact that he has learned to listen to the teens and con-

served as a visiting artist at the TMP in 2003, credits Richards.

nect with them on a "soul level" while at the same time

"Working with a mentor who really cared about me and the

maintaining the role of teacher. As he explains,"they want

arts made a world of difference.I believe that Susan really

that,they want someone who really cares about them." This

cared more about the kids than the arts but used the arts as

is echoed by Richards, who notes that her photography room

an outlet to get inner c ity youth involved in something bigger

was "truly like a safe haven … it was always about all of it:

than the street corner."

it was about teaching photography, but it was about them having a place to go and somebody who l oves them."

The current director of the TMP, Paulina Mauras, says that one of the most memorable moments in the program was "Susan

Douillette was trained as a producer in college,did live TV for

and all that she has taught me for being my mentor, advo-

a local channel,and ran his own business doing corporate

cate,teacher, friend." She specifically refers to Richards as the

videos.He initially approached his position as TMP director

person who supported her when she became pregnant at the

from the perspective of production and not as a social service

age of 17 and refers to the director that followed,George

person. He thought that he would create a production schedule,

Reyes,as a person who helped her apply for college.Another

and then the teens would learn how to use the camera and

alumna,Ardeene Goodridge,speaks of Richards as a mentor

go at it.But as the TMP director, he began to think of his role

both at the professional level—teaching about media and the

more holistically, realizing that his job should be about more

business aspect of writing proposals and the like—and at the

than teaching them how to use the camera."My job is to

personal level,since "we were like her children."

become like a community member, to truly understand them,

Joe Douillette also made a positive impact during his years as

also then in their development as peers and as video produc-

to be their advocate,both personally in the community and director. Pablo, a recent alumnus of the program and veteran

ers too." Richards found that Douillette developed a little

member who saw four directors come and go, speaks posi-

community of kids and "realized the beauty and the value of

tively of the structured program that Douillette set up,with

developing this core of kids and how that is like a really

specific groups and activities for the teens.Pablo admitted in

incredible production in and of itself,to get them here and

an interview that "without Joe,I would be lost … I kinda look

get them coming."

up to him as a big brother, so to speak." More specifically,

Pablo refers to the support that Douillette gave him,helping

Students also mentor one another through peer instruction

with school papers and college applications,as well as push-

during the course of production.The importance of peer

ing him with writing and public speaking skills.

mentorship is reflected in Pablo’s words:

A P L A C E TO B E H E A RD :

The Cambridge Community Art Center’s Teen Media Program

Now I’m a "senior" here like my sisters were. I have young people to follow in my footsteps.I now help the young adults here to learn how to crawl before they can walk with creativity much like those who came before me.

Pablo’s hope is that this cycle of mentorship "will continue and become expanded,resembling a ripple in an ocean of potential."

REACHING OUT PROACTIVELY The importance of proactive outreach is something that

The teens in the program are integral to the decision-making process,reinforcing the core value and established practice of teamwork.For instance,in 1996,a group of girls established the initial genre categories for the festival.The experimental category was added later by Douillette and members of the program.The decision-making power of the teens in the media program is also reflected in the judging process for the festival.In 1997, the festival’s second year, the videos were judged by the 1996 TMP alumnae who had started the festival. Subsequent TMP members decided that festival entries should instead be discussed by young people who attend a

alumni and participants stress.Several of them mention how

special screening and discussion session designated exclu-

Richards would draw them in by making herself and the TMP

sively for them as part of the festival.

members visible in the community. The film and video equipment attracted onlookers like a magnet.Alumna Ardeene

Democratic decision making is also reflected in the festival’s

Goodridge remembers,"next you knew, you were wrapped

name change.Originally the festival was named the Do It

into doing something,either holding the camera for that day

Your Damn Self!! Inner City National Youth Video and Film

or whatever … and you’re wrapped in for the rest of your life."

Festival because it was limited to inner-city youth producers.

Richards admits that as TMP director, she became less of a

Subsequent TMP members voted to open it up to teen

teacher and more of a social worker, always reaching out to

producers from urban and rural areas,as well as any other

the community and going after the teens who were getting

place where young producers might not have the space or

lost."I saw that as the urgency, and so I’ve trained [Joe] to do

acceptance to show their films.

more of that,like don’t just work with the ones that show up. You gotta go back out and get the ones you’ve lost because

The TMP members’belief that they have extensive decision-

they are the ones who are dying out there."

making power is exemplified by Pablo’s comment that "the festival is run by us teens,administrated by the adults."

Alumnus Bellitti describes the importance of outreach,espe-

Michelle agrees."Not just the adults that work here, but the

cially for children living in dangerous neighborhoods."One

teens that work here [are] running [the festival]." Douillette,

day [Susan] walked into Newtowne Court (the housing

however, explains that while the teens are vital players in the

development) with a 35mm camera and offered to teach me

festival and take charge of as many things as possible,they

how to use it.Susan was a saving grace for me at the time.

do not run the festival by themselves.Many of the key deci-

Newtowne Court was a rough place back then,and my only

sions need to be made by the adults since it is now a national

other outlet was baseball.Susan opened up a new door and

and growing international festival.

allowed me to learn how to express myself without words through photography." The idea is not to wait for the youth

The desire to create a democ ratic environment extends to the

to walk into the center but to go out to them and bring them

center’s hiring process,an organizational feature attributed to

into this haven within the community.

Richards.Her practice was to include children from the program in the hiring process:"I pretty much started involving

WORKING TOGETHER AND DECIDING TOGETHER

youth in hiring.... I created more of a process, I think, in general,

Each fall,the members of the TMP organize and host the Do

for everything that I thought didn’t exist,like staff involve-

It Your Damn Self!! National Youth Video and Film Festival.

ment in the hiring,and then youth involvement,and now

When the festival approaches,the focus and attention of all

parent involvement ... and it’s always nice when everybody’s

members are on it.The teens screen all video entries in com-

in ... and there’s consensus about who to hire ’cause then you

mittees chaired by teens.Each committee screens the videos

feel like,‘okay, we made the right decision.’" For instance,

from one of the following categories:animation,public ser-

Mauras,then a participant of the program, was involved in

vice announcements, music video, video poetry, experimen-

the hiring of Douillette for the position of director. Douillette,

tal,documentary, and narrative.A smaller group of teens

in turn,carried on the legacy by involving teens in the hiring

then curate the videos to be screened at the festival.This

of a new executive director for the center when Richards left

type of teamwork is part of the fabric of the TMP.

that position.And the same tradition has followed with the

departure of Douillette as co-executive director of the center. Teamwork and collaboration involves a set of clear expectations for all stakeholders,including the staff.Respect is one of these expectations.Douillette,for instance,established respect as a guideline for all committees screening the videos submitted for the festival.He specified that committee

their damn selves, starting one of the foremostnational youth video and film festivals….The Do It Your Damn Self!! National Youth Video and Film Festival is our attempt to give youth like us a national audience to experience and celebrate our unique perspectives of the cultural life of this country. The mission of our festival was, is, and always will be, to give youth producers like ourselves a place to be heard.

members were to be respectful to each other during the video discussions and in the comments they wrote in the critique

One of the founders of the festival,Mauras,explained in an

forms about each video. He also requested that,as the end

interview for The Boston Globe (Ribadeneira,1997) that "we

of the screening process grew near , the teens give the last

felt we had been doing video forever, but did not really, really

videos the same attention they gave the earlier ones.

have a voice.And we knew there were other kids out there who were just like us,and who was going to give us the

During Douillette’s time as TMP director, several members of

opportunity?"

the program said that they felt respected by their peers and by the staff and th at they monitored each other when any of

Inevitably, the ideologies of the directors seep into their

them would be disrespectful.As one member said,"Since I

effort to provide social justice for its participants.For

started to come here,I changed a lot.I became more coopera-

Richards,the teens "develop a voice" through the videos they

tive and professional." He attributes his change to the way

make,and a goal of the TMP is to "help teens learn to use

the other people in the program would work around him

video and photography as a way to speak their mind about

because he was being rude.Now that he has changed his

issues that come up in the community or in their lives"

attitude,he feels that "I get respect here."

(Goodridge,Germain,and Douillette,2000).

A PLACE TO BE HEARD

Though Richards said in an interview for The Boston Globe

Closely connected to the directors’desire to create a demo-

(Negri,1999) that "the content of the video is a vehicle for

cratic environment at the Community Art Center is their

them to express their social,political,or personal point of

practice of creating a space in which the voices of the young

view," she does not hide the fact that she tends to be more

people in the TMP are heard.

political and that she prefers the teens to use their voice in a more political way. In an interview while she was still the

The creation of the Do It Your Damn Self!! National Youth

executive director of the center, she spoke of a video made

Video and Film Festival by a group of girls in the program

by a girl in the program who had recently fled her war-torn

reflects the space for teens to have a voice.The youth

country. The girl’s video was a purely aesthetic piece combin-

producers’mission statement explains:

ing architectural shots with classical music. Though Richards acknowledges that it was a beautiful piece and that individuals

The Do It Your Damn Self!! National Youth Video and Film Festival was created in 1996 by a group of inner-city teen video producers from Cambridge who felt they were being misrepresented and under-represented in the media.They knew they couldn’t waitaround for the media to getitright,so they did it

should be able to choose the work they want to create,her worry was that the girls would ultimately forget or push aside her experiences in her native country if she did not reflect on them.

A P L A C E TO B E H E A RD :

The Cambridge Community Art Center’s Teen Media Program

The tension that the directors themselves experience in

"goof-off videos," and others are serious videos.After making

conceiving what the nature of the teens’ work should be is

the documentary, though,she wants to focus on serious

continuously present,and it is inevitably influenced by their

videos because there are "some really strong messages that

ideologies.Richards’s interest in social justice,for example,

people need to listen to."

is reflected when she says,"I think kids who live in struggle tend to produce work that connects to social justice; it’s just

What is clear from reviewing many of the photographs and

the nature of what people do. When they’re being oppressed,"

videos created by TMP members is that there is great range

she continues,"they tend to make art that says,‘don’t oppress

among them—both in terms of quality and also in terms of

me’without even being told to do so...." However, she recog-

the genres used.Some create documentaries ("A day in the

nizes that "maybe we shouldn’t just assume that children of

life of…"),others create fictional pieces,and others create

color or low-income children are always gonna produce stuff

more poetic and artistic personal expressions.And though

about some social justice issues."

adults might place a video in one category (for example, social justice vs.artistic expression),the teens in the program

While the members of the TMP can do videos about anything

seem to ignore such need for categorizations and instead

they want, at times the directors of the program play a role

"mix and match" genres and styles according to their own

in selecting the themes.During the 2000 summer program,

vision.

the teens were to create a product every week based on words that Douillette would give them,such as power,

Yet the voices of the teens are not simply reflected in the pro-

racism,and stereotypes—words that are unquestionably

duction of videos or photographs.Nearly all the teens inter-

charged.Ultimately, though,the teens take the words and

viewed mentioned the impact of Douillette’s push for them to

develop an idea to which they give voice through their

develop public speaking skills and confidence.Alumnus John

videos.Furthermore,several alumni stressed that they do

Will talks about learning to communicate in public and make

not see themselves as having been forced into doing docu-

eye contact as well as acquiring professional and time man-

mentaries about their lives.

agement skills,including how to carry himself, all of which he learned in the program and all of which have opened

For some of the teens,videos are a good way to express feel-

doors to jobs.

ings and thoughts that they cannot share otherwise.Two participants of the program,for instance, made a music video

Whether it is through the videos they make,through their

as a farewell gift for the theater teacher at the center as a

selection of videos for the festival,or through activities that

way to "put my feelings into the video" and "express the stuff

allow them to speak in front of others about their work or

you don’t want to say out loud." Another girl said that she

the work of the program,the teens have a place to be heard

sometimes likes putting some of her thoughts into video

in the TMP.

"because you get to see it visually…."

LESSONS LEARNED Older members of the program elaborate in greater depth

The TMP’s stated goals are to offer a safe and supportive

this idea of video as language.Both Pablo and John Will spoke

environment,to increase self-esteem and critical thinking

of the link between video and literacy. Pablo considers videos

skills through the exploration of media,and to expose the

a great way to communicate with those who do not read. For

participants to the stereotypes and inequities presented in

John Will,a video has more power than the written word.

the mass media and encourage them to use these media

"Not everybody can read your paper," he explains,"but if you

as an agent of change.

put it on video, everybody will understand it,they will see it, they will learn from it…."

Lesson 1 and of family is an important element The sense of home that contributes to the program’s success and its retention

For Michelle,the power of video lies in the changes that it can

of students,especially amidst an organization with a high

bring about in society. A documentary about a homeless man

staff turnover.

that she worked on received a lot of attention, which "did some good because now they’re really paying attention to the

Lesson 2 A collaborative environment is also key to the program’s

homeless … it’s getting out there, it’s real good." Michelle

success.The program positions media making as a team

acknowledges that some of the videos they do at the TMP are

effort,with some teens writing the script,others appearing

in front of the camera,and still others involved in the editing

Older members and alumni,however, discuss messages with a

process. The preparation for the Do It Your Damn Self!!

much more critical eye than do younger members.

National Youth Video and Film Festival also requires extensive administrative and creative teamwork on everyone’s part—staff and youth alike.

Lesson 3also reinforced through both formal and Collaboration is

Lesson 8 of youth producers outside the TMP also Having a network has a positive effect on its participants.By hosting a festival and attending festivals in other parts of the country and the world,the teens are exposed to the work that their peers are

informal mentoring.Credit for the mentorship is attributed to

producing in other places.This exposure to new work gets the

TMP directors, who mentor participants in all aspects of the

teens to challenge themselves and think seriously about their

program and also in basic life skills such as schoolwork,post-

own work.

high-school plans, and personal problems and struggles. Visiting media artists and other adults who work with the

Over time,teens in the TMP use media to find their voices,

teens also provide mentoring opportunities.In addition,stu-

enhance a range of skills,and build confidence in a safe and

dents informally mentor each other by helping and support-

respectful learning environment.They become aware of a

ing each other in a peer-to-peer environment.

range of benefits they receive from the program,including

Lesson 4 A flexible environment with high expectations for the teens

personal gains,a sense of community, and a growing critical eye in understanding the mass media.And through the work

further contributes to the success of the program.The adults

they produce and the yearly festival they put together, these

have created an environment that is very different from

young people also reveal themselves as active players in

schools,of which most of the teens interviewed speak nega-

providing alternatives to what the mass media presents

tively. In contrast to school,members described the program

about youth of color.

as an environment where they can think instead of memorize and where they feel respected. At school,they get tested, quizzed,and graded; at the TMP, "everybody’s a winner,"

REFERENCES

according to one participant.

Commart and Associates.1997. "Key Findings and Themes From Assessment Interviews." Needham,MA: Community Art Center, Inc.

Lesson 5 The relevance of the program to participants’career plans is mixed.Some of the alumni report college majors and career paths directly related to the impact and influence of the TMP. Yet,though most of the participants interviewed say that they enjoy video production and photography and foresee doing them as a hobby, only one expressed an interest in

Goodridge, V.,Germain,M.S.,and Douillete, J. "Lights,Camera,Action!" 4 Word:News & Views in Area 4, 20 June 2000,1-3. Negri,G."Developing More than Film." Boston Sunday Globe, 19 September 1999,p.10,13. Ribadeneira, T. "Young Filmmakers Aren’t Kidding Around." Boston Sunday Globe, 16 November 1997, p.13,15.

video production as a career.

Lesson 6 Skill building is not the only indicator of success for the program.Alumni report that media production stimulates participants’imagination, builds their critical and thinking skills, and increases their self-esteem.Most members say they are more confident.Their self-esteem is enhanced by the direc-

ADRIANA KATZEW is an advanced doctoral student at Harvard University Graduate School of Education.Her interestand research areas include the intersection of media arts and communities of color, with a specific interestin youth as well as Chicano artist activists.She obtained her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and taught photography and creative writing to recent Latino immigrants in middle school through an Echoing Green fellowship.

tor’s encouragement to do public speaking, attend and present their work at other festivals,and make decisions as to what they want to work on.

Lesson 7 The teens also speak with confidence about the videos they

"[The Community Art Center is] my home; it’s my second home…my own background; that’s where I came from."

create. They are knowledgeable about video and photography technical skills and about the power of the screen and visual media, and they clearly understand the messages they receive from advertisements,commercial videos, films, and television.

—John Will,a TMP graduate,now a senior in college studying engineering

Artwork by Luis Sierra courtesy REACH LA.

R E AC H L A :

Reaching Out in New Directions by Jim Mora n

EACH LA was founded in 1992 by four women actively involved in the Los Angeles arts community:photographer and media artist Eve Luckring,interdisciplinary artist Diane Bromberg,painter Laura Owens, and community organizer Tessa DeRoy. They envisioned an organization that would foster a working partnership between artists and urban

teenagers, who together would address pertinent social issues via the media arts.During a series of early focus groups to explore how REACH LA might best meet the most pressing needs of local youth,Luckring and her associates discovered that education about both media production and HIV/AIDS was missing from high school curricula throughout the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).Soon after, they met to brainstorm the most effective and creative means to reach a c ritical mass of young people with information about HIV/AIDS prevention. The result of these meetings was Club Prophylactive,an interactive, multimedia dance event providing an outreach opportunity for a range of clinics and agencies to bring HIV/AIDS education to young people actively engaged in the Los Angeles club scene.Media artist Gina Lamb was brought on to assist with the design of the club’s multimedia pieces, drawing on her previous experience producing videos in youth communities.Richard "Humpty" Vission,a DJ with local radio station Power 106,took a strong interest in the club’s emphasis on social action and convinced a roster of talent to get involved,including the Wu-tang Clan, who made one of their first live appearances at the club. The smashing success of Club Prophylactive’s first annual event spread the news about REACH LA—indeed, it built the organization’s reputation.No w, more than a decade and a multitude of changes later, REACH LA has evolved to offer a much broader scope of youthdriven services and programs.Nevertheless,under the current leadership of Executive Director Martha Chono-Helsley, Program Director Gina Lamb,and Carla Gordon,Director of Development and Community Relations,REACH LA continues to adhere to its founders’ original mission to educate,motivate,and mobilize LA's urban youth.

THE MISSION OF REACH LA The mission of REACH LA is to operate programs that enable youth to improve the conditions directly affecting their emotional,physical,social,and intellectual well-being and to help them transition to successful adulthood through innovative projects,networking,and advocacy. REACH LA’s programming is designed to educate,motivate,and mobilize youth to become proactive educators who can effect change in their own Los Angeles communities. By training youth in communications skills, leadership,health education,digital arts,and advanced technologies,the full-time staff provides them opportunities to develop original products and services that disseminate critical health information to their peer communities,offer connections to youth-friendly community resources,and foster ongoing dialogues on issues of teen wellness,empowerment,and social activism. Adolescents are among the most difficult target populations to access effectively because of their feelings of invincibility, their strong desires to be accepted by their peers,and their developmental need for exploration and experimentation.For these reasons,all program development is based on youth advisory and leadership and is tailored to "youth culture."

REACH LA :

Reaching Out in New Directions

Pictured,from left to right: Taizet Hernandez,Christopher Harris,Esperanza Barajas.

Through its Peer Educator Program, Youth Event and Advisory Council,and youth training programs,REACH LA positions its target constituency—teenage youth from Los Angeles—to take a leadership role in the design and implementation of all programs and services.

PROGRAMS AND SERVICES While diverse and continuously growing,REACH LA’s programs and services focus on five major areas: youth activism, health and reproductive health, LGBTQ issues (lesbian/gay/ bisexual/transgender/questioning),art,and technology. Many programs integrate one or more of these areas in what might best be described as an interdisciplinary approach. Youth members typically first attend a series of health

GET ACTIVE:Introductions and warm-up exercises using physical,sensory, and trust exercises. WHO ARE YOU AND WHO DO YOU PRETEND TO BE? A self-reflective exercise that helps participants think abouttheir identities and how personal experience, peers, media, family, and religion influence personal growth and risky behavior. FORUM: Participants act outrisky situations and rehearse interventions to discover new options to negotiate them. Participants stop the action of the scene so that the protagonistcan see the potential to act differently. KNOW YOUR BODY: An overview of human anatomy and personal hygiene.

education workshops as a prerequisite to participation in media arts workshops. The organization’s most visible and successful programs are Come•Feel•Active,Pro•Feel•Active,and Computer•Active.

Come•Feel•Active Come•Feel•Active (CFA) comprises a series of interactive workshops and follow-up activities focusing on health education and personal negotiation skills to prevent pregnancy and

HIV/AIDS/PREGNANCY PREVENTION EDUCATION 101: An overview of prevention methods. DIFFICULT PARTNER:An activity in which participants play roles to develop their negotiation and communication skills to deal with a difficultpartner. DEBRIEF: Facilitators and participants work together to make connections between pregnancy and HIV prevention and the story solutions that were acted out.

infection from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Conducted at REACH LA or at designated youth organizations, clubs,and schools,these sessions are led by peer educators,

POST-TEST: A test for HIV knowledge is administered along with an evaluation survey.

youth who provide the frontline education to other youth about taking ownership of their own wellness and lives.

In addition to workshops servicing a broadly diverse youth

The peer educators are an intensively trained workforce

segment,REACH LA has tailored a workshop with a specific

well versed in reproductive health issues,facilitation, youth

focus on young women at sexual risk through its CFA:Girls

interventions, program assessment,and evaluation through

Only! Workshop.

REACH LA’s summer boot camp training program run by the senior CFA staff.

Pro•Feel•Active

Over a period of one to six months,participating youth must

issues of teen wellness with arts,culture,and social activism.

Pro•Feel•Active (PFA) comprises outreach events that blend commit to attending a four-and-a-half-hour interactive

PFA activities bring young people together for the purpose of

workshop,followed by three one-on-one counseling sessions,

educating,motivating,and mobilizing their communities to

during which they work on a self-selected area for personal

help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and teen pregnancy.

growth.A CFA workshop schedule typically includes the following activities:

Pictured,from left to right:Hector Flores,Amanda Alfieri,Mando Blanco.

The most visible example of a PFA event is the perennial Club

REACH LA houses its own digital studio, including Macintosh

Prophylactive, which moves HIV/AIDS education out of the

computer lab stations complete with digital video editing,

classroom and into a comfortable,familiar social setting.On

desktop publishing,and graphic and Web design software.

the dance floor of the club, youth are confronted with slide

This technology was funded by private foundations such

and video projections of positive images of sexuality, statis-

as the California Endowment,Macy’s PASSPORT, S.Mark

tics regarding youth and HIV, slogans encouraging self-pro-

Taper Foundation,Liberty Hill Foundation,Labor Day LA,

tective behaviors,and depictions of safer sexual practices.

Community Technology Foundation of California,and

These presentations are cut like a "club loop" and use psyche-

LIFEbeat Foundation.

delic imagery and graphics to integrate the information into a dance club format.

The REACH LA Web site (www.reachla.org) is the organization’s most visible digital medium.It functions as both a dis-

Off the dance floor is the Latex Lounge, where representatives

seminator of information and a gallery for artwork,poetry,

from local health agencies and clinics provide HIV/AIDS

and short stories. Youth between the ages of 13 and 23 pro-

information.Here also is a safe place where youth can under-

duce all of the site’s content and work with the staff on its

go anonymous HIV antibody testing.In booths surrounding

design and administration.

the dance floor, peer educators provide counseling creatively packaged in entertaining,interactive formats.In the Fortune-

REACH for Me is the organization’s biannual magazine devot-

Telling Tent,for instance, youth receive one-on-one risk

ed to urban youth culture.Produced,written,designed,and

reduction counseling through tarot card readings, crystal

published by youth, it provides an outlet for them to express

balls,and assorted familiar divination techniques.At the

concerns,ideas,and issues they face,such as identity, sexuali-

Tattoo Booth, youth are counseled on HIV transmission

ty, and emotional and physical health. To date, approximately

through needle sharing while a tattoo artist draws a custom-

20,000 volumes have been distributed through local social

designed temporary tattoo. And at a variety of game booths,

service and health organizations,community centers,health

the "tools" of safer behavior are integrated into game formats

fairs,libraries,and schools.

such as Twister and Wheel of Fortune.

Youth Arts Collective Computer•Active

The Youth Arts Collective assists youth (ages 15 to 22) in

Computer•Active programs expand REACH LA's vision of

developing professional art portfolios in preparation for

empowering youth through the use of digital video, digital

admission to art schools or art departments within colleges

arts publishing,animation,and graphic and Web design.

and universities.This program’s most recent success occurred

Youth who have previously completed the CFA program are

when the California Arts Council awarded REACH LA a "Next

eligible to attend hands-on technical and artistic workshops

Generation" grant to exhibit the artwork of youth attending

that offer introductory to advanced training in a project-

a portfolio production workshop.Titled Wipe Your Feet, the

based learning environment.These projects have included

exhibition was curated by youth (Ana Lopez,18,and

youth-produced multimedia productions, a magazine for

Esperanza Barajas,20) under the direction of Gina Lamb.

teens,and the REACH LA Web site,all of which spread the

Featuring photography, painting,animation,and digital arts,

organization’s mission to promote healthy lifestyles, youth

Wipe Your Feet ran from June 7 to 27, 2003, at the Track 16

advocacy, arts,and culture.

Gallery in Santa Monica,California.

REACH LA :

Reaching Out in New Directions

LESSONS LEARNED

Lesson An executive1team is a viable leadership model. When the current executive team took over the leadership of REACH LA in October of 1999,the organization was at the point of shutting down,for the most part because of a crisis in leadership.Chono-Helsley and Lamb,both of whom had built their reputations as successful artists and innovative programmers and nonprofit administrators before their association with REACH LA,decided to rethink how the organization should be best administered. First,they diagnosed some of the problems that led to the crisis.The board of directors, who had gotten a grant to build themselves to full capacity, had become top-heavy. Fourteen board members were overseeing two full-time staff members and six youth volunteers, which increasingly tended toward micromanagement from the top down.In addition,the executive director resigned,exhausted from having to do everything herself,including raising money, running programs, and recruiting new youth members. Evaluating this crisis was,in effect,the first lesson that Chono-Helsley, Lamb,and Gordon learned during the first six months of their leadership.One of the first decisions they made was to replace a single executive director with an executive team that could disperse the division of labor according to the strengths and experience of each of its members: Chono-Helsley would take on administrative duties,Lamb would direct programming,and Gordon would handle development and grant applications.Although Chono-Helsley currently holds the official title of executive director, the team relies on a consensual decision-making process.This model lets each team member pursue her role with undivided energy and focus and at the same time be aware of and respect the demands of her colleagues’obligations. The second decision that has made a positive impact on REACH LA’s leadership was to reconstitute the board of directors as partners, rather than managers, of the executive team. Being artists with their own vision,Chono-Helsley and Lamb made it clear from the start that they would resist micromanagement of their programming ideas. At the same time, they wanted to enlist board members who would bring REACH LA expertise, resources, and abilities that the executive team lacked—and who demonstrated a genuine interest in the goals and vision of a youth-driven organization devoted to arts,activism, and education. The result is a complementary working relationship not only among the executive team members but also between the team and the board of directors.

Lesson 2 Evaluation data provides direction and credibility. REACH LA has always been interested in using evaluation tools to measure the success of its programs and make ongoing improvements.By collecting and publishing the data from these evaluations in a database,they also demonstrate to their funding agencies th at the outcomes of their strategies are indeed benefiting youth.Evaluation data thus provides the executive team with direction for future programming and services and also establishes credibility with funding agencies. REACH LA’s evaluation data is comprehensive and varied.For their CFA program,they developed a complete set of riskassessment tools that probe deeply and specifically into youth sexual activity, risk behaviors,and partying practices. Each youth who participates takes a pre-test and post-test on HIV knowledge,as well as a risk assessment survey. Data gleaned from these tools is then compiled on a customized database for monthly and annual reporting.At the end of each CFA six-month session,REACH LA conducts a quality improvement survey and focus group to gain feedback from CFA participants in order to consider new directions for future programming.The CFA staff meets weekly to evaluate field implementation,discuss issues and concerns from the field,and share strategies for interventions and resources.This process helps to continually better the services and interventions that REACH LA performs. The CFA program is also responsible for meeting the Office of AIDS Programs and Policies "Scope of Work" contract. This contractual obligation provides a yardstick for how well the organization is reaching its goals. In 2002–0 3 ,R E ACH LA met 95 percent of its objectives. For example, their data at the sixmonth mark demonstrates that 99 percent of the young women participating in CFA have committed to safer sex practices and have adopted at least one risk-reduction behavior. REACH LA has developed another set of measurements to evaluate the success of their Computer•Active arts and technology programs.They track hits to their Web site to determine who is visiting the site and the topics surfers were searching for that brought them there.They have also administered pre-tests and post-tests to young men (ages 12 to 24) to study how they learned about HIV/AIDS from the site and how they personally use it. The Web site has proven to be an indispensable tool not only because of its immediacy and flexibility in disseminating

Artwork by Ana Lopez courtesy REACH LA.

information but also because it provides REACH LA with visi-

youth member, currently occupied by Luis Sierra, who is

bility that needs no promotion. In the last three years,for

probably the most active promoter of the organization on

instance, more than a half-million people have visited the site

the entire board.A former peer health educator and outreach

without any advertising or promotion. Web searches, word of

coordinator, Sierra is an example of REACH LA’s ideal alum-

mouth, and printing the URL on the biannual magazine have

nus, who returns after several years to reciprocate by giving

proven to be all that is necessary to keep the Web site a viable

back to the people who had earlier nurtured his talents.

presence in the youth and health care education communities. REACH LA also has learned that significant youth input Finally, although not exhaustively, REACH LA evaluates the

requires committed youth development.Chono-Helsley and

success of its Youth Arts Collective programs by tracking the

Lamb acknowledge that many urban youth are negotiating

placement of its youth "graduates" to the "next level."

the transition to adulthood in a cultural and social abyss,

Working with recruiters from the Otis Art Institute and the

without adequate direction or support to help them make

San Francisco Art Institute,they assess each youth member’s

important life choices.Therefore,an important goal of REACH

work and experience before National Portfolio Day every

LA is to give their youth members confidence in themselves—

January. To date,these assessments have helped to place 99

to help them feel autonomous and to act independently.

percent of participating youth in scholarship programs, internships,art schools,colleges,universities, leadership programs,and full-time jobs.

Lesson 3 A youth organization should be driven by youth.

In addition to media arts and health education,the full-time staff offers counseling on all aspects of making a successful transition into adulthood: applying to college,choosing careers,financial planning based on salary and cost of living,

REACH LA’s reliance on youth for the program’s direction and

negotiating committed sexual relationships,and generally

administration is unique.Describing their development

taking the right steps to ensure a healthy, stable quality of

process as "not top down, but youth up," the executive team

life.Although much of this guidance currently is informal,the

acts more like "backseat drivers," guiding their youth mem-

executive team has been considering how they might broad-

bers to take the wheel and drive the content of their art/tech-

en their mission to incorporate youth counseling into their

nology programs and the goals of their educational and coun -

suite of programs and services.They have discovered that an

seling services.Because youth are the primary patrons of

approach to youth development that emphasizes successful

their programs,they know which topics are relevant, which

transitions in every arena—social,cultural,educational,and

methods of education are effective,and which forms of com-

financial—will more likely increase the chance that youth

munication are eagerly received.

members will succeed in art/technology careers,replicate

REACH LA so respects the input of its youth that Gordon sits

own,or return to REACH LA to reenergize a new generation

down with them once a month at the brainstorming table to

of youth in transition.

and develop youth-oriented educational programs of their

solicit their ideas before she wr ites funding applications.The staff also provides a chair on the board of directors for a

REAC H LA :

Reaching Out in New Directions

Outreach Coordinator Ana Lopez is a case in point.Under the

tity in California public schools.Normally, The Friends of

mentorship of the executive team,Lopez has developed into

Project 10 sponsors trained LGBTQ youth to share their experi-

an accomplished representative for REACH LA.In early 2003,

ences face-to-face during staff development sessions. How-

Lopez collaborated with Lamb to curate a program of video

ever, because of the sheer number of school sites involve d ,t h e

shorts,titled Queer Youth Nation, which explored issues of

group sought an alternative to face-to-face sessions.

LGBTQ youth in schools,community, religion,and family. After a successful exhibition in the LA Freewaves Festival,

So The Friends of Project 10 partnered with REACH LA to pro-

Lamb encouraged Lopez to present locally produced queer-

duce a video that would feature testimony from LGBTQ youth

focused works to Los Angeles schools as an educational facili-

who have experienced harassment and abuse.The video

tator/curator. This exposure resulted in a grant from Liberty

introduced the new law to faculty and staff and informed

Hill to broaden the regional scope and present the program

them of their responsibility to enforce the rights of the vic-

nationally at conferences.Rather than take the helm at this

tim.

point,Chono-Helsley and Lamb pushed Lopez to make all the contacts and conduct all the speaking engagements.Because

Again,REACH LA staff and youth see this project as an oppor-

of these experiences,Lopez has developed a reputation—and

tunity to further their own mission.Indeed,the video is

resumé—as an accomplished speaker and youth advocate,

activist in nature,since it will be required viewing for every

all by the age of 18.

teacher throughout Los Angeles County. Therefore,unlike

Lesson 4 Collaboration maximizes scarce resources.

most "client-contractor" relationships,REACH LA did not have to compromise its vision.Rather, The Friends of Project 10

Because the members of the executive team have been

contracted with them precisely because their mission

actively involved in the nonprofit sector for years,they have

adhered to the objectives of the new law.

learned that collaboration is the most efficient and productive way to share increasingly scarce resources.By building

The following are more examples of REACH LA’s successful

relationships and partnering with the staff at peer organiza-

collaborations:

tions that can offer skills,technology, and connections that REACH LA currently needs,the executive team can more successfully produce the projects and programming that fulfill their mission. For example,in 2003,REACH LA created an "art card" project with the LA County Department of Health.Free postcards stocked in the restrooms of restaurants and bars are a popular vehicle of promotion and advertising in Los Angeles.

REACH LA hosted and ran a bootcamp for Youth Organizing Communities, during which thirty youth underwent an intensive weekend workshop on producing a video, from shooting to editing. While REACH LA was building its Web site,the Hollywood Teen Community Project offered youth labor in exchange for a link to their own Web site,which HTCP youth members learned how to build during the collaboration.

Taking advantage of this medium,the County Prevention Planning Commission hired REACH LA to design five postcards that they can use to recruit new youth members.The cover images of each postcard visually attract attention, while the copy on the back provides HIV statistics among LA County youth and information on how to get involved with the commission via a Web site URL.This "work-for-hire" collaboration in no way compromises REACH LA’s mission since it is precisely the kind of project that its youth might develop on their own. Also in 2003,REACH LA is collaborating with The Friends of Project 10,a nonprofit organization that received funding to train the staff and faculty in the LAUSD on the California

LA Freewaves hosted the "Webraising" of the REACH LA Web site at its seventh Celebration of Experimental Media Arts. Agencies that have participated in the Latex Lounge at Club Prophylactive include the AIDS Healthcar e Foundation,Drew University Mobile Testing Clinic, Chinatown Service Center, Bienestar, AltaMed,BikeOut, and LA Children’s Hospital,among many others. REACH LA required that many of these agencies produce an interactive game that would be fun to play while it educated youth aboutprotection against sexually transmitted infections.The agencies rose to the occasion, thrilled to tap into their creativity rather than merely dispense brochures.

Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act.The law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender iden-

“Desktop Theater”with visiting artists Adriene Jenik & Lisa Brenneis.

Because REACH LA is small and tight enough to be flexible,

term consistency is impossible.REACH LA is therefore just

when opportunities for collaboration arise, it can quickly

beginning to develop strategies of "growing their own"

make the most of them.The staff has learned to be careful,

through advanced and outside technical training for their

however, not to overextend themselves by taking on too

youth to support in-house technical requirements.

many projects at one time.

Lesson 5 The digital arts learning cur ve is steep.

Although human resources may be lacking, REACH LA’s digital studio is state-of-the-art.The days when they had to rent

As a program director concerned that youth are always at the

expensive camcorders and editing decks are,thankfully, in

cutting edge of new technological developments,Gina Lamb

the past.Now, with affordable retail hardware and software

remarks that trying to keep up with the latest digital soft-

(in particular, eMacs and Final Cut Pro),REACH LA has been

ware and techniques requires a learning curve that never

able to house its own digital studio. When they consider the

flattens out.She would like,for instance,to set up chat rooms

high volume and rapid rate at which youth can produce work,

on the REACH LA Web site but currently lacks the knowledge

the organization has found its investment to be extremely

to implement them.Her remedy? Lamb recognizes that,to be

cost-effective.

a good teacher, she must also be a perennial student.She deliberately takes on digital arts teaching jobs so that she is inspired to learn everything she can about new tools and

Lesson 6 focuses on quality, not quantity. Successful outreach When it comes time to recruit new youth members,REACH

applications (like desktop publishing,Flash animation,and

LA relies only on word of mouth and existing networks,in

DVD production).

part because the staff lacks the time and financial resources necessary for full-scale promotions.At the same time,the

Currently, Lamb and Chono-Helsley recognize the need for a

organization prefers to stay under the radar. Unlike large

dedicated Webmaster to update the content of the REACH LA

youth organizations that run dozens of weekend programs

Web site and provide it continuity and consistency. They

for hundreds of participants,REACH LA nurtures small groups

don’t,however, have enough staff to support a full-time posi-

engaged with in-depth projects over weeks,months,and

tion.Neither have they been able to recruit a part-time

even years.

Webmaster because talented candidates can easily find a better salary in the corporate sector.

The goal of their outreach,therefore,is quality, not quantity. As a potential after-school program,REACH LA avoids becom-

In the meantime,REACH LA has an arrangement with Pitzer

ing a dumping ground for youth whose parents force them to

College to place students with Web and media-based skills as

attend.The full-time staff encourage only those youth who

interns within the organization.By expanding REACH LA’s

genuinely desire participation,particularly because the orga-

programming base with production courses and projects led

nization’s mission to create autonomous,activist youth

by the interns,this partnership has benefited both the Pitzer

requires a strong commitment.In fact,of the 300 youth who

students and the REACH LA youth participants and staff.

may express an interest,typically ten to fifteen will actually

Because interns come and go every semester, however, long-

join as long-term members.

REACH LA :

Reaching Out in New Directions

Teacher networks provide REACH LA with the most lucrative opportunities for recruitment.The executive team has developed relationships with teachers who advocate the mission of REACH LA and target specific students whom they believe to be appropriate candidates.Lamb and youth recruiters visit schools to present projects to students,email them announcements,and fax them information about upcoming events and workshops.Lamb also distributes questionnaires to survey the kinds of books,movies, Web sites,and art forms that most interest students.If her inquiries are high,she selects good prospects on the basis of the content of these questionnaires.

Lesson Recruitment7 requires sensitivity to diversity. Sensitivity to diversity is,of course,a prerequisite for any nonprofit organization recruiting youth in Los Angeles County, the most ethnically diverse region in the world.With such rich diversity come ethnic tensions,ghetto neighborhoods,and gang warfare.By choosing to locate its offices in an industrial fruit-packing area in downtown LA, which is nonresidential and thus not a "neighborhood" characterized by a predominant ethnic group or gang identity, REACH LA is able to invite youth of every background onto "neutral ground." The staff specifically recruits and encourages the participation of girls in all of its programs,for two primary reasons. First, it has a commitment to work with young women at sexual risk—which does not mean,of course,that REACH LA refuses to offer its CFA programs to young men.Rather, the organization ensures that girls have a safe environment that develops a more systemic impact on a population with very specific needs. The second reason for an emphasis on recruiting young women is that,as a digital arts organization focusing on computer technologies,Chono-Helsley and Lamb have learned that their promotions generally attract more males than females.The organization’s experience reinforces other research in the fields of science, math,and technology that document females’ avoidance of technology. Therefore,to provide a supportive environment in which girls feel more comfortable and likely to participate,REACH LA has found it useful to emphasize each workshop’s content rather than technology. REACH LA also recruits through LGBTQ networks,in particular the Project 10 newsletter, which reaches all of the LAUSD Gay/Straight Alliance coordinators. LGBTQ is a population

with many unique needs but little access to inform ation or support.REACH LA provides a safe space in which to learn, voice,and teach others about queer issues in a nonjudgmental environment.The exhibition Queer Youth Nation has been a highly successful tool in bridging issues of isolation and acceptance.Other works produced through REACH LA’s video programs about queer issues have found acceptance in straight venues as well and have provided an education for audience members who are normally not exposed to queer issues and lifestyles.

REACHING OUT IN NEW DIRECTIONS REACH LA is currently undergoing an identity crisis.Because the organization’s programs and services have evolved into a wide-ranging spectrum apparently unified only in their devotion to youth,the executive team has often described their attempts to define themselves as "schizophrenic." Arts and activism,technology and health education, LGBTQ and heterosexual counseling,digital and print media—the list continues to grow. Without an umbrella that concisely covers these seemingly disparate (although truly integrated) components,REACH LA is difficult to pigeonhole.On one hand,that is what makes the organization unique and powerful.On the other hand,Gordon,Lamb,and Chono-Helsley have trouble making a pitch for the organization, which makes fund-raising and outreach more difficult.This state of flux,although a sign of healthy development,is not yet resolved.Add it to the list of lessons still waiting to be learned. In the meantime,REACH LA is in the process of reinventing itself.By reviewing how much the organization has grown and diversified over the last three years,by studying their evaluation data and outcomes,and by strategically planning with their board of directors,the executive team is beginning to glimpse more precisely the direction in which their mission is evolving—toward overall youth development and empowerment.This vision has been driving all of their disparate programs all along.Oddly, they are only now really beginning to see it. JIM MORANis a writer and teacher in Los Angeles.

MA NH AT TA N N E I G H B O RH OOD N E T WO RK YO UT H CH A N N E L : A Grand Experiment in Youth Governance by Shelley Pasnik

here is much about the Youth Channel that is unremarkable—or so it could seem.It is not the oldest youth media arts organization in the country. Begun in March 2000 at the Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN),an independent and not-for-profit public access center based in New York City, the Youth Channel does not have the longevity of a place

like the Educational Video Center, which has been turning out youth productions since 1984 (and is profiled in A Closer Look:Media Arts 2000) or Street-Level Youth Media, which is approaching its 10th anniversary (and is included in A Closer Look:Media Arts 2001). It is also not the largest.While a few youth media arts organizations focus on the reach of their programming—boasting of hundreds if not thousands of viewers—the Youth Channel concentrates on the couple of dozen young people at its core and the other ten to thirty

It is not enough to talk about youth governance if young people do not hold the power to make real decisions.

youth filtering through one of its customized training programs at any given time.And it is certainly not the most endowed.Though it is largely subsidized by MNN and has received an initial grant from the Youth Initiative Program within the Open Society Institute,George Soros’s philanthropic boost to democratic ideals,the Youth Channel,like practically every other community arts endeavor, must scramble to sustain itself.In this respect,the channel is not alone. Instead, what makes this nascent group stand out is this: it is a channel and community run almost entirely by youth,and it operates through an unprecedented partnership with a public access service.A tall order perhaps, but it is one the Youth Channel fills in spades.

PUTTING YOUTH IN CHARGE By fully integrating youth,ages 12 to 25,into the daily operations, weekly programming, and overall governance of the organization,the channel offers young people opportunities to be peer trainers,outreach coordinators,directors,scriptwriters,producers, cinematographers,artists,and leaders.Here are a few examples of how the organizational structure not only allows possibilities for youth but actually requires them.

Youth as Decision Makers Each week—typically Thursdays at 4:00 p.m.and Fridays at 3:00 p.m.—participating youth hold Programming Committee and Youth Channel staff meetings.While staff meetings are for tending to the most pressing matters the organization is facing regarding policy and operations,Programming Committee meetings are devoted to Youth Channel content. Though the specific agendas vary from week to week,the Program Committee reviews videos for possible airing,refines and applies the criteria it has developed regarding submission selections,begins drafting feedback it will provide to video makers,discusses and shapes outreach strategies for recruiting new youth interested in becoming media makers, and generates ideas for future productions.During these and other regular meetings,members also learn media literacy and production skills. They develop their abilities to critique mainstream and alternative media and discuss techniques they can use to generate their own programming for the channel.Ensuring that the channel is not working in isolation, two youth serve on MNN’s board of directors,advocating for the Youth Channel and giving them a say in the general policies and operations of the larger public access service.

M A NH AT TA N N E I G H B O RH OO D N E T WO R K YO UTH C H A N N E L : A Grand Experiment in Youth Governance

Youth as Peer Trainers

tion protests,release of the latest Harry Potter book,B-Boy

In an effort to introduce young people to video production in

and B-Girl Breaking School in Manhattan,and the It Takes 2

general and public access media specifically, youth trainers

break-dancing competition in the Bronx.

offer basic and advanced media production training,media literacy workshops,a summer video program,and studio

Youth as Media Programmers

tours of MNN. To hone both their technical and their teaching

In addition to making their own productions, Youth Channel

skills,peer trainers meet each week with an MNN staff mem-

members seize opportunities to serve as programmers

ber and with one another to have hands-on discussions of

beyond MNN.For example,some Youth Channel productions

what they do and do not know. Responding to requests for

also have distribution through Urban Visionaries,New York

training from community-based organizations, such as the

City’s only video festival that is organized,curated,and pre-

Women’s Prison Association,Desis Rising Up and Moving,

sented by youth media makers and activists. Youth Channel

Free Arts for Abused Children,and the East Harlem Tutorial

members serve on the organizing committee of the festival,

Program,peer trainers are the sole providers of the Youth

which exclusively features youth-produced work,helping

Channel’s media production and media analysis workshops.

make selection and other curatorial decisions.Likewise,mem-

Though trainers tailor the duration,pace,and depth of each

bers assemble "Open Transmission," the channel’s annual

training to the needs of each community group,trainings

series on Free Speech TV of the best youth-made work it

usually last four to eight weeks,depending on whether the

receives each year. "Open Transmission" features a range of

group members are seeking formal certification.

programming,including art,documentaries,and animation

Youth as Media Makers

Speech TV’s channel on the DISH Network, which reaches

Another component of the Youth Channel’s mission is to offer

more than 7 million U.S.homes,cablecasts on MNN,and airs

alternatives to mass media by providing disadvantaged, low-

on Drexel University’s DUTV in Philadelphia.

from all over the country. The series is satellite-cast on Free

income,and minority youth with access to tools of production. Young people—both those formally affiliated with the

LESSONS LEARNED—AND STILL LEARNING

channel,such as Programming Committee members,and

Despite the Youth Channel’s short history, the last two and a

youth who have been trained in field and studio production

half years have offered many valuable lessons, which is why

by one of the peer trainers—contribute to the programming

the organization’s model of youth governance has been as

MNN airs.Using production facilities and equipment,certi-

strong as it has. Youth Channel staff and members have

fied youth groups and individuals use their newly acquired

internalized some of these lessons, but others remain fresh

knowledge of lighting,script writing,set design,and media

and somewhat tentative as the organization develops,struc-

literacy to produce social issue documentaries,video poetry,

tures codify, and people change and grow as they make the

studio shows,and commentary. One of the most recent origi-

organization thrive.

nal productions is "D.A.M.N. YC News," a biweekly current events show, featuring community news, youth activism,and arts and entertainment by young people from New York City. Signaling dissatisfaction with mainstream offerings,a desire to provide an alternative voice,and perhaps a healthy bit of bravado, D.A.M.N.stands for Defense Against Media Nonsense.A description of the latest crop of episodes from Tricia Wang,age 22,the show’s supervisor, gives a flavor of issues and events the YC News crew has covered:recent Supreme Court sodomy laws,the latest scooter craze, hunger strikes protesting New York City’s health care budget cuts,the 11th Annual Dyke March,poetry shows at The POINT, hip-hop shows at Crotona Park,female firefighters,anti-Bush reelec-

Lesson 1 Strong communication requires getting past misconceptions. The Youth Channel brings together young people and adult educators,though by design,the youth greatly outnumber the adults.Program staffing and management has varied over the years, but for the time being, it has settled into the following grouping:one adult program director, one adult training supervisor, one youth associate director, one youth programming coordinator, one youth training coordinator, and four youth peer trainers.Each person has had to assume responsibilities related to programming,production,or organizational structure, but all successful work has relied on meaningful communication among everyone involved.

"It is in teaching other young people what they know that youth trainers generate new audiences, make connections across communities, and bring a critical awareness to the process of positive social change." —MNN Staff Member

Knowing how to communicate beyond one’s limited expecta-

well as responsibility, allowing the adult educators to express

tions of others,however, took effort.As producer Chrystian

their concerns about youth disengagement.On the flip side,

Rodriguez,age 18,observed,"People are bogged down by

when youth reported back what they do not like to hear from

misconceptions." Learning to say out loud their opinions

adults,they were able to list a range of ways that adults can

and questions was something many of the youth had to

discourage youth involvement.This frank discussion influ-

develop,especially when it came to group settings like pro-

enced the daily operations, which often meant setting

gramming meetings."In the beginning, many of the youth

realistic schedules and finding mechanisms for youth and

were quiet.They often would pass when it was their turn to

adults to share in the decision making.

speak in meetings," Hye-Jung Park,the adult program director explained."Now they are strong spokespeople,able to express their opinions and formulate questions about policy, programming,and production."

Lesson 2 and collective ownership Power sharing must be real—not theoretical. It is not enough to talk about youth governance if young people do not hold the power to make real decisions.For

Recognizing the uniqueness of their undertaking—creating

the Youth Channel to succeed,members had to have many

an organization filled with opportunities for youth to be

opportunities to be true collaborators, working with adult

leaders and peer organizers as well as quality media mak-

educators when necessary and with one another whenever

ers—Park and the staff sought to establish communication

possible.Park had known this from the outset when MNN

that was direct and honest.This was attempted during day-

first began exploring the idea of a youth channel with her,

to-day exchanges between educators and staff, but it was

but it took the actual experience of developing the organiza-

taken on directly during an October 2001 retreat, where

tion with a full staff to help her understand what it truly

everyone was asked to voice their individual concerns and

meant.Still,she continues to ask,"What are genuine inter-

expectations with the intention of finding common ground.

generational relationships so that youth feel like they have

During the intergenerational workshop that kicked off the

the ownership?" And she also continues to wonder when it

retreat,participating youth and adults split into separate

is appropriate to step in and when it is wiser to stay back.

facilitated groups to generate a list of phrases they did not

This is one reason she does not sit on the Programming

want to hear from each other, such as "I don’t care" and

Committee,nor does any other adult over the age of 25.

"when I was your age.…" This workshop exposed tensions around perceptions (about who’s hip and who "gets it") as

M A NH AT TA N N E I G H B O RH OO D N E T WO R K YO UT H C H A N N E L : A Grand Experiment in Youth Governance

Just as a truly youth-centered environment had to establish

additional resources would allow the channel to formalize

that members were responsible for major decisions regarding

training modules, which could help ease the transition of

content,production,training,and programming,so too did

incoming peer trainers.The goal is to develop advanced

the youth themselves have to learn to share responsibility

media literacy techniques,giving trainers a repertoire of

and clearly communicate with each other. As Rodriguez,

activities that address different levels of students’ awareness

the current chief director of the news program describes,

and technical knowledge.A curriculum also would ensure

"Everyone has to get used to each other. No one likes working

that trainers have similar understandings of the processes

in an environment where there is conflict or where no one

involved in production (research,script writing,postproduc-

knows what to do, what is going on.If a conflict does arise,

tion styles for field and studio).Though the current cohort of

such as a delay, it is best to discuss it."

Lesson 3 Training involves young people teaching one another how to master a range of skills. Because the Youth Channel chose not to rely on a stable of adult media experts—people who were professionals or established teachers in media production—but on youth who would be responsible for training other young people, much was riding on the Peer-to-Peer Media Training Program.

peer trainers has developed an approach that is effective,they are keenly aware of the need for careful preparation,as evidenced by the advice Agudo would offer to her successors: "Know your stuff.Know everything about the things you’re going to be teaching.Make sure everything is organized.Be sensitive and understanding to whomever you are training. Revolve everything around them,not around you."

Lesson An outlet for4youth-made programs

Both on-site and in the field,the training program had to be

and perspectives is essential.

built on ongoing educational efforts that would expose young

When MNN originally conceived of a Youth Channel, it envi-

people to the creative potential of making media as well as

sioned just that—a separate channel run by young people.In

to the development of critical media education skills.Once

addition to the four cable channels, it would add a fifth that

trained, youth encourage other youth to take the next step

would be exclusively devoted to youth-produced program-

and get involved in the larger MNN community, to learn the

ming.Those involved in the ambitious undertaking quickly

operations of the organization,and to bring new skills and

learned,and cable company politics echoed,that it would

awareness to their communities.The peer trainers strive to

require greater staff and funding than was available at the

build confidence in their trainees,serving as their role mod-

time.Starting with two hours of programming each week

els,their educators,and their inspiration to use tools to create

and growing to nine hours currently, the Youth Channel

and speak out.As one staff member explained,"It is in teach-

would like to expand to fulfill the original promise and

ing other young people what they know that youth trainers

become a full-time channel.In the meantime,the block of

generate new audiences, make connections across communi-

youth-produced media airs on channels 34 and 107 as well

ties,and bring a critical awareness to the process of positive

as online,reaching more than half a million homes in

social change."

Manhattan. Youth Channel programming, which includes

Although the Youth Channel has managed to establish a suc-

ditional public access talk and variety, also cablecasts during

documentary, short subject, narrative,experimental,and tracessful peer-training model,staff members have identified

MNN’s "interconnect time" (when the channel is carried by

areas of potential growth.In general,they are interested in

Queens,Brooklyn,and Bronx local access stations) to reach an

further developing the program by expanding the free peer-

additional 2 million homes across New York every week.

training program to new constituencies,currently hindered by limited youth staff,equipment,and resources.Also, in part

Whether it is two or 200 hours,the aim is to air programming

because "there is no typical student," as Wendy Agudo, age

for youth on issues relevant to them and their communities,

20,one of the peer trainers explained,there is no set curricu-

which is why the Programming Committee plays such an

lum.Instead,trainers tailor the training experience to the

important role in the operations of the Youth Channel.Once

skills of the members within each new group of trainees,

the committee receives responses from filmmakers who have

adjusting for age,technical ease,and interest in media

shown their work at festivals, well-established media-produc-

literacy. Without losing the flexibility that trainers have,

ing organizations,and anyone else who has submitted a tape

for review, members review the work to determine its fit

they are trained. To aid trainers,the Youth Channel has

with the channel.This may happen internally, as was the

defined several goals for its media literacy workshops:

case with a submission about a tobacco company from GumboTV;a locally produced show for children called "Miss Wednesday’s Puppet House";"Flag Wars," which is about gay mobility and gentrification;and "Larry vs.Lockney," which is

To develop literate youth who are able to read,analyze, evaluate,and produce media for diverse audiences To develop youth with leadership and team work skills

about public education and individual rights.Reviews also happen in conjunction with an outside organization working on issues related to the production being reviewed.For example,Madeleine Gavin’s "What I Want My Words to Do to You," a POV documentary that grew out of Eve Ensler’s writing workshop at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, was a film

To develop media-conscious youth who understand the impact of media within their own community and lives To activate youth to use media for social change within their communities and lives

Youth Channel members reviewed at a screening they held at Brooklyn College.Along with a presentation by Voices Unbroken,the film was shown to a large group of lowincome Summer Youth Employment Program participants. Whether film reviews occur in-house or at an outside event, committee members talk about audience,perspective,and technical attributes,ultimately helping the youth programming coordinator decide what will and will not be aired.

Lesson 5 Even if youth are slow to warm up to it,media literacy is crucial.

To provide a media space to show youth how to report from their own perspective the current youth culture and activities that are relevant to their lives

How the trainers accomplish these goals is twofold:practice at analysis, which most often takes the form of conversation during meetings,and giving young people the opportunity to review and critique media products while producing. When young people learn how to produce their own programming, their expectations and understanding shift radically.

Whether known as the much-ballyhooed "21st century literacy skills" or the more tried-and-true "critical thinking skills," ways of seeing,interpreting,and making meaning are central

coordinator, they go from being embedded in commercial

to what goes on at the Youth Channel.Because many of the

TV and believing everything should be fast-paced like MTV

young people who shuffle through the doors of 537 West 59th

to having a sophisticated read on production decisions,

Street in Manhattan are immersed in popular culture and

both technical and ideological.As the facilitator of the

also are right down the street from Times Square and the

Programming Committee,McDonnell knows that the

location of many of the world’s largest media companies,

connection between media literacy and media making is

they may seem primed for lessons in media awareness.But

vital."They need to know how hard it is to tell a story, to

getting young people to reflect on commercial media mes-

make something look good."

sages, which so often do not seem like messages at all but "the way things are," is difficult in the beginning.It is hard for two reasons:first, youth can be resistant to breaking down the ideology of what they know and questioning how they know it;second,understanding of and appreciation for com-

According to Vanessa McDonnell,age 22,the programming

munity media is not immediately available to youth before

Lesson 6 However worthwhile,telling stories is a slow process. Since its launch,the Youth Channel has produced a number of individual programs and series with relevance and appeal to a youth audience.These have ranged from "The Durban Diaries," a project that had young people traveling to Durban,

M A NH AT TA N N E I G H B O RH OO D N E T WO R K YO UT H C H A N N E L : A Grand Experiment in Youth Governance

South Africa,to use Internet and multimedia technologies to

and another took a position that Park identified and recom-

provide daily interactive dispatches on the World Conference

mended he take.Because participating youth are meant to

Against Racism from a youth perspective,to "That Movie

acquire skills and move on to other worthwhile work,the

Thingy," a live call-in show that took viewers on outings to

interest in developing a curriculum becomes even greater. A

screenings and offered humorous reviews of first-run films,

curriculum would help the channel overcome the challenges

like Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. More recently,

of youth mobility and trainer turnover and would help create

a peer-trained youth team traveled to Washington, D.C., to

a sense of continuity as well as a means to sustain the work

cover antiwar protests. Working collaboratively under the

that departing youth have done.Also, the staff is considering

pressure of a 24-hour deadline,these producers filmed from

roles that Youth Channel alumni can play in the ongoing

6:00 a.m.to 3:00 a.m.the next day, edited their coverage

operations and programming of the organization.

using portable technologies as they traveled back to New York,and then uploaded their video news story for immediate availability on the Internet.

Lesson 8 Recruitment of youth is ongoing. Because of the Youth Channel’s ever-fluid population,there is a constant need to attract new youth to the organization.

Though the content changes from production to production,

Staff members have learned to be vigilant about how to

the goals remain the same:define and produce community

involve youth who are from underserved communities and

media for youth and combat false images and misrepresenta-

who do not have access to community media and at the same

tions of young people in mainstream media.Doing this,how-

time to remain culturally sensitive and creative in their out-

ever, takes time,and the Youth Channel has tried to recognize

reach efforts.In the past,recruitment has consisted of word

the value not only of completed productions but also of the

of mouth, youth outreach,and speaking with groups about

processes young people go though along the way. For exam-

the training,media literacy, and programming the channel

ple,if one of the interns has an idea for a new program,she

offers. Youth Channel representatives,like Tricia Wang,the

has to discuss it with the larger group, which then decides

channel’s associate director, attend local community events

whether it is worth pursuing with a full crew. It is not

to meet representatives from other youth organizations and

uncommon for the group to ask for more research prior to

contact groups via fund-raisers,forums, workshops,and con-

moving into production.Similarly, after each shoot,the crew

ferences.A call to action might be as bold as a one-line invita-

and director meet for a debriefing,talking about what went

tion on a flyer, like "Calling All Youth Interested in Media," or

on technically as well as how members collaborated with one

"Getting Your Videos on TV Is Easy." Or it might be a more

another. Apart from enhancing the production value of each

thoughtful request that explains the meat of what the Youth

shoot,these debriefings remind participating youth that their

Channel is:

experience as well as their work matters.

Lesson 7 Youth are media activists—as well as people in transition. Though changes are both possible and commonplace at all times throughout one’s life,the late teens and early twenties often are marked by significant transition.Not surprisingly then,there is a great deal going on in the lives of all the youth who participate in the Youth Channel.On top of the general complications of school,family, and jobs,and the irregularities of occasional evictions, harassment,and other difficulties, the age cap of 25 years guarantees the channel will be staffed by people who are not permanent employees.In response, the staff has sought to do more than absorb the inevitable departures.They have actively pursued establishing a peerto-peer training program that is an incubator. For example, one of the former peer trainers is an independent producer,

If you want to make a video butdon’tknow how, or you are an educator who wants to make video part of your class, afterschool program,or organization, your youth could getfree video training. Contact us for details. We provide media literacy and production training to young people under the age of 25, as well as broadcast their work on our cable station.In the process, we hope to empower youth to become leaders, work creatively with others to solve problems, and take their skills back to their communities and schools. We have found that youth have consistently used TV as a tool to create community dialogue,which is at the core of the public access mission.

The overarching recruitment strategy has been to appeal to the allure that media have in young people’s lives,getting them to connect with what is already a dominant influence and to see how they can become their own producers.

Lesson 9 It is possible to have local relevance and

equal opportunity caucus meetings and in the course of three

impact on a national scale.

days persuasively advocated for the revision of ACM by-laws

Acknowledging the value of the Youth Channel and the rarity

to include "youth" as a population that public access centers

of having a youth-run component within a community

must target. Working together—many having just met each

media outlet,the Youth Channel helped organize the National

other for the first time—they also nominated two young

Youth Media Access Project (NYMAP).NYMAP is a national

members to run for ACM’s national board of directors with

partnership intended to share MNN’s youth-governed model

the campaign "When you include youth, you don’t just get

with four other public access centers around the country:

one of us. You get a generation." Provocative,organized,and

Seattle Community Access Network;People TV, Atlanta;

determined,these young people took on the arduous process

Community Media Center, Grand Rapids,Michigan;and

of policy change and made it happen.It is exactly the kind of

Denver Community Television.Self-described as "a model for

experience the channel works to make possible and the kind

others who are trying to push the boundaries of youth media

of systemic impact that shifts the public access environment

away from a service-delivery approach towards creative

towards more deeply supporting the development of youth

youth leadership," NYMAP seeks to create a broader commu-

media makers.

nity of youth media governed by youth.According to one of the youth participants,the purpose of NYMAP is "to make sure that youth have a voice in media.Being youth, we see

Lesson 10need not lead to small ideas. Limited funds Despite the unavoidable challenges of fund-raising in order to

false images on TV, and most media doesn’t show what being

sustain a not-for-profit organization during a lean economy,

a teen is really about.So across the country we make sure

Youth Channel staff continue to think up ways that it may

that there is a block on every public access station that repre-

serve greater numbers of youth.Not only would the channel

sents youth in their area."

like to do more of what they already are doing—for example,

In summer 2002, youth representing regional hubs of this

order to cover greater numbers of communities across the

increase the production news team from one crew to four in partnership attended the 2002 Alliance for Community

city using a digital production unit (fully loaded laptop and

Media (ACM) conference to present a model for developing a

Palmcorder) as well as offer satellite trainings in Lower

youth-run media arts program to other public access centers.

Manhattan,Harlem,the Bronx,Brooklyn,and Queens—they

It was the first time in ACM’s organizational history that

would like to find the means to extend their work to others

youth had come to the conference as producers and attendees

interested in doing what they do. If they had the support,the

in their own right, which was not lost on the youth who were

channel,through that larger body of NYMAP, would like to

participating.In response,they decided to make some

create a Web site that offered the following:

changes.Along with running a well-attended workshop on how to start a Youth Channel, youth representatives joined

M A NH AT TA N N E I G H B O RH OO D N E T WO R K YO UT H C H A N N E L : A Grand Experiment in Youth Governance

A theme-based exhibition space in which to solicit, showcase,and share work from around the country and the world (from polished work to unedited home videos) that is notlimited to the cable programming block schedule A facilitated talk-back forum for dialogue, feedback, and creative commentary

Lesson 12 Partnerships with outside organizations, though tricky, are worthwhile. The several hundred youth that Youth Channel peer trainers train each year come entirely from other organizations and schools within the broader New York City community. Locally, the Youth Channel has collaborated with over fifty organizations,such as TRUCE,MediaRights.org, Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Prison Association,DRUM,S.O.S. Foundation for Russian Immigrant

An enhanced distribution point that brings together distinct forms of media to communicate with audiences not reachable through traditional venues and who are unsatisfied with the lack of meaningful,socially oriented content for youth on the Web

Youth,the National Mobilization Against Sweatshops,Marta Valle High School,the Covenant House for homeless youth, Free Arts for Abused Children,the Harlem Congregation, West Side High School,the Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence, and Citizens Committee for New York.Nationally, it partners

A how-to resource for public access centers interested in showcasing youth content on their own channels and seeking strategies for establishing their own youth media programs

Lesson 11 The host organization can be a strong ally but not without effort. Though the Youth Channel has a certain degree of autonomy, it has been no small matter that it is housed at MNN.From a facilities standpoint, youth producers have access to two fullservice production studios,six linear and eight nonlinear editing facilities,a fleet of digital video camera packages,and four public access channels on which to air community-produced media.In addition,MNN has conference rooms that serve as informal learning spaces and well-trained staff who

with Free Speech TV and,internationally, with groups in Canada,Brazil,and Japan.The Youth Channel is able to find commonality with so many other organizations because they all seek to educate young people and build civic awareness in one way or another. Collaborations seem natural because of their shared outlook and overlapping missions. Unfortunately, because funding is tight and groups that collaborate are often seeking the same small pots of money, there can be awkwardness and forced competition.Nevertheless,the desire remains to support one another and find ways to continue working together.

LOOKING AHEAD

are on-site and available to provide assistance.In the begin-

As the Youth Channel approaches the completion of its third

ning,however, adult perceptions of Youth Channel members

year in operation, it shows no signs of sl owing or any indica-

were not as straightforward as the availability of an editing

tion that it is moving away from its commitment to youth

booth.There were two tendencies:to criminalize youth for

governance.Where others might have chosen to scale back

fear that they would damage or steal valuable equipment or

the power that participating youth have to make decisions,

to infantilize them and be overly concerned that a young per-

giving in to a desire to maintain adult control while champi-

son might fall or get an electric shock.Both of these views

oning the notion of youth media in name only, the Youth

carried with them concerns about liability, who would pay if

Channel has handed over the actual reins to its peer trainers

something untoward happened and who would get sued.In

and youth coordinators.And in so doing, it has offered the

relatively little time,as the Youth Channel sought to become

media arts community an exquisite example not of hoped-for

a model department,and young people and staff talked

potential but of lived practice.As McDonnell explains,the

about behavior and image,adults at MNN began to see that

Youth Channel "is an organization that works best as a public

their concerns were unfounded and appreciated Youth

space and a community space." Youth are not just welcome;

Channel as a valuable partner.

they are essential if anything more is to get done.

SHELLEY PASNIK is based in New York at the Center for Children and Technology, where she explores how technology can support teaching and learning. She is also the creator of Growing with Media, a Web site on PBS Parents.

OT H E R F R I DAY:

Media Arts Mentoring (Island Style) b y D i a n e Pe t er s a n d K a t h l e e n H e i d

he auditorium is dim, and the very loud music makes the room pulsate. Strobe lights flash and spin, and images appear in syncopation on a large screen that dominates the room. The images range from surfing and skateboarding to martial arts and SpongeBob Squarepants.Songs popular with the middle school set weave in and out of one another.

Thirty young people are captured in a reality of their own making,talking,laughing, and dancing.Squeals of delight alternate with bites of pizza.Control of the environment is passed from one video jockey to the next. They range in age from 9 to 17. Clearly, it is a party, and clearly the participants mandate the tone.But it is not just a party. It is a new kind of classroom, where children are seduced rather than coerced into learning.In the words of one teen, "OtherFriday tricked me into learning." OtherFriday is a youth new media lab and lounge located in Wailuku,Maui,Hawaii. Founded in 2003 by media artist and visual poet Hai Dai Nguyen,OtherFriday exists under the umbrella of Big Brothers Big Sisters and is supported by local youth centers and a community television station.Through bimonthly parties, weekly media lab "playshops," and more structured three- and six-week programs,OtherFriday provides the physical and virtual space for youth to engage their peers and their culture in a creative,constructive way. By offering new media literacy to at-risk youth,OtherFriday provides a language for children to visualize and give voice to their world.And by forming these artists into teams that take on paying projects in their community, OtherFriday demonstrates to youth the utility and the financial viability of new media. OtherFriday is based on the following ideas: Youth need a safe and creative way to party on Friday night. New media is an engaging way of connecting with youth. New media is collaborative,therefore allowing youths to share. New media creates a holistic impact on youth. New media allows youth to engage with the different media types and their intelligences.

As is the case in so many parts of the country, teenagers on Maui find themselves with very few safe and creative ways to spend their time.Research data from teen focus groups provided by the Juvenile Justice Department have found that teens on Maui have "nowhere to go and no way to get there." Teens are forced to lounge in malls or migrate toward unlawful situations and illegal drugs.Of course,there are several youth centers on the island, but teens often consider youth centers "uncool," largely because they do not allow them the autonomy and the social freedom they desire. OtherFriday’s Friday night events were built on the recognition that teens need a vibrant and self-directed social scene.In this respect,OtherFriday’s goal is to empower teens to become the architects of their own dynamic party culture.The idea of controlling the music and visual environment for 100-plus teens on a Friday night is incredibly alluring to young people,and it provides teens with their own reasons to become fluent with the tools and language of new media.As OtherFriday’s founder explains,"These teens are not

OT H E RF RI DAY:

Media Arts Mentoring (Island Style)

containers which we attempt to fill.They are flames which

needs the learning process to unfold,unfettered by strict,

we hope to ignite." Thus far, the allure of being a VJ (video

choppy blocks of time.

jockey) tends to inflame passion. The Russian educational theorist Vygotsky (1978) developed a

PRINCIPLES

theory of the zone of proximal development that aligns itself

In more formal terms,OtherFriday operates on three princi-

with the instructional design of OtherFriday’s curriculum.

ples:active learning, learner-centric learning,and evolution-

"The Zone of Proximal Development is the distance between

ary learning communities.

the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential as determined

Active Learning Active learning is the kind of learning that takes place when you accomplish a task that you set for yourself before you know how to accomplish it.It is like childhood learning between a child,parents,and family—for example, learning how to bake a cake or change the oil in a car. John Dewey, the

through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers." Learners are allowed to develop their skills in their own zone of proximal development assisted by a capable adult or peer mentor.

Evolutionary Learning Communities

father of modern American education,wrote,"There is an

The last aspect of OtherFriday’s model concerns evolutionary

intimate and necessary relation between the processes of

learning communities of people who band together to create

actual experiences and education." In his action research

situations in which the learner’s needs are paramount.

in his lab schools,he found that children learned more effec-

Kathia and Alexander Laszlo, in their 2000 article "Learning

tively and enthusiastically through experiential projects

to Become," describe their ideal image of an educational

such as cooking, gardening,and furniture building.In the

system as follows:

OtherFriday program,the experiential learning is elevated through new media technology to a 21st century level. In an active learning situation,the student learns by doing, through a process of trial and error. The kinesthetic learner experiences building a muscular memory of the process.This idea relates to Piaget’s studies of deeper learning and retention through experiential engagement,as opposed to lectures and question-and-answer reading assignments.Integral to active learning is peer teaching, which involves learning to form relationships and becoming empowered by those relationships.This strategy is appropriate for adolescents and teens, who are social beings first and foremost.

Learner-centric Learning

It is a community based educational system. Rather than functioning on the assumption that we need to go to school to learn, to work to be productive,and "away" to enjoy and have fun,ELC suggests the integration of work,learning, and enjoyment throughoutlife (i.e., intergenerational learning) in all our communities (e.g., family, neighborhood,organizations). Itis a learning oriented education, rather than a teaching based one. Its focus is life-long learning and the development of human potential. Itpromotes self-directed,flexible,ongoing collaborative learning through learning community. This is not simply collective individual learning, but synergistic collaborative learning:learning content issues together while at the same time learning process issues about how to be community.

Another strand of OtherFriday’s educational philosophy is learner-centric learning,in which the key element is an envi-

Though these communities might vary in educational

ronment equipped with the tools students need to explore

philosophies and methods,they all offer an alternative to tra-

and understand the world and the freedom to ask their own

ditional schools.The predominant notion is that the impetus

questions.In this way of thinking, when children are allowed

and learning format should emerge from members of the

to take more responsibility for their educational paths,they

local community. Parents,teachers,and other community

are able to create meaning in their lives.Education and life

members volunteer time and plan many field trips and activi-

are not thought to be separate entities;they are one and the

ties.The boundaries between school time, work time,and

same.The human tendency for curiosity and exploration

playtime become blurred.The ideal physical components of

such communities are learning centers with a variety of resources where students are free to explore at will.

media technicians who are willing to share and spark imaginations, lots of food,and a clientele that can benefit from these self-sustainable efforts,all combined with the openness

The movement rejects educational settings in which the pri-

and ability to change,to trust,and to be accountable.

mary goal is to create workers and consumers r ather than to

OtherFriday has integrated these elements into three pro-

enhance the cognitive and creative development of the learn-

grams:bimonthly new media events,new media learning

ers.Many of the first schools were created by factory owners

centers,and three- to six-week new media curricula.

for the purpose of training workers.Evolutionary learning communities aim for a more holistic citizen who needs less

New Media Events

and lives and learns more.

OtherFridayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Friday night events were conceived in 2002

Self-sustainability

across the street from a homeless shelter and a correctional

in the Mentoring Center at Big Brothers Big Sisters, located In addition to these three main princ iples,OtherFriday strives

facility. This mentoring center was looking for ways to enrich

to be self-sustainable.Traditional programs require grants

and educate its "at hope" clientele,and OtherFridayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proposal

and charitable gifts, which might be their only source of

to stage Friday evening events seemed to fit the bill.

funding.Other ways of raising funds like selling candy bars often have nothing to do with the mission of the organiza-

The program began with computer lab sessions on Saturdays

tion.OtherFriday is working towards sustaining itself by

when the children saw the adults involved in media projects

making use of community members as creative collaborators

and wanted to join in.During both the Saturday playshops

to work with the kids to create new information media, Web

and the OtherFriday events,the youth are supported by adult

sites,and other new media services.

artists,including photographers,actors,fashion designers, musicians,and professional video jockeys,as well as media

PROGRAMS

artists and specialists.However, these more experienced

In OtherFridayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s view, successful implementation of these

artists do not so much teach as transfer to the youth a sense

principles depends on five elements:an adequate physical

of contagious enthusiasm.The motivation is to prepare the

facility, appropriate software,a team of artists and new

participants for a great party, namely the OtherFriday event at the center.

OT H E RF RI DAY:

Media Arts Mentoring (Island Style)

At a recent,typical OtherFriday event,an adult fashion

important though,OtherFriday provides a space for them to

designer had several girls trying on her designs while other

share their work and visions.

teens videotaped the impromptu fashion show. At the same time,an adult DJ began to spin records and quickly handed

Learning Centers

over the turntables to interested teens.Meanwhile,a painter

The young participants in this program have come to see

painted onto a canvas and projected that image through a

another advantage to their new media education,possibly

video camera onto a large wall.Three young girls approached

even more enticing than the party. Although training work-

and quickly took over control of the media brushes.In all this,

ers is not a dr iving purpose of OtherFriday, the organization

the emphasis was on a collaborative,synergetic learning

has found that studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;knowledge translates into vocational

exchange.The more experienced teens tutored the novices,

skills that result in "real world" learning opportunities.The

and youth used their new fluency to show the adults what

participants have formed a company, called DA Studio, which

kinds of tools and processes they need.Then the photograph-

creates new media for paying clients.Recently they did work

er approached kids and exclaimed,"Hey, you look great! Let

for the Maui United Way and NASCAR.In the NASCAR project,

me take your picture." He then showed them their picture on

the teens created Christmas bulbs with three-dimensional

the digital screen,and the partygoers became intrigued and

images.Since DA Studio was part of the design and concept

wanted to use the camera and understand how it worked.

team,they received a percentage of equity from this project.

The actress was painting faces and shared mythological

The proceeds of their projects go toward the acquisition of a

descriptions of masks and painted images.Some of the chil-

laptop for each mentee in the company. In its first month, DA

dren wanted to try their hand at video disc jockeying and

Studio billed at approximately $5000.Twenty percent of the

became curious about the process.

profits went to Big Brothers Big Sisters for administrative costs and use of the computer lab.

All of the adult participants clearly understand that the event is for the kids.However, the adult artists have reasons for

The DA Studio media collective has five levels. Level I is

attending beyond performing community service. Many of

internship.The requirements are a willingness to learn and

them want to digitize their own work,and the program gives

the acquisition of a sponsoring mentor. To complete this level,

them a chance to either learn the processes and equipment

participants must complete one full project.The wages are

involved or meet people to do it for them.Perhaps more

$10 an hour, with fifty percent going toward the laptop pur-

Level V is the advisory level.It requires completing the man-

chase.Half is paid at the beginning of the project and half

agement level or having equal professional experience.

at the end.

Advisors must be selected by the management team.They

Level II is project development.Participants must have com-

possible.Currently, one youth is eligible to fill this position.

earn industry rates,and equity ownership of the company is pleted their internship and must execute one technical devel-

Hai Dai Nguyen is confident that more will rise to the chal-

opment task for a project.The child is still working to earn a

lenge in time.

computer, and the pay remains the same as in Le vel I.

Curricula When the participant moves into Level III, he or she becomes

The third OtherFriday program consists of three- to six-week

a mentor. Mentors must have completed the previous two

new media curricula.The shorter of these is currently being

levels and must understand all new media matrix positions.

implemented in the summer school computer classroom at

They must mentor an intern in a specific development task in

Seabury Hall,a private college preparatory school.Each day,

which they are proficient,and they must have earned their

the students, ranging from fifth to eighth grade, create their

personal computer. A member of the team who becomes pro-

own original VJ presentations.The culmination is an

ficient in a particular area must immediately teach another

OtherFriday event,to which all the summer students are

team member. Often this level requires little more than

invited.The goal is to create a great party, and each student is

repeating the procedure several times.

required to prepare a five- to ten-minute presentation.An

Level IV, management,requires completion of all the previous

itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not like a normal program. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re actually doing some-

levels.Management personnel must act as a project lead and

thing cool.I know people are going to see my presentation,

a project manager and must complete two projects.The pro-

and I want to make it really good." The students adopt VJ

eighth grader named Eli commented,"Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interesting because

ject manager introduces the assignment and explains the

names and periodically discuss their project with the class.

parameters.He or she decides the style, look,and feel of the

The students obviously enjoy coming to class,and everyone is

project and then assigns tasks to the animators and artists on

actively engaged.Though some direct teaching does occur

the team.Project managers earn industry rates within the

within the first couple of weeks,the instructor most often

areas of their expertise.

facilitates.The students are encouraged to find their own

OT H E RF RI DAY:

Media Arts Mentoring (Island Style)

way through the creative process,and the instructor’s prima-

variety of tools and tech support expertise.Expanding the

ry goal is to support their individual paths.In the words of

program to schools and other youth organizations will fur-

one student,"Hai Dai is cool to me.I can follow him around

ther expand the OtherFriday concept.

and be his assistant.It’s important ‘cause it makes people happy.... Most teachers would spazz out with the music, but he lets kids be who they are."

Holistic Process

Lesson 3 As learners advanced,they at first resisted the idea of collaboration.However, when they realized that their media are

CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED

changeable and moldable and make it easier to share and

There have been many lessons and challenges in the evolu-

readapt their creations,they began to move away from the

tion of the OtherFriday concept,notably in security, sustain-

self and focus on a common goal.

ability, and the process as a who le. Several times the question of music with inappropriate lan-

Security

Lesson 1 like Big Brothers Big Sisters must comply Large organizations

guage came up.Instead of being judgmental,the facilitator merely suggested that the object of the presentation was to

with a multitude of state and national regulations.The

make sure everyone had a great time and that they did not

OtherFriday events faced a liability issue because the activity

want to risk insulting anyone or making them feel uncom-

was after hours,and staff of BBBS needed to be present.If a

fortable.A few students kept the songs they had chosen but

volunteer was used,a background check was needed.Another

switched tracks or edited out the questionable language.It

issue arose during summer months and holidays.The chil-

was important that the decision came from them.This aspect

dren wanted access to the computer lab, but no qualified

of moral development seems to emerge naturally, unlike in

adult supervision was available.It became clear that, at this

more traditional modes, where morals are dictated by an

facility, a significant amount of time is required of mentors

authority figure.

and advisors. Recently, Nguyen received a call from the summer school The smaller, locally based Paia Youth and Cultural Center

director at Seabury, who wanted to know if Nguyen had told

faced less stringent regulations.Comings and goings of

the students that they could record whatever they wanted.

mentors and clientele were not so carefully watched,and

He told her that they were not allowed to use pornography in

background checks were not an issue.Of course this lack of

their presentations and that they were supposed to capture

scrutiny has its obvious risks.

images that were aesthetically pleasing.The director said that several students who had already completed their VJ

Sustainability

Lesson 2 is an ongoing concern because the techContinued funding nology needs to be upgraded periodically. In time,organizers

presentations were filming one another jumping off the roof of a one-story library building. This incident illustrates the dangers of children extending themselves beyond the boundaries of the curriculum.

hope that the program will become self-supporting,that the kids will raise money through the media projects,and private

The challenges and lessons learned vary from program to

citizens will hire the team to throw new media parties for

program and would differ in other geographical locations

birthdays, weddings,and graduations.At the highest level,

and communities.Because each program would evolve in its

the program will need grants to create content for a new

own way according to the customs and needs of the host

media curriculum, which will be accessible online and will

community, it is difficult to give a predetermined prescription

contribute to alternative forms of education.

for the administration of a program like OtherFriday. The core concept and principles are what is important—the idea of

OtherFriday must continue to recruit community resources to

student-centered,self-motivated learning and collaborative

sustain and energize the program.New artists and media

learning through learning community.

technicians bring new life and new ideas.An example is the local community television station,Akaku, which provided a

FUTURE PLANS

international community festival of new media, where peo-

OtherFriday plans to expand this curriculum through involve-

ple can share their programs and show examples of their

ment in a new, online Department of Education charter

media arts.The idea would be to create a stage for sharing

school.Applying OtherFriday’s programs to Thompson

and collaboration to further the practice of youth mentoring

Academy will bring a collaborative and social component

through media arts and to bring the idea of learning commu-

and therefore create a nice balance with Thompson’s current

nities from a local to a global level.

online education. The program is also planning to launch OtherFriday events at

CONCLUSIONS From an educational perspective,this program is solid and

the main shopping mall on the island.The management of

progressive.It is project-based and encompasses a variety of

the Queen Kaahumanu Center proposed a free,limited-time

disciplines,strengthened by unique teaching strategies.

opportunity in hope of creating a safe and creative environ-

Ongoing projects ensure a greater student buy-in,and from a

ment for the many teens who use the mall as their hangout

planning standpoint,there is no need to produce a multitude

on Fridays and weekend evenings.For OtherFriday, this is an

of isolated lessons.Language,both oral and written,is a nat-

opportunity to expose the new media to the community at

ural component.Collaboration and periodic project reports

large,to attract more mentors,to encourage more youths to

require oral skills, while proposals and product development

participate,and to awaken the interest of other agencies in

encourage written efforts.Math becomes necessary in the

the community that could benefit from the idea.With

creative works and in the management of a salary. Math also

OtherFriday’s viability and self-sustainable principles,

has a strong correlation with the music used in products.

shopping malls might prove to be the perfect home for

Science is an inherent component of the media.

OtherFriday’s new media learning community in the 21st century.

A strong collaborative sense develops, which is essential in a world fueled by a workforce that is driven by group efforts

These are the initial stepping stones to the formation of a

and empowered with technical skills.This teaching tactic is

global mobile culture that extends and furthers new media

ideal for children at this developmental stage,in which social

concepts.Ultimately, OtherFriday hopes to culminate in an

interaction is a strong force.Peer teaching raises the learning to an even higher level and benefits both parties.

OT H E RF RI DAY:

Media Arts Mentoring (Island Style)

New media is the paintbrush of this generation.Unlike their

REFERENCES

parents,these children have naturally developed a sophisti-

Laszlo, K.C.,and Laszlo, A.2000."Learning to Become:Creating Evolutionary Learning Community through Evolutionary Systems Design." In Miller, R.(Ed.) Creating Learning Communities. New York: Solomon Press.

cated understanding of technology. From early on, it has been an integral part of their domestic and educational experiences.The medium is the message.The activities correlate to their own lives and decisions.Students see how a few key-

Vygotsky, L.S.1978. Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge:Harvard University Press.

strokes can change or undo tasks,thereby affecting their own personal transformation.They have the power to take things in and create an output that is completely different. Currently there is a strong push in education for an arts-integrated curriculum.Many studies have shown a high correlation between an arts-rich curriculum and high math and language scores on standardized tests.Current trends advocate using various art forms to enhance the teaching in core sub-

DIANE PETERS teaches fifth grade at Kula Elementary School on the Island of Maui.She received her B.A.from Chaminade University and an M.A.from the University of Hawaii.She also studied arts education integration with Howard Gardner at Harvard and at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. KATHLEEN HEID is currently the VP of Programs for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Maui County. Kathleen has been an educator on Maui for thepast17 years.She has been with BBBS since 1997;serving as an education specialistand program director.

ject areas.The OtherFriday concept addresses this need.The arts component,in both music and visual art,develops and refines the participant’s aesthetic sense.It is a nonthreatening art form that does not hinder those who m ay not feel adept at drawing,painting,or sculpting. A primary strength of the program is that kids consider new media hot.It is multifaceted and therefore attracts a variety of interests.The model works because it leads to self-motivated learning.Once their imaginations are sparked,they teach themselves,and the possibility of making money through the project further strengthens their motivation. The OtherFriday inspiration is an idea that is viable and can be replicated, whether as a mentoring program or in curriculum development.Of course by OtherFriday’s own principles, its efforts are in a process of constant evolution and experimentation.The primary advantage is its impact on the children.As media specialist Ken Kimura noted,"The OtherFriday kids don’t go home with a cultivated bonsai plant imitated from a text book.They go home with a bag of seeds and a genetic splicing kit." Through this process,and the caring and guidance of adults with unique talents,the young participants gain viable skills they can use to relate to the world around them.It is well worth the effort. To learn more aboutOtherFriday, take a look at the web site at www.otherfriday.org

T E C H N O - F OX E S :

Linking Girl Power to Technology by Candace Thompson

it down with any group of sixth-grade girls and you cannot help but be drawn to their fearlessness of new possibilities,the seamless way they interact and collaborate,and their enthusiastic sense of altruism.Still a year or two from the self-conscious teenage years,these girls are excited by discovery and revel in an unabashed sense of their budding powers.

Enter into any of the three Tech Team club meetings and you witness this same sense of adventure and power. Tech Team is an innovative program for girls in South Carolina that combines the tools of youth media with explorations in diverse areas of science and technology. The project-based design introduces and engages middle school girls in learning technology by employing collaborative learning and self-inquiry techniques. Because the basic tools of media technology are easy to use, Tech Team staff used video production as a turnkey for introducing increasingly more difficult technology. Media production is a key element of the program,providing a platform upon which to expand the girls’ range and depth of individual expression while facilitating community and personal connections to women working in science and technology careers.The value of media education is in its intrinsic appeal to kids. Tech Team capitalizes on the idea of media technology as a great equalizer in that nearly every child enters into this arena already quite media savvy. As anyone involved in youth media can attest,this approach to technology instantly resonates with young people eager to give creative voice to their ideas and

opinions. Teachers also note that meaningful communication,interaction,

and learning opportunities increase both inside and outside the classroom. As part of the curriculum in the first year of the three-year program, Tech Team girls learned camera usage,lighting and sound recording principles,and film language (composition,types of shots,and so on).The girls also learned interviewing skills,including how to conduct background research,formulate questions,conduct interviews,and cultivate active listening techniques. Tech Team staff knew from experience that a hands-on approach to learning would increase the girls’understanding of fundamental technology systems,especially in the context of an interesting project.

MEETING AT THE TABLE:PLAYERS, PARTNERS, AND RESOURCES In the winter of 2001,the Educational Television Endowment of South Carolina in collaboration with the South Carolina Educational Television Network (SCETV) successfully proposed a three-year, $750,000+ project to the National Science Foundation’s Gender Equity Program,an initiative designed to increase middle school girls’enthusiasm for and understanding of technology. Using recommendations by the American Association of University Women,the Tech Team project aims to change and positively influence girls’perception about technology in a learning environment that is collaborative,interesting,and fun. Another component of the project is training teachers in media technology and equitable teaching.Co–principal investigators Betsy Newman and Urica Pope were surprised by the substantial learning curve they faced as they began technology training with facilitators. Addressing training needs proved to be a significant long-term challenge that created exciting opportunities for growth.

T E CH N O - F OX E S :

Linking Girl Power to Technology

The Tech Team program is composed of several after-school

tape and serves as the primary content of a CD-ROM on

technology clubs,a summer technology day camp,and a

gender equitable education practices for teachers nationwide.

series of computer-based workshops offered throughout the school year. Newman,the grant’s author, relied on a breadth

Project Evaluation

of experience and connections in youth media organizations

Lead evaluator Dr. Kenneth Stevenson uses staff,students,

in Chicago, New York,Los Angeles,and San Francisco to give

and the technology in the Office of Program Evaluation

form to this project.Newman is also a curriculum coordinator

housed in the University of South Carolina’s College of

with the SCETV Creative Services Department,a branch

Education.The team evaluates various kinds of data to

dedicated to providing multimedia services to teachers and

measure outcomes and to support program improvement.

students across South Carolina. The experienced staff includes

The evaluators use qualitative and quantitative methods to

programmers, Web designers, video and multimedia producers,

measure the girls’technical skill levels,their attitudes

writers,artists,curriculum specialists,and staff developers.

towards technology, math,and science,and their perceptions

Although Tech Team seemed an intuitive fit for the organiza-

of available career options.The evaluators also observe club

tion to undertake,a more diverse partnership was needed

meetings and collect facilitator observations to measure

for success.

changes in the attitude,knowledge,and skills of participants and facilitators over the three years of the project.

Key to the program’s success was its partnership with two Girl Scout councils that served schools targeted by Tech Team. Explains Newman,"[We wanted] an organization with extensive knowledge and history of working with young girls,and the Girl Scouts offered that expertise and a number of invaluable resources." Both councils also offered to contribute experienced,college-educated leaders to assist in participant recruitment and cofacilitation. Additional partners include the staff at the SCETV Division of Distance Learning,project evaluators from the University of South Carolina,and Dr. Ronald Miles,a retired coordinator for guidance and counseling in the Richland One school district in Columbia,South Carolina, who assisted in the design of recruitment protocols for the Tech Team clubs. Building on the SCETV technology resources developed over its thirty-year history and the broad resources of its staff,the team worked to implement a program to introduce facilitators and participants to information technologies,beginning with video production and moving into Web design and database programming.Each Tech Team club was equipped with a video production package consisting of two computerbased editing systems,two small digital video cameras, microphones,headphones,tripods,and simple lighting kits. The girls used these tools to create projects for broadcast to other Tech Team clubs via the SCETV Instructional Television Network,to share Web sites they designed and produced,and to access these resources through a searchable database of

ESTABLISHING A COMMUNITY District Selection While collaborators were setting up the scaffolding for program activities, Tech Team staff identified South Carolina school districts that would most benefit from a Tech Team club.Criteria for selection ranged from an examin ation of the need for meaningful after-school programming to identifica tion of districts with talented students performing below potential in math and science.Additional criteria included communities with high unemployment and low income and parental education levels.Having the two Girl Scout partners in the area of selected schools provided strong local contacts and broad associations with professional women in these communities. The dismal state of South Carolina’s schools presented a daunting challenge in school selection for Newman and Pope. It seemed that nearly any school district could benefit from their innovative after-school program.In 2003,the schools were hit with $107 million in cuts,with further reductions on the horizon.Many schools,particularly those in rural areas, have been disproportionately affected by continuing budget cuts,teacher layoffs,poor test scores,and low school ratings. Since so many districts were deserving,part of the selection criteria became the enthusiasm displayed by the district for the project, its history of cooperation with SCETV, and its proximity to Columbia.

their own making.Each club’s work is documented on video-

The team finally selected the districts of Fairfield,Richland,

Newman was intimately familiar with the quality and

and Marion,all of which are considered critical needs areas

availability of teachers in the selected districts and had little

with either below-average or unsatisfactory ratings on annu-

choice but to rely on district and school administrators to

al state school report cards.These schools faced continued

identify potential candidates.They assumed that Tech Team

funding shortfalls for textbooks and other instructional mate-

would have the final word in candidate selection.This offered

rials, which could result in students unable to master the

schools an opportunity to exercise ownership over the pro-

stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s academic standards.All selected districts are located in

gram while Tech Team investigators maintained a level of

rural counties and have a seventy-five to eighty-six percent

quality control during the selection process.

minority population."The school and district ratings will get a lot of attention," State Superintendent of Education Inez

School administrators,however, had a different view of the

Tenenbaum said in a recent interview regarding the 2002

process,believing they were in the best position to select

South Carolina school report cards,"but the real value of the

and appoint teachers without needing to seek final approval.

report cards lies in the wealth of additional information they

Selection of facilitators therefore had to balance district

contain.Educators,parents, business partners,and anyone

politics with program leadership.Since ownership and

interested in improving student achievement will be able to

continuing collegial relationships were at stake, Tech Team

use these data to make better decisions about teaching and

staff were reluctant to oppose administrators so early in the

learning in every school." Superintendents in these districts

process.This meant that beyond providing an initial "ideal"

committed themselves to the success of the project and

candidate sketch, Tech Team had little input into facilitator

enthusiastically endorsed the Tech Team proposal.It was

selections.Fortunately, the facilitators who emerged were

clear the project had found communities in which to flourish.

dedicated and experienced teachers who took great pleasure in their Tech Team participation. Facilitators are expected to

Facilitator Selection

commit for the three-year duration of the project,giving

Investigators were buoyed by the positive response from

Newman and Pope a reprieve from having to select new

school superintendents and confident that selecting highly

facilitators annually. Still, Tech Team proactively constructed

qualified facilitators would be relatively easy. Pope had the

a well-defined framework for soliciting referrals from district

task of coordinating activities and training selected facilita-

administrators while maintaining a more visible Tech Team

tors in the appropriate technologies.Neither Pope nor

presence in future selections.

T E CH N O - F OX E S :

Linking Girl Power to Technology

Each district or school administrator selected two or three

selection a difficult task for facilitators glimpsing the poten-

teachers from their schools for a total of nine facilitators

tial of these girls.Some notable responses included:

(eight women and one man).At the beginning of the school year, this assemblage of teachers,media arts specialists,and

"I think I work well with others because I give them time to talk and don’t try to overpower them."

Girl Scout leaders visited the SCETV Telecommunications Center in Columbia for a series of specialized training workshops spanning four full Saturdays.In addition to learning

"The qualities and strengths that make me a good candidate are:I’m smart, I try and I’ll try to learn anything you throw at me and I won’tgive up."

relevant technologies,facilitators received instruction on developing curriculum,equitable teaching practices,and collaborative learning in project-based settings. Facilitators also learned to use program technologies in the context of creating their own projects.Pope believes that by "engaging in the creation of their own video and Web-based projects, facilitators gain the direct experience of a collaborative, hands-on approach they can then incorporate into their individual club’s curriculum."

Participant Selection Using a selection rubric constructed in collaboration with consultant Miles,a platform was established upon which facilitators could add their ideas and unique knowledge of students at their sites.In mid-August 2002,Newman and Pope met with facilitators,Girl Scout representatives,media specialists,and school guidance counselors from each school site to develop a final recruitment protocol.Each club’s facilitators based their criteria on their particular school’s profile while adhering to a standard set of considerations,including single-parent homes,lack of adequate after-school supervision,positive attitudes towards school and learning,and expressed or demonstrated interests in math,science,or technology. As one facilitator explained, it was vitally important to "reach out to girls who might otherwise have very limited exposure to opportunities after graduation." Since prospective girls would just be starting middle school, facilitators relied on referrals from elementary school teach ers and guidance counselors.The candidates were required to complete an application to explore interests and attitudes and why they wanted to be a part of Tech Team.A total of forty-five girls—approximately fifteen girls per school—were selected out of a total applicant pool of sixty-five. Responses to questions reflected the typically synergistic and intellectually curious nature of middle school girls,and no doubt made

"I know how to getinvolved with activities and I am not scared to share my thoughts and ideas." "I cooperate with others, I care aboutothers and I listen to their ideas."

In addition to providing baseline knowledge of written communication skills,responses like these also gave facilitators valuable insight into the girls’lives.Selected participants at each school held their first of twenty-five weekly meetings during the week of September 30,2002.The majority of the girls knew each other from elementary school,so facilitators anticipated a high degree of familiarity and companionable interaction.

DUCKS TO WATER:GIRLS, TECHNOLOGY, AND COLLABORATIVE LEARNING The body of research on girls and technology offers a profile of middle-school-age girls as resilient beings whose self-perception is often one of being smart,capable,sociable,and altruistic.Many girls at this age report a strong interest in math and science, which appears linked to both self-esteem levels and career aspirations.When placed in a media technology learning environment,girls tend to situate tasks in a relational or collaborative context as a means of manifesting their altruistic perspectives and nurturing their desire to connect to group members,family, and community. As one Tech Team girl offered,"Because I love working with peers my age and getting to learn about new technology and the rest of the members,I loved Tech Team.No doubt about it." A vital element of Tech Team is the commitment to helping girls recognize the benefits of media technology as a way to foster relationships and have a positive impact on humanity. The project offers the support and solidarity of a single-gender environment,giving girls greater opportunities to increase

their confidence and learning by employing educational

acter and creativity, so Technofoxes, Tech Knows,and

strategies uniquely appealing to them,their concerns,and

Techasus were born.The girls also designed online team logos

their ways of approaching and solving problems.When asked

and individual logos to identify them online. The fun and

on a participant survey what role they felt they played in

ownership from this activity fed the girls’curiosity and will-

their individual teams,participants frequently described

ingness to try new things and set the stage for their first big

their roles as "the helpful one helping and understanding

step into media production.

others";"no role,I’m just a friend";and "the role of a good, well-working girl." Participant journals also offered a venue

The girls began their Tech Team projects with a charge to

for remote sharing,reflection, creativity, and communication.

identify and tape interviews with women in science,engi-

Administrators had the pleasure of getting to learn more

neering,and technology in their communities.This activity

about the participants through these reflections,and the

exposed them to women in science and technology, allowing

girls got to know each other. In this environment,each girl's

them to see women at their jobs and to work directly with

experience is nurtured and trusted,allowing her to make

technology in the learning process.After editing the footage,

manifest the fruits of shared knowledge to which she adds

the girls created short documentary videotapes about each

her own unique questions and solutions.

woman interviewed to share with other Tech Team clubs and students throughout South Carolina.

The girls found using the Web to be an exciting way of communicating ideas and learning to the larger group, but they

As the girls conducted Internet searches and collected infor-

felt it fell short of satisfying their wish to interact more

mation,they began to cultivate a discriminating attitude

intimately across the three clubs.Distance was a challenge,

toward information.Conducting interviews,however, proved

but the girls’strong desire to get to know one another was a

to be quite a challenge for many of them.Often students had

call for Tech Team to uncover ways for girls to bond with one

spent so much time in preparing a standard set of questions

another outside of their home teams.Newman believes one

that they appeared inattentive to their guest’s responses dur-

possible solution for Years 2 and 3 is to gather girls and facili -

ing the interview. Another challenge lay in the girls’ability to

tators for a weekend kickoff event at the start of the school

speak clearly and enunciate words well enough to be under-

year. This would afford girls an early opportunity to share

stood through the microphone.Pope believes that some of

stories,collaborate on ideas for upcoming projects,and basi-

these issues could be attributed to initial shyness.Both

cally enjoy each other’s company. Another benefit is that

Newman and Pope proudly noted that during a year-end

facilitators could also come together with Tech Team staff to

presentation many of the girls showed a marked improve-

discuss and share ideas, concerns,and reflections as well as

ment in listening and speaking before a group,displaying

provide a venue for more training.

great gains in confidence and professionalism.

INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGY = INTEGRATED LEARNING At every step, Tech Team girls participate in innovative,real-

YEAR ONE: CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED

Lesson 1 The Perils of Professional Development

world project applications that address issues of technology,

In keeping with SCETV’s history of open inquiry and teacher

community, and women’s lives.At the same time,these activ-

professional development, Tech Team staff envisioned the

ities encourage inventive thinking that goes beyond simple

program as a viable extension of its project-based learning

skills acquisition to analysis and synthesis of learning that

format.A primary project goal was to assist teachers in

facilitates a level of true technological fluency. The girls excit-

attaining access to new technologies to improve and expand

edly explored the SCETV partners’Knowitall.org Web site and

current skills.The popular wisdom posited that both schools

its links to participate in reflective online journals and chats

and Tech Team would benefit from a growing cadre of reflec-

as a way to learn about each other. To make it their own,each

tive practitioners adept at working in project-based,informal

club chose a name they felt represented their collective char-

learning situations. To this end, Tech Team staff suggested

T E CH N O - F OX E S :

Linking Girl Power to Technology

that facilitators contribute to an online journal as a tool for

as they confronted challenges and solved problems.

reflection,believing this to be an effective medium for full

During site visits,Pope frequently acted as coinstructor or

engagement and learning.Unfortunately, facilitators rarely, if

lead instructor. Although facilitators generally found this

ever, used this tool.Newman and Pope now believe they over-

periodic intervention helpful, at one site it raised issues of

estimated teachers’familiarity and comfort levels with reflec-

"turf," teacher seniority, and district politics.Newman and

tive practice and informal learning settings.

Pope arranged individual and team meetings to discuss spe-

One of the ways this barrier to reflection manifested itself

ally able to offer some relief by relocating club meetings to a

during Year 1 was a marked discomfort among facilitators

more neutral location.

cific issues and promote healthy dialogue.They were eventu-

about making mistakes and taking risks with equipment and subject matter in making their own projects.This discomfort,

As facilitators became more comfortable in their roles and

coupled with a general unfamiliarity with project-based

the project-based approach,the clubs became more dynamic

learning,resulted in facilitators either delaying or limiting

and inclusive.One school adopted a practice of modeling

girls’experimentation with equipment. Facilitators also tend-

their expectations,so girls could better understand what was

ed to expend more energy in preparation rather than engage

being asked of them while maintaining an informal environ-

in the experiential aspect of the program.Says Pope,"They

ment of free inquiry. Another club worked in tandem with

[facilitators] initially had difficulty releasing the more tradi-

girls in experimenting with equipment to overcome intimi-

tional curriculum-based methods of instruction and tended

dation and fear of failure. Tech Team staff will continue a

to rely more on a traditional plan-and-do approach."

"challenge without rules" approach for facilitators to further encourage them to embrace the practice of experiential learn -

The girls also faced the challenge of trying to ascertain facili-

ing.Reflecting on the issues encountered during the first

tator expectations and were initially unsure of and frustrated

year, Newman feels she has a better appreciation for the

by the teacher’s shifting role in this informal learning envi-

necessity of clearly defining program goals and facilitator

ronment.This learning style was new to many of the stu-

roles from the start.

dents,with the exception of Girl Scout members,and they may have harbored expectations of the traditional studentteacher relationship.Pope explains,"Students expressed frus-

Facing the Reality of Facilitator Attrition

Lesson 2 and Pope considered and planned for the Although Newman

tration in terms of gaining access to the equipment as well as

possibility of student attrition during the three-year run of

having the restrictions of a more traditional classroom envi-

the program,teacher attrition was not fully considered until

ronment imposed upon them." She also notes that,early on,

a particularly talented facilitator accepted a position outside

teachers frequently planned to the point of controlling the

of the selected school district."We just really overlooked that

flow of activities,so girls were not given permission to

aspect of planning," says Newman.Because Tech Team is a

engage in free discovery. This may have inadvertently perpet-

sequenced program that builds progressively from Year 1

uated the girls’fear of making mistakes or breaking the

through Year 3,the learning curve for new facilitators could

equipment when access was finally granted.

become daunting. To some degree,the nature of district politics and the issue of ownership in selecting facilitators could

The coinvestigators committed themselves to providing regu-

still prove a significant barrier to easy replacement.One pos-

lar on-site support and training to each club.Initially, Pope

sible solution for the future might be to identify other facili-

scheduled two site visits a month at each location to provide

tators in the districts and maintain a resource database from

technology training and project consultation.The need for

which to pull.In any case, Tech Team recognizes that address-

more training time soon became apparent,not only in tech-

ing facilitator attrition requires more extensive planning for

nology but also regarding clear expectations and benchmarks

Years 2 and 3.

for facilitators.Pope and Newman wanted to engender the sense that it was okay for facilitators to stretch their creativity in exploring new ideas and practices—to work through the uncomfortable and unfamiliar even in the company of the girls.The idea was for facilitators and girls to learn together

Addressing Conflict Resolution

Lesson As anticipated3during the school selection process, Tech Team inevitably faced fallout from internal district conflict.A coin-

The girls are continually asked to explore the possibility of "whatif" in their learning and to make meaningful connections. Newman notes that, "in some cases, [Tech Team] girls have already acted as agents of change within their schools, especially when school leadership is involved to encourage and tap into the experiences and skills of these girls."

vestigatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intervention was required most frequently in

each other but were saving their individual concerns to dis-

clubs dealing with a history of district issues.The fractured

cuss during their scheduled visits.It was clear that interven-

atmosphere of some school districts could and sometimes did

tion was needed to facilitate internal conflicts and assist the

impede the successful dynamics of a team. Tech Team continues

teams in realizing success.

to work at creating a balance of involvement by assessing what Newman sees as "knowing when to step in and when

Newman eventually enlisted the advice of an SCETV teacher

to step back." Although it would not be a singular solution,

trainer and curriculum specialist in developing a workshop to

both women accept that they must also strengthen their

assist facilitators in establishing a forum for discussion of

roles as models for informal learning and conflict negotiation

individual and group concerns,challenges,and triumphs.

to bring about positive shifts in each teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dynamic.

These discussions would lead to the creation of workable

Perhaps as challenging as negotiating district woes is the

needs of each team member. The workshop also led facilita-

process of successfully navigating issues across strata such as

tors through a series of steps designed to develop a more

age, years of service,and degree of skill within facilitation

reflective practice connected to shared communication and

solutions that acknowledged and honored the ideas and

teams.Diversity indicators and teaching experience were

effective conflict resolution.Though some minor issues still

important selection criteria for facilitators, but staff may have

linger, the groundwork has been laid.The program now rec-

underestimated the incidence of discord these characteristics

ognizes that it must continue to make resources available for

presented.Pope found it difficult "trying to negotiate the

facilitators to proactively address interpersonal issues and

needs and dynamics of each of the teams and then adjust the

approaches to successful team building.

level of control and intervention in getting teams started and flicts proved time-consuming for Newman and Pope.They

MAKING IT HAPPEN: TECH TEAM AS COMMUNITY RESOURCE AND NATIONAL MODEL

realizing success." Though mostly fruitful,resolution of con-

were reluctant to step in,believing at first that it was a good

Many technology-based programs have historically directed

experience for facilitators to work out interpersonal issues as

their efforts and resources towards students in large,urban

a team of professionals.Newman and Pope later discovered

areas.Although urban students face enormous barriers to

that team members were not always communicating with

quality educational access,there is also a great need for

T E CH N O - F OX E S :

Linking Girl Power to Technology

community-based learning opportunities in rural settings.

and encourage greater school leadership by providing press

Families in rural communities deal with a shrinking econom-

packets to school administrators detailing Tech Team accom-

ic base and limited employment opportunities.Rural schools

plishments and opportunities throughout the school year.

continually struggle to attract and retain quality teachers and maintain adequate funding to support infrastructure and

Pope believes that the Tech Team program "offers a fun and

materials.Although school computer labs are generally

innovative model of how children and adults can utilize the

available for student use, problem-centered learning strategies

tools of technology for collaborative engagement to explore a

are not being used to their full potential within and across

medium and the complexity of their own lives." Tech Team

the school curriculum.Dr. David Keiser of Montclair State

staff and facilitators agree that the project is an excellent way

University and a guest evaluator well known for his work in

to direct girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;developmental affinity for altruistic behavior

cultural diversity and raising academic achievement levels

by finding ways to creatively connect them to their commu-

of high needs and minority students,participated in a Tech

nities.In order to realize full success, Tech Team must become

Team site visit and was impressed with the programâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

both a model and a resource for community schools to begin

potential for expanding the horizons of children in priority

their own programs.When asked how schools can begin their

school settings.

own programs without the benefit of a large grant,Newman explained that many schools already had existing technology

Tech Team has learned that a project-centered approach to

(computers,video cameras,and lighting and sound equip-

teaching and learning is an opportunity for meaningful

ment) upon which to build.She estimates the cost of a video

reciprocity between facilitators and participants.When these

package comparable to those purchased by Tech Team at less

practices are employed,all are challenged to communicate

than $2000.Newman believes that with training and low-

and collaborate across differences in experience,communica-

cost upgrades,schools could successfully execute and run

tion styles,interest,ability, culture,and perspective to con-

their own clubs.The Tech Team Web site link on

struct meaning and find solutions to problems.The girls are

Knowitall.org also provides valuable,step-by-step informa-

continually asked to explore the possibility of "what-if" in

tion to schools interested in starting a Tech Team club.

their learning and to make meaningful connections. Newman notes that,"in some cases,[Tech Team] girls have

As the program reaches Year 3, Tech Team staff see their roles

already acted as agents of change within their schools,espe-

evolving into that of a community resource.A function of

cially when school leadership is involved to encourage and

that resource role is to assist emerging Tech Team programs

tap into the experiences and skills of these girls."

in identifying community resources and grant opportunities and to provide proposal writing assistance.Additionally, they

The rewards of these educational strategies are readily avail-

would assist potential facilitators in developing a support

able and applicable in both single- and mixed-gender envi-

system of professional development,including technology

ronments and urban or rural schools.When students engage

training and equitable curriculum design.

in a cycle that creates alternate solutions to proble m s ,d evelops interpersonal skills,and uses critical thinking and reasoning

Because of the tremendous need, Tech Team staff will contin-

they acquire an awareness that transcends the confines of

ue to advocate for single-gender, project-based technology

physical circumstance and gender. Active learning in such a

programs.Already they are presenting at conferences and

cycle ignites both introspective and shared conversations that

facilitating video production workshops for organizations like

are complex and multidimensional paths to new knowledge

the Association of Gender Equity Leadership in Education and

and the formation of a learning community. Tech Team

the Center for Science Education as well as local and

reports an increasing awareness of media technology as a

statewide venues to spread the good word.

tool for learning and engagement at its school sites. The girls feel important and special because of the attention teachers and fellow students pay to their Tech Team involvement and skills.Newman plans to capitalize on this growing interest

CANDACE THOMPSONis currently pursuing a doctorate in Social Foundations of Education.Her interests include community education, international education,and developing social justice learning commu nities in higher education.

MEDIA BRI DGES:

Spanning Divisions in Cincinnati b y To m Z a n i e l l o

In 1856 Cincinnati was a Northern border city divided in two, armed to the teeth, at times even battling in the streets over slavery. Its citizens had already passed beyond just acknowledging the possibility of disunion and civil strife. They could fill out the muster rolls for regiments on either side. —Steven Weisenburger, Modern Medea (1998)

edia Bridges, located at the corner of Race Street and Central Parkway in Cincinnati,Ohio, is a one-stop multipurpose media center, combining the resources of a media arts center, a community technology base,and a cable public access studio. Providing all three functions enables the center to be cost-effective but especially user-friendly. The community has access to an unusually broad range of services,supplemented even further by gallery space,a music scene,and a meeting space. Media Bridges has a special spin that community "telecenters" in countries like the United Kingdom and South Africa and even other communities in America do not necessarily have:a project-based learning curriculum that complements all the services now attractively situated and freely available. Besides being helpful for adults who take introductory courses in media, it is especially important for youngsters who are learning about the representations of themselves in the media and their community in addition to learning a new technology. Furthermore,Media Bridges provides a voice to an often unheard constituency who have First Amendment rights but not the power or expertise in new media to express their views.

A HISTORY OF DIVISION Central Parkway, on one side of the Media Bridges building,covers what was once a canal in old Cincinnati.The canal gave rise with some irony and condescension to the name Over the Rhine for the district to its north,the stopping point for German immigrants who had to live in the less pleasant part of town.Across Central Parkway lies the downtown business district.Just a block north up Race Street,deeper into Over the Rhine,is Washington Park,surrounded by too many vacant storefronts and visited by homeless people,amidst the urban sprawl of the poor and the working poor. Cincinnati,currently the sixth most segregated city in America according to U.S.Census data, has a long history of being at the crossroads of racial conflict and resolution.Before the Civil War, it was a free state that looked across the Ohio River to the northernmost corner of Kentucky, a slave state.Because the Ohio River often froze during the winter, many slaves crossed in their attempt at freedom,and the Underground Railroad had a major transfer station in Cincinnati on its route to Canada.Following the same route as Harriet Beecher Stowe’s fictional Eliza from Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Margaret Garner, a Northern Kentucky slave,along with her husband and her children, were trapped by her master and slave catchers in a house in Mill Valley, just west of Over the Rhine.She killed one of her children and would have killed them all rather than return to slavery. Her life became a cause,and then eventually her story was transformed into one of the most influential best sellers of our own day—Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved. Residents’views were divided between abolitionists and Southern sympathizers,and these forces literally clashed in the streets when the Garner case came to trial in 1857. Cincinnati remained relatively free of the violence of racial injustice for almost a century, though its African-American citizens remained second-class in the ways familiar to many urban areas.After the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968,Cincinnati’s black community was torn by riots. Part of the story of Media Bridges’move to Over the Rhine is also one of racial conflict.On April 7, 2001,Timothy Thomas,a 19-year-old African-American, was shot and killed by a white Cincinnati policeman in Over the Rhine.He was unarmed and wanted only for traffic

MEDIA BRIDGES:

Spanning Divisions in Cinncinati

violations.Rioting erupted and lasted for three days.Police drew a line at Central Parkway and kept crowds from Over the Rhine out of the central business district. A number of businesses left the riot zone, but Media Bridges chose to move in.By virtue of being in Over the Rhine, it also became part of the city’s economic empowerment zone, which provides tax incentives to foster business development and hire local employees.The organization entered a partnership with Terry Boling,an architect who had won awards for the renovation of historic buildings in Over the Rhine.His work turned the Barlow Motors building,virtually vacant for almost forty years,into the new home of Media Bridges.No longer one of almost 500 vacant storefronts,the project dramatically announced to the entire Cincinnati community— and especially the local residents—that at least one door would be open for communications across the racial divide.

A SHOWROOM OF MEDIA AT THE CORNER OF RACE AND CENTRAL Belinda Rawlins,executive director of Media Bridges,says that the organization wanted a very different look for the space going into that old automobile showroom. Too often, she argues,"media facilities hide their technology." Editing and playback rooms—"black boxes"—are hidden away or not obvious,substantial wire bundles are concealed,and the reception desk or office could be fronting a dental practice. Instead,the award-winning building is designed to be a part of its community and make its function obvious.The enormous windows that line two sides of the main studio are reminiscent of the old auto dealer’s showroom,and that is exactly the point:Media Bridges is a public showroom of media.Since it is the only provider of public access cable television in Cincinnati,Media Bridges projects an image of the Over the Rhine community to all area residents, whether inner city or suburban.The same streets in the images of rioting are now peaceful,Rawlins notes,"with neighborhood residents stopping to see what’s happening on the other side of the windows." Teenagers walk by, peering in, while the rest of the community looks out through the lenses of the cable TV cameras. The layout of the ground floor supports this vision of access. The visitor is greeted by a reception desk that is simultaneously a control unit,backed by a rack of monitors for cable playback.Four monitors across from this desk feature Media Bridges’four access channels.Next to this desk is the Internet radio production booth.The main space of the floor is given over to editing carrels and computer access stations.One gets

the feel of a professional studio without the intimidation.All the cabling is visible overhead in open ladder trays. The walls on the two main floors are devoted to art gallery space,featuring local artists.In the summer of 2003,for example,the show "One on One" offered work that showcased two artists (both local college grads and high school teachers) who explored violence,especially the media’s representation of violence.Eventually even the huge parking lot to the west,a space equivalent to half a city block,will be transformed for Media Bridges’Autumedia,an outdoor multimedia installation event,in which independent media makers join other artists in transforming the space into an enormous outdoor gallery, including the use of neighboring building facades as "screens" for projected pieces. Because Media Bridges has created an unusually designed space at the crossroads of urban neglect and hope, it competed in 2003 (and will again in 2005) for the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence,given to those projects "that embody excellence" as they contribute "to the richness and diversity of the urban experience." Such organizations develop spaces,according to the Rudy Bruner Foundation,that "often transcend the boundaries between architecture,urban design,and planning." Rawlins concludes that Media Bridges "brings techno logy into the daylight to demystify the media. We want people to understand that media can be accessible,no matter who you are."

A COMMUNITY-CENTERED MISSION If Media Bridges’new space is symbolically located (as Rawlins maintains) between the poorest neighborhood in the city and City Hall and central police headquarters just to the south,how would their community-centered mission be defined? Their slogan would be "To use the media,not to be used by it." Four related goals define their mission: 1. To make media resources and technologies available to individuals, educational or religious institutions, and nonprofitorganizations 2. To foster media literacy and cultivate technological skills through participatory training 3. To support the FirstAmendment of the United States Constitution by nurturing responsible speech through community-based education

4. To lobby telecommunications service providers both locally and nationally to expand and improve opportunities for public and educational access

In practical terms,this mission meant the creation of a multiuse space that values community over technology and emphasizes hands-on learning.It would be open four days a week from 8:00 a.m.to 10:30 p.m.and until 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. on weekends in a neighborhood dominated by businesses with bars on their windows and security guards at their doors.Although private parking lots are nearby, Media Bridges sees many of its participants walk in or take public transportation. Media Bridges maintains its considerable presence with an operating budget of almost a million dollars.The money— and in-kind donations—comes from diverse sources: Arts foundations, organizations, and museums The City of Cincinnati National and local cultural organizations Computer and media organizations National corporations Local businesses Individual donors

PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS In its first year at its new location,Media Bridges provided $14 million worth of services and equipment to the communi ty, with more than seventy percent of the people served coming from the empowerment zone.More than 3000 people have used the center’s services and attended classes. Nineteen percent of that number were youngsters 18 and under. Their nonprofit services department provided 500 nonprofit organizations with a range of services from video production to graphic design,especially for those groups who "seek an alternative to the traditional media outlets." This department also provides "an alternative voice for local businesses that wish to partner with Media Bridges for an exchange of services." Children’s Hospital Medical Center, for example, received two videos,one discussing abstinence,the other on youth injury prevention. Four cable access channels operate from Media Bridges.They specialize in metro, community, education,and religious programming. Media Bridges also offers a wide range of courses in media production and editing.A required introductory class, Orientation,provides the entry point for all other classes and the opportunity to borrow equipment.Another introductory course,Media Literacy, is part of the center’s outreach program.Participants "identify the key techniques and devices the media uses to persuade,convince,and manipulate" its viewers.

MEDIA BRIDGES:

Spanning Divisions in Cinncinati

Classes in media literacy for children and teenagers at schools and community centers,including a number of at-risk youth, use commercials and creative exercises to understand "how the media shapes their perceptions of self," according to Tracey Warm,education coordinator. A popular exercise for the younger children was making collages about their selfimages using pictures from advertisements.In some cases, the media literacy classes led to classes in video production. This was especially true for the Work Resource Center and Crossroads Center, which are organizations that specialize in employment and health issues,respectively. Five video production and editing classes are offered, ranging from the introductory to the advanced.On-site courses are Analog Editing,iMovie,Final Cut Pro, and AVID. In the fifth course,Portable Production,education facilitators bring the course to the participants’site for analog or digital video production.This is part of Media Bridges’extensive outreach services, many of which go to the schools and community-based youth groups.In all of these classes,participants can complete competency tests to certify them to use and borrow equipment for future projects. Media Bridges also offers a series of specialty courses.A studio class allows participants to learn how to use either a large three-camera studio or a smaller self-service studio. A master class uses local media professionals to explore a specialized topic,such as "The V-Chip for Parents" or "The Ins and Outs of Remote Location Shoots." The Media Salon enables course participants and local creators of media to come together to showcase and discuss new work.The Internet Radio course prepares participants to create and produce radio programs, some of which are cybercast through the center’s own site.

Project Bridges One of the keystones of the project-centered curriculum is Project Bridges, which enables participants to work on a project from beginning to end and to broadcast or showcase the finished piece.The course is designed to "harness the power of media to bridge understanding among people and make a commitment to create media that makes a difference." The concept of the course is based on ideas developed by jesikah maria ross and popularized in her work "Beyond Technical Training:Video as a Tool for Community Development." Rawlins and her staff found confirm ation in ross’s work for their belief (in ross’s words) that the training and community education programs of media arts centers "tend to focus exclusively on the technical aspects of media production.… Often left out," ross concludes,"are elements which are crucial in helping learners to identify their needs,

discover their passions,address their issues,and connect with their geographic or cultural communities." The hallmarks of what ross learned from this approach— "teambuilding, collective learning,and participatory decisionmaking"—were ideal for Media Bridges and especially helpful in developing an approach that youngsters of all ages could handle and be productive with.One of the problems ross observed in her work was the necessity of a shift "from the current content-neutral training orientation of many media arts and access centers." The teaching approach for Project Bridges overall is a controlled project-based protocol, which allows the instructors flexibility within a strong progressive program.The objectives have wider implications than simple (or even complex) use of media equipment.They seek to: Create an understanding of the power and potential of self-representation through community media Promote recognition of media as a tool for initiating public dialogue and forging public opinion, resulting in an increased interestin becoming involved in media arts and community television Educate in the use of media equipment and techniques to provide the public with the tools necessary to create dialogue Enable people to understand and engage in the overall process of production

Clearly, the youngest participants are not likely to get too far with explicit understanding of the first two objectives, but nonetheless the facilitators have an obligation to talk about some of the points these objectives raise.When Mike Barnhardt,education facilitator, leads a discussion of the media and computers during an initial brainstorming session with a group of 13- to 17-year-olds,he stresses that all of us have to learn how the computer can serve us and that "selfrepresentation" in media is especially important in the face of the power of the programming of the marketing drives of corporate America. The course outline in all the Project Bridges courses consists of ten lessons: 1.Introduction to Project Bridges and Project Discussion 2.Mechanics of Preproduction:Screenwriting 3.Equipment, Techniques, and Filming

A tour of [Over the Rhine] reveals stout dwellings in the old fashioned style of the last century; many stores and enterprises bearing signs with German names; numerous German churches with odd symbols on their steeples; a few breweries; and big Findlay Market, with its crowds and its rich profusion of meats, vegetables, fruits, and flowers. Massive Music Hall is here, and noisy Washington Park—one end given over to children playing, the other to oldsters lolling by the monuments under the graceful old trees. —WPA Guide to Cincinnati (1943)

4. Storyboards and Project Outcomes 5. Finalize Preproduction Details 6.Project Rehearsal 7. The Production 8.Introduction to Digital Editing 9. Editing Rough Footage 10. Evaluating the Productio n

This protocol keeps everyone on task and provides a strong likelihood that youngsters will see—if their attendance is maintained—a final film.It does not,of course,guarantee a community-centered topic in that film.A tension will remain between the guidance of a staff member who might encourage a certain topic and his or her belief that the youngsters must be free to choose and go in the direction they want.The practice of Media Bridges does not necessitate a continuous stream of socially relevant projects that deal with conflict. Building teamwork among students from different neighborhoods and backgrounds, even for a spoof film,is intrinsically important as well. Two new Project Bridges classes specifically take up an issuecentered curriculum as part of the production process, but they are not necessarily for youngsters.The Media course of Concept Project Bridges,as the new series is referred to, asks participants to create the first video installment of a possible show to be used on a Media Bridges cable channel.Possible topics include media ownership,alternative media,and media imagery. A second course focuses on activism.The participants select a topic as well as a medium (video, print,Internet) and first do research on the topic, avoiding "blind activism." The goal of the class is to "inform others,spreading awareness and education on the issue," based on the principle that "a good citizen is an informed citizen."

Youth Project Bridges Youth Project Bridges was designed for young participants as a logical development of the Project Bridges classes,in which participants,taking a project-based process, work as a team to create a media project from beginning to end.Participants go through a distinctive series of steps: 1.Preproduction:brainstorming, scriptwriting, storyboarding 2.Practice:using the camera, composition,and so on 3.Shooting the group’s project idea 4. Postproduction:digital editing using iMovie 5. Playback and broadcast at an open-house "media salon" event or on a Media Bridges cable channel

Begun in the summer of 2002, Youth Project Bridges became a major scene of activity for youth from 8 –17, with one group 8–12 and the other 13 –17. The summer programs were held at Race and Central, but during the school year, the education facilitators would visit schools and teach workshops on-site. Besides the obvious goal of developing young people’s expertise in media, Youth Project Bridges is also intended to build relationships among youngsters from different areas of the city. As Warm explained it,"They come from different schools and neighborhoods and create connections with one another that they normally would not have the opportunity to form." There are other advantages.The youngsters have to learn teamwork,how to divide up tasks,how to coordinate different aspects of the project,and how to build a group project out of individual ideas.Furthermore—and here is an area of concentration in all the Media Bridges youth work—they often learn how to think critically about their social and political environment, whether or not they choose a topic that deals openly with a problem or social issue. The facilitators walk a thin line between leadership and coor dination.That is,as media experts,they know in advance which project ideas during the brainstorming sessions are likely to work and which are not, but they must also encourage youngsters not always used to this kind of group dynam ic to express themselves and to offer their ideas without really knowing the total picture. In one group of 9- to 12-year-olds from the Arts Consortium, a community organization in the West End district, for example, the initial brainstorming session resulted in three big topic areas:karate,basketball,and money. The first two were initially of great interest—the rise and fall of a karate master and the robbery of a big-deal player—but they were probably too difficult to achieve and might have involved only a limited cast of participants.With both of these seemingly fun or light topics,the youngsters nonetheless had to do some critical thinking about their social and political environment. The karate idea meant confronting ideas of success and failure,the basketball idea meant challenging stereotypes and pursuing dreams,and all three ideas involved the realworld problems of setting and reaching goals. The group chose the third category—money—and created a scenario involving a youngster, obsessed with dinosaurs, who wants to buy a dinosaur egg. To earn the money, the youngster will have to get a job. Warm,as facilitator for this group, wrote down the various ideas in this stage of brainstorming and photocopied it on the spot for all the participants.It now included such proposed sequences as the youngster becom-

ME DIA B R I DGES:

Spanning Divisions in Cinncinati

ing a pet shop worker who takes a fish out of a tank because he doesn’t want it to drown and working as a parking valet who brings back a car with all his friends in it.In the final film,the pet shop job is included, but the students also devised other ways in which their hero loses his jobs.As a bank teller, for example,he hands out money that he has folded into origami animals or sprinkled with water or written on.His customers rebel. In other instances,some of the Youth Project Bridges students turned to what are mainly fun ideas,like a horror film parody, "Nightmare on Race Street." When spoofs of existing shows like "ABC Sports" were filmed,the youngsters did one segment,"Rich Man versus Poor Man," in which the poor participant had to use a broom instead of a tennis racket or an umbrella instead of a bat.It is clear they realized that even while "playing," significant differences in opportunities persist. Other groups attempted topics more overtly socially challenging.Students from the East End Community Heritage School tackled drug abuse and included a section in which a youngster expressed regret about not stepping in to help a friend before he was killed in a drug-related incident.In another group,students from Nativity School decided to find out what Americans really know about Germany, given Cincinnati’s German heritage and their school’s experience with an on going exchange student program from Germany. They filmed "person on the street" interviews,asking people questions about Germany or the German heritage in the Cincinnati area and studied local architecture derived from German models.

Youth Speaks! "Youth Speaks!" is a good example of how Media Bridges can move from the initial training in Youth Project Bridges to community interaction.Derrick Blassingame,an AfricanAmerican youth from the Avondale section of Cincinnati, passed through Media Bridges’orientation course and other production classes.He first created an Internet radio show hosted by Media Bridges titled "Real Talk Live," emphasizing community issues. It helped him become a summer programmer at WAIF, a local community-centered radio station. Blassingame’s current project is "Youth Speaks!," a live panel discussion and call-in cable broadcast on one of the Media Bridges channels,with Blassingame as moderator. He confronts important and controversial topics without apology: youth leadership,teen violence,teen pregnancy, the impact of welfare on young people,and the War on Terrorism.He sees the program as "a mechanism … to start dialogue and

discussion between the civic,political, business,and religious communities about issues important to youth." The program is designed to change the community either by providing a forum for those youth who are currently trying to effect change or by bringing important issues before those individ uals who directly or indirectly affect youth. In a recent broadcast, young activists (including a youth representative from the Cincinnati Human Rights Commission) and other students analyzed the power relationships in mainstream media under the title "Stereotypes,Lies,and Misconceptions in the Media." Two aspects of the media focused the debate almost immediately—the FCC decision to allow media conglomerates to own more than one channel in a given city and the preponderance of images of black people being arrested on shows like "Cops." In the second part of the show, Cincinnati councilwoman Minette Cooper joined the panel with another youth leader from UNITY Ambassadors,a teen leadership group that is part of the mayor of Cincinnati’s council of advisors,and Community Action Now (CAN),both African-American leaders from two different generations.The discussion in this section stressed access to the city leadership by formal and informal means in order for youth’s voice to be heard. Blassingame’s programming made Media Bridges one of the winners of the CTCNet Success Story Contest of 2003.CTCNet is an organization of more than a thousand community technology centers.Joining Blassingame in the Media Bridges success story were Lamont Young,college student and host of an Internet radio show, "Fortified Mindz," that features hip-hop and reggae music as well as appearances by poets and independent music performers;and John Zeh,a local writer and activist.

FEEDBACK AND EVALUATION Media Bridges is in the early stages of data collection from its wide base of participants.Chet Davis,the AmeriCorpsVISTA worker in charge of developing and coordinating feedback,is gathering information from Web surveys,economic impact data,and nonprofit services use. A telephone survey of Media Bridges participants in 2003 was designed to help "assess satisfaction with its services and to better understand constituents’needs." Almost half the respondents had moved from the orientation class to additional classes,a good indicator of retention of interest. Requests for classes targeting specific groups were also revealing.Respondents suggested courses targeting teenagers (especially using the Internet),school or youth

YOUTH TANEEKA,13,taking a Youth Project Bridges class in video with other 13- to 17-year-olds;heard about the class from her mom (as did many of the youngsters), who in turn learned about it from the Internet; attends Shroder Paideia Academy, a public school (eighty-four percent minority mix) in Kennedy Heights, which features discovery learning and seminars;no experience with video, but loves the idea of seeing herself in a "finished movie."

MEDIA BRIDGES INSTRUCTOR MIKE,education facilitator, doctoral student in computer music,instructor in iMovie,claymation,and Internet radio classes for youngsters and adults;uses workshop approach to build cooperation among youth,balancing flexibility with a strong script-storyboard-filming-editing protocol;willing to teach troubled youths in a church program in a mixed racial and ethnic economically depressed neighborhood on the west side of the city, "because these kids don’t have much."

MEDIA PRODUCER DERRICK,17, resident of Avondale in central Cincinnati, a "graduate" of Media Bridges’courses,currently producing "Youth Speaks!," a live cable show "showcasing the positive energies of young people,instead of all the unfortunate negative images aired on national television during the 2001 riots." Also hosted an Internet radio show, "Real Talk Live." Sums up his "indescribable" experience at Media Bridges this way:"The organization is a place where all voices, races,and experiences are incorporated into one place for producing media.The diversity … is the greatest asset to the organization."

TEACHER AND GIRL SCOUT PACK LEADER CINDY, teacher at Covedale Elementary School, whose demographics include twenty percent African-American children,and Girl Scout troop leader at the Academy of World Languages,a Cincinnati magnet public school with students with backgrounds from twenty-six countries. Worked with Media Bridges outreach program in her school and then asked if her troop could come to 1100 Race Street to make a film and earn video badges for the girls.Appreciates that "nobody’s telling [the girls] what they should do" but lets them choose.

groups,suburban young people,people with disabilities,and older people not interested in career preparation. Davis also developed an evaluation form specifically for Youth Project Bridges and outreach courses in the schools and community groups.It charts how well the courses move beyond the acquisition of technical knowledge by asking them about not only creative thinking and problem solving but also whether their interest in community issues has been affected and whether their media literacy, as consumers, has changed.In some cases,feedback and evaluation is an integral part of a specific project.

THE FUTURE: COLLABORATIONS AND PROJECTS Two major directions for Media Bridges focus on their youth base:involvement with Search for Common Ground,a collaboration that has already begun,and the Racial Justice Media Education Project,a proposal whose components are part of long-term planning at Media Bridges, whether full funding is received or not. Search for Common Ground (SCG),an international conflict resolution group,committed itself to a five-year presence in Cincinnati beginning in 2002.Its 375 staff members and programs in fifteen countries seek to work "towards cooperative solutions" away from "adversarial confrontations." They have adapted a slogan from a leader of South Africa’s African National Congress. To resolve conflicts,parties "must understand the differences" and "act on the commonalities." Cincinnati was selected by SCG because it "has always been on the edge—between the ‘east’and ‘west’in the 18th century, between slaves and free states in the 19th century, between industrial production and the ‘new economy’of technology and knowledge today." Recognizing that Cincinnati’s racially divided population has witnessed a full-scale civil disturbance,SCG wants to support attempts to make Cincinnati "known as a racially inclusive city, one that excels in applying cooperative problem-solving techniques to conflicts connected to race." Two of the areas SCG wants to concentrate on are art and media,both of which speak to Media Bridges’substantial experience and expertise.The media component includes cooperating with nonprofit and community groups to pro duce video documentaries for public access cable broadcast. In addition,Media Bridges is running a Youth Project Bridges project in radio field production.

MEDIA BRIDGES:

Spanning Divisions in Cinncinati

The greatest peril facing Cincinnati is not violence, whether blackon-black, black-on-white, or cop-on-citizen. The most serious threat facing this city is complacency. At great danger do we pretend the battle is over. —Gregory Flannery and John Fox,Cincinnati’s City Beat Newspaper (13–19 December 2001) It is likely that Media Bridges will be also one of the working partners with Shared Vision,to be involved in an art-based public engagement project, which provides,SCG argues," a powerful opportunity for large numbers of people with very different experiences to work together across lines of race and social class." SCG is looking for organizations like Media Bridges with a "strong ethos of outreach and viable offering for the community." SCG and Shared Vision will invite the community to "carry out an interconnected series of community based public ar t projects" such as "detailed trompe l’oeil mural paintings or high quality ceramic tile or architectural art stained glass installations." Local youngsters will be an important part of the process.They will form teams to work with the artists from various disciplines,including Web design,video, and multimedia event productions—all currently strengths of Media Bridges—"to collect the stories and thoughts of residents in the neighborhoods." Media Bridges has proposed a two-year collaboration with the Racial Justice Media Education Project through the majorfoundation-based Racial Justice Collaborative Fund.Both K–12 students and members of nonprofit organizations and com munity members at large will involve themselves in a twostage process common to the philosophy and practice of Media Bridges. The first step is a series of media literacy sessions of "the portrayal of the structural exclusion" by the media (including television, radio, print,and the Internet) "of the lives and concerns of the poor and disenfranchised." The second step is the creation of media projects "exploring topics such as economic justice,access to quality education,and criminal justice." Projects like these are already being screened or hosted through the various media available at Media Bridges. In addition to Media Bridges staff,practicing lawyers,professors,and law students will also participate. The young people in this project will "develop a critical understanding of the subjective nature of media production, content,and meaning through an examination of images delivered by mass media." At Media Bridges,they will create through traditional means (cable television and print) or new (Internet Web sites and streaming audio) the "common ground for problem solving where people work and live." The work of the project would be measured using the "social change indicators" found in the Rockefeller Foundation report

written by Maria Elena Figueros and others, Communication for Social Change: An Integrated Model for Measuring the Process and Its Outcomes. These indicators measure how well a project develops "communication for social change [that is] empowering,horizontal (versus top-down),[and that gives] a voice to the previously unheard members of the community, and be biased towards local content and ownership." Whether in this project or in its continuing work,Media Bridges holds itself to the standards of this Rockefeller Foundation report as it strives to be the leader in assuring that "communities should be the agents of their own change." By providing convenient and free media instruction and services and a project-centered curriculum,Media Bridges helps "individuals and communities most affected own the process and content of communication" and "shift from persuasion and the transmission of information from outside technical experts to dialogue,debate,and negotiation on issues that resonate with members of the community." Media Bridges has already facilitated projects like those proposed for the Racial Justice Media Education Project.It provided the venue and training for the Contemporary Arts Center’s Teen Arts Council film, Young Urban Perspectives, which combines r iot footage from April 2001,the funeral of Timothy Thomas,and the filmed reactions of Cincinnati youth (and others) to all the discord.The final credit line of the documentary reads:"Special thanks to every person who took the time to talk to us!" Media Bridges made that talk possible and,given their perspective,almost inevitable.

REFERENCES ross,j.m.1999."Beyond Technical Training:Video as a Tool for Community Development." San Francisco: NAMAC Knowledge Network. Available from World Wide Web: http://www.namac.org/ article.cfm?id=78&catid=23 (September 22,2003). Figueroa,M.E.,Kincaid, D. L.,Rani,M.and Lewis,G.2002. Communication for Social Change: An Integrated Model for Measuring the Process and Its Outcomes. New York: The Rockefeller Foundation and John Hopkins University Center for Communications Programs. Available from World Wide Web: http://www.comminit.com/stcfscindicators/sld-5997.html (September 22,2003).

TOM ZANIELLO is the Director of the Honors Program at Northern Kentucky University and also teaches a film course at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Maryland.He is the author of Working Stiffs, Union Maids, Reds, and Rifraff: An Expanded Guide to Films about Labor, published by Cornell University Press.He once programmed films for The Real Movies, the lastdowntown Cincinnati movie theater.

MAPPING THE FIELD:

A Survey of Youth Media Organizations in the United States b y K a t h l e e n Ty n e r a n d R h e a M o k u n d

he study reported hereis one of several projects of the Youth Media Initiative,a three-year program of the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC) to investigate and support the field of youth media.Fifty-nine organizations participated in this survey to provide an

organizational overview of youth media programs and practices.The organizational structures,demographics,and programs that emerge offer a snapshot of a dynamic and divergent field.

Youth media is a relatively new concept, in part a reaction to the shift from print to electronic literacy in the late twentieth century.

Youth media is a relatively new concept,in part a reaction to the shift from print to electronic literacy in the late twentieth century. Definitions of youth media overlap with those of other media and literacy specialties that seek to promote both analysis and production of content using new and emerging media tools and forms. Youth media inherits overtones of social activism from its roots in the community-based media movement.The field also reflects values common to informal educators, social justice advocates, youth development specialists,media artists,and technology access providers.At the most basic level, youth media practitioners and advocates hope to equip youth with the tools and support to speak out about issues of importance to them. Authentic representation and “voice”are key concepts in the belief that the ideas and per spectives of young people contribute to a healthy society. Youth media provides young peo-

Authentic representation and “voice” are key concepts in the belief that the ideas and perspectives of young people contribute to a healthy society. Youth media provides young people with a means to present themselves to their peers, their community, and the world.

ple with a means to present themselves to their peers,their community, and the world.It offers sophisticated skills to creatively craft messages and strategically reach audiences. Youth media advocates believe that young people can play a critical role in confronting social concerns that impact their lives and communities.The skills and knowledge provided by youth media programs stress fundamental skills that inspire youth toward more active,capable,and confident civic engagement. By all indications, youth media programs are proliferating.Most of the organizations that participated in the NAMAC survey have been in existence for less than five years.The field of youth media therefore works with a relatively thin research base composed primarily of anecdotal evidence from individual practitioners.Because so little is currently known,there is still scant evidence related to needs,best practices,and lessons learned. This study is intended as a contribution to the research base,in keeping with the work of the NAMAC Knowledge Network to compile and disseminate information about media arts organizations in the United States.Combined with qualitative evidence from youth media practitioners,the results provide a rich database for researchers and help to map the character and parameters of a nascent field.NAMAC also intends to conduct follow-up studies to track the progress of these youth media organizations. Systematic data collection and sharing of this type all ows for better understanding of the themes,patterns,and challenges that emerge for youth media practitioners so that these can be strategically and effectively addressed.With more information of this type, youth media and its supporters can begin to take the next steps as the field grows out of its own

adolescence and into an engaged and relevant maturity.

MAPPI NG THE FIELD:

A Survey of Youth Media Organizations in the United States

METHODOLOGY

cating additional information and areas of concern for some

In May 2003,Hi-Beam Consulting,an information-based con-

items will be used to refine the instrument in the future.

sulting firm in San Francisco, developed an online question-

The complete questionnaire can be accessed at

naire to gather organizational data related to the field of

www.namac.org/youth.

youth media.The questionnaire employed forced responses, multiple responses,Likert scales,and open-ended responses.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RESPONDING ORGANIZATIONS

It gathered data related to types of institutions and programs;

The survey asked the fifty-nine responding organizations to

budgets;staff;time on task;funding sources;geographic

characterize themselves in regard to their type of organiza-

reach; number of clients served;client demographics;organi-

tion, length of service,annual budget,expenditure categories,

zational activities;mission,aims,and purposes;programmat-

number of personnel,director status and salary, and funding

ic activities;media technologies used;and barriers to success.

sources.

Youth media practitioners and experienced evaluators tested the questionnaire before the actual survey began.It took respondents 20 to 30 minutes to answer all questions. An email announcement was sent to all NAMAC members soliciting one response from each organization with a youth media program.Email announcements were also sent to youth media organizations on lists provided by other media arts groups.In addition,more than 500 announcement fliers were passed out in June 2003 at the Visual Literacy Workshop of the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley, California,and at the National Media Literacy Conference in Baltimore,Maryland. Seventy-one organizations accessed the questionnaire online, and fifty-nine organizations completed it,for a response rate of 83%.Results were tabulated in July 2003 using a PERL script and Excel software.The script counted only one response from organizations that submitted multiple responses.It aggregated the data in the belief that respondent anonymity would contribute to the reliability and validity of responses.There was no evidence of acquiescent response bias.Several open-ended responses remarked on the clarity of the questionnaire,and there were no negative responses related to its design.Open-ended responses indi-

T1 TABLE 1 SHOWS THE RESULTS RELATED TO SPONSORSHIP Fifty-six percent of respondents conducted youth media

activities within nonprofit organizations that had broader missions in the arts,education,or social service beyond the scope of their youth media programs.Twenty-five percent were arts or media arts organizations,reflecting NAMAC membership.Several of the umbrella organizations for youth media programs reported a broader mission of education (8%), youth development (7%),and community development (2%).Many of the larger nonprofits that identified their mission as â&#x20AC;&#x153;otherâ&#x20AC;? were related to broadcast enterprises such as community radio stations or PBS affiliates.Health promotion and social service agencies were not identified in this survey. Twenty percent were stand-alone nonprofits devoted to youth media.Public educational institutions (8%) reflected programs that operated within formal schooling and university settings.Only 2% of respondents described themselves as commercial businesses.Responses from other organizations (12%) included those working in public access facilities,arts apprenticeship programs,and computer literacy programs and as general technical assistance providers.

TABLE 1 TYPE OF ORGANIZATIONAL SPONSORSHIP FOR YOUTH MEDIA PROGRAM Some youth media organizations work under the fiscal umbrella of another organization. For example, a youth media organization may work under the umbrella of a local art museum or public school whose mission is slightly different from the youth media program.If your organization is strictly devoted to youth media,then it is the primary organization. With this in mind,please tell us if your youth media organization is a: Responses by Frequency * Program within a larger, nonprofit Youth media only Commercial business Public educational institution Other (please specify)

56% 20% 2% 8% 12%

* Responses may not add up to 100% due to rounding;n = 59.

TABLE 2 SHOWS HOW LONG THE YOUTH MEDIA PROGRAMS T2 HAD BEEN IN SERVICE.

In general,the budgets are meager. Fifty-eight percent reported an annual budget of $100,000 or less,and 22% under

Most respondents (48%) reported that their youth media pro-

$10,000.Thirty-two percent had budgets from $100,000 to

gram was one to five years old.Of these,19% were operational

$500,000 per year.

for only one to two years.Twenty-four percent had operated

T4 TABLE 4 SHOWS HOW THE BUDGET BREAKDOWNS

youth programs for six to ten years.Only 9% of organizations

FOR TYPICAL EXPENDITURES

that participated in the study reported service to the youth

Eighty-three percent reported staff expenditures and

media field for more than twenty years.A few (5%) had

allocated more of their funding to staff than any other

worked for sixteen to twenty years in youth media.Fourteen

category. Two organizations spent large amounts on consul-

percent of respondents reported eleven to fifteen years of

tants (3%), but more than half did not use consultants at all

experience.

(51%) or spent small amounts for them (35%).Eighty-three

BLE 3 SHOWS RESULTS FOR THE ORGANIZATIONS’ANNUAL T3 TA BUDGETS FOR YOUTH MEDIA PROGRAMS

percent of respondents reported a line item for the purchase and repair of equipment,and 2% reported spending

Operating budgets specifically for youth media programs

almost their entire annual budget on equipment-related

ranged from no budget (2%) to budgets of $1–5 million (2%).

expenses.The majority spent less than 25% of their budgets on equipment purchase and repair.

TABLE 2 LENGTH OF SERVICE FOR YOUTH MEDIA PROGRAMS We have been serving youth through our youth media program for how many years? Responses by Frequency *

1-5 years 6-10 years 11-15 years 16-20 years Over 20 years

48% 24% 14% 5% 9%

TABLE 3 YOUTH MEDIA ANNUAL BUDGET The budget this year for youth media programs is approximately:

Responses by Frequency *

Under $10,000 $10–25,000 $25–50,000 $50–100,000 $100,000–150,000 $150,000–250,000 $250,000–500,000 $500,000 to $1 million $1–5 million Over $5 million No budget

22% 5% 14% 17% 7% 15% 10% 7% 2% 0% 2%

TABLE 4 BUDGET B REAKDOWN Please indicate the approximate percentage of your youth media budget that goes to the following: Responses by Frequency * Smaller Amount of the Budget

Staff Purchase/repair of equipment Overhead (rent,supplies, etc.) Exhibitions/distribution of youth work Staff development Stipends/honoraria Travel Purchase/rental of film/ educational materials Consultants

1–10%

11–25%

8% 37% 36% 53% 47% 41% 51% 51% 25%

Larger Amount of the Budget 26–50%

51–75%

7% 34% 31% 14% 10% 8% 7%

34% 10% 8% 8% 3% 5% 3%

24% 2% 0% 0% 2% 5% 0%

10% 0% 2% 2% 0% 2% 0%

17% 17% 24% 24% 36% 37% 37%

7% 10%

5% 8%

0% 3%

0% 0%

37% 51%

* Responses may not add up to 100% due to rounding;n = 59.

76–100%

None

M A P P I N G TH E F I E L D :

A Survey of Youth Media Organizations in the United States

The majority (76%) reported overhead expenses,some of

The questionnaire asked respondents to describe more about

them significant (10%).The great majority (76%) also spent

the nature of their staff. Table 5 shows how staff dollars are

funds on the exhibition and distribution of youth-produced

allocated for various types of personnel.

work,although 53% reported that they spent a very small

T5 TABLE5 NUMBER OF YOUTH MEDIA PERSONNEL

percentage of their budget on exhibition and distribution. Only 2% of the organizations devoted the greater part of

The typical youth media organization in the sample employs

their resources for distribution.Twenty-four percent did no

a small number of full-time staff supplemented by volun-

exhibition or distribution of student work.Stipends and

teers,part-time staff and consultants.Over half the organiza-

honoraria was a line item for most organizations and repre-

tions employ part-time staff and consultants,although in

sented a wider spread in the percentage of funds expended

smaller numbers.None of the organizations employed a staff

in this category.

of over fifty people;however, 3% of the organizations did appear to be driven by volunteers.Twenty-seven percent reported that they employed no full-time staff.

Staff development was a lower priority. Nearly half (47%) reported this as an expenditure for up to 10% of their budgets,and only 2% reported large expenditures.Organizations were least likely to spend funds on the purchase or rental of

T6 TABLE 6 DIRECTOR/COORDINATOR EMPLOYMENT STATUS

educational materials or on travel,although over half spent

Most (59%) of the youth media providers employed a full-

up to 10% of their budgets on these items.

time program director/coordinator. Another 20% reported

The percentage spent by individual organizations on other

tors worked on a volunteer basis.The question did not apply

budget items were noted in open-ended responses and

to 14%,either because they retained no director, because the

included expenditures for artists’fees,field trips and closing

organization did not have a hierarchical structure,or for

events, marketing,teaching staff,and production awards.

other, unknown reasons.

that the director worked part-time.Five percent of the direc -

TABLE 5 NUMBER OF YOUTH MEDIA PERSONNEL Right now, how many people work as staff members in your youth media program?

1–5 Full-time staff Volunteers Consultants Part-time staff

68% 39% 49% 41%

Responses by Frequency * 6–10 Over 10 Over 50 3% 5% 5% 10%

1% 24% 3% 5%

0% 3% 0% 0%

None 27% 29% 42% 44%

TABLE 6 DIRECTOR / COORDINATOR EMPLOYMENT STATUS Is your Youth Media Director/Coordinator:

Full-time Part-time Volunteer Notapplicable

Responses by Frequency *

59% 20% 5% 14%

* Responses may not add up to 100% due to rounding;n = 59.

T7 TABLE 7 DIRECTOR SALARY RANGE

Although foundation funding dominates, Table 8 indicates

Nearly half (44%) of youth media directors/coordinators make

some diversity in the funding portfolios of the responding

under $35,000.Another 29% are paid between $35,000 and

organizations.Only 12% rely almost entirely (76% to 100%) on

$55,000.Seven percent make $60,000 to $75,000,and only 2%

foundation funding,and only 8% rely heavily on state gov-

of the directors make more than $75,000.Nineteen percent

ernment funding.

report that the question is not applicable to their situation, either because they do not employ a director, their director

Individual donors are a major source of funding for more

draws no salary, or for other, unknown reasons.Those who

than half the organizations surveyed,although most of them

reported that the salary item was not applicable also includ-

(37%) receive 10% or less of their funding from individuals.

ed those who reported that the director’s employment status

More than half (51%) also receive funding from state govern-

was not applicable or that the director was a volunteer.

ment. Ten percent of the organizations report that they receive half to all of their budgets from state funds.Corporations or corporate foundations also provide funding to more

T8 TABLE 8

than half (51%) the organizations surveyed,although dollar

YOUTH MEDIA FUNDING SOURCES

amounts for corporate funding tend to represent lower

Private foundations are the largest source of funding for

percentages of the organizations’ budgets.

youth media organizations in the survey. Thirty-four percent receive up to 25% of their funding from foundations,and 32%

Fees for services generate revenue for many of the organiza-

receive from half to all of their revenue in foundation fund-

tions,with 7% reporting significant revenue from this source,

ing. However, nearly one-fourth of respondents (24%) receive

but more than half of the reporting organizations (54%)

no foundation funding.

report no income from fees for service.Most (58%) do not

TABLE 7 DI RECTOR SALARY RANGE The salary range for your Youth Media Director/ Coordinator is:

Responses by Frequency *

Under $10,000 $10,000–25,000 $25,000–35,000 $35,000–45,000 $45,000–55,000 $60,000–75,000 Over $75,000 Not applicable

17% 7% 20% 14% 15% 7% 2% 19%

TABLE 8 YOUTH MEDIA FUNDING SOURCES Please indicate the approximate percentage of funding for your youth media programs that comes from the following sources (Please fill in the blanks to the best of your ability): Responses by Frequency * Smaller Amount of the Budget

Private foundation funding Individual donors State government funding Corporate or corporate foundation funding Fees for services Federal government funding Local government funding Sales/gate from distribution or exhibition of work

11–25%

26–50%

20% 37% 29%

14% 7% 10%

10% 7% 2%

27% 19% 17% 22%

10% 8% 14% 14%

24%

* Responses may not add up to 100% due to rounding;n = 59.

Larger Amount of the Budget

1–10%

51–75%

76–100%

None

20% 2% 2%

12% 0% 8%

24% 46% 49%

10% 10% 8% 5%

2% 5% 2% 0%

0% 2% 2% 3%

49% 54% 58% 56%

68%

MAPPI NG THE FIELD:

A Survey of Youth Media Organizations in the United States

receive federal funding, although federal funding provides some revenue for the remaining organizations and is a

T9 TABLE 9

GEOGRAPHIC REACH OF YOUTH MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS

significant source of funding for 4% of the respondents.

Most of the youth media organizations represented in the

Local government funding provides some revenue for 44%

survey work locally (59%).One-fourth of them (25%) work

of the organizations,although this source represents signifi-

regionally, and 8% work nationally. In open-ended responses,

cant funding for only 3% of grantees.

19% of the respondents said that they worked in multiple states that were not necessarily grouped regionally. For those

Cost recovery strategies for the sales or gate from the distrib-

multistate youth media organizations,5% worked in two

ution of youth-produced work are not a significant source of

states,5% worked in three states,3% worked in five states,1%

funding for these youth media organizations.A whopping

(one respondent) worked in six states,and 1% worked in six-

68% generated no funding through the sales or exhibition of

teen states.Examples of multiple-state responses include

the youth-produced media.However, 4% received half to all

groups who work in Florida,New York,and Texas,or Georgia,

of their funding from sales/gate or distribution.

Illinois,and Wisconsin.The percentages of respondents who do youth media work in each state are as follows:

In open-ended responses,some said that they generated Alaska (14%);Arizona (3%); California (44%); Colorado (7%); District of Columbia (7%);Florida (10%);Georgia (7%);Idaho (3%);Illinois (17%);Indiana (3%); Kentucky (10%); Louisiana (3%); Maine (3%);Maryland (3%);Massachusetts (6%);Michigan (14%);Minnesota (17%);Missouri (3%);Montana (7%);New Jersey (3%);New Mexico (3%);New York (24%);Ohio (14%); Oregon (7%); Pennsylvania (7%);South Carolina (3%); Texas (14%); Utah (14%); Virginia (3%); Washington (17%); Wisconsin (7%)

funding from a variety of sources that may or may not fit into the funding categories listed.These include revenue from cable franchise fees,in-kind support from sponsoring organizations (50% to 75%),contracts from public schools (11% to 25%) and other organizations that receive all levels of government grants for issues such as migrant education, work readiness programs,foster care,public and schools. Production contracts (26% to 50%) from nonprofit organizations were also highlighted as a means of funding for some

Nineteen percent said that they did programmatic work in

organizations.

other countries.A few (5%) specified that they were involved internationally through distribution only. One of the organi-

GEOGRAPHIC REACH OF THE ORGANIZATIONS Anecdotal information suggests that youth media is spreading across the United States.The questionnaire asked respon-

zations specified partnerships with government programs such as USAID. When asked in an open-ended item to specify their work internationally, responses were:

dents to identify the geographic area served by their organizations.Organizations in the sample served youth locally, regionally, nationally, in multistate areas,and internationally.

Working with EDC USAID missions;Israel/Palestine, Afghanistan, Pakistan,Mexico; We often have visitors from other countries including Canada,England,Argentina, Australia, and Finland and had an extant program with Finland; We put

TABLE 9 GEOGRAPHIC REACH OF YOUTH MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS Our youth media organization mainly serves clients: Responses by Frequency * Locally Regionally Nationally Internationally Multiple,nonregional states

59% 25% 8% 19% 17%

* Responses may notadd up to 100% due to rounding;n = 59.

on an international children’s film festival;This is our first year; We expect it to grow from a regional festival to an international festival; We partner with international organizations for video and internet exchanges with areas including Venezuela, Singapore,Iraq,England,and Russia;Baja California,Mexico; via our website,internationally; Brazil, Korea;Germany.

clients.In open-ended responses,one radio organization noted that they reached an audience of over 26 million with twelve radio shows.However, because of the small number of community access respondents,cablecasts were not applicable to about half (46%) of the respondents.It may be that those who reach smaller numbers of clients through distribution and exhibition are doing so in face-to-face venues.

CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUTH SERVED Respondents were asked to estimate the number of clients that they serve for a variety of common youth media

Community screenings reached small audiences (27%), although another 27% reported that they reached from 100 to 500 clients through community screenings.Festivals also

activities. Table 10 shows the results.

reached small audiences of fewer than 100 people (32%), although a few reached much larger audiences.

T10 TABLE 10 CLIENT SERVED BY ACTIVITY The survey highlights the relatively limited capacity of youth media organizations to serve large numbers of youth.The respondents were most likely to provide training for up to 100 youth (63%).Those who use radio, cablecasting,or Internet channels to produce and distribute student work or

Respondents were asked several questions related to the age and demographic makeup of their client base. Table 11 displays the estimated ages of participants in the youth media programs.

training are the exception.These organizations are able to reach thousands and tens of thousands of their targeted

TABLE 10 CLIENT SERVED BY A CTIVITY Please estimate the approximate number of clients served in the past year in the following ways: 0–100 0-50

Training Festivals Cablecasts Community screenings Distribution/ exhibition

1–500

500–1,000

51100

101250

251500

32% 31% 29% 3% 17% 3%

12% 7% 3%

8% 7% 0%

3% 2% 2%

27%

12%

15%

17%

12%

Responses by Frequency * 1,000–5,000 5,000–25,000

501- 751750 1,000

1,0012,500

2,5015,000

5,00110,000

3% 5% 0%

2% 7% 2%

3% 3% 7%

2% 2% 2%

0% 0% 3%

* Responses may notadd up to 100% due to rounding;n = 59.

10,00125,000

25,000–50,000 + 25 ,00150,000

Over 50,000

None or N/A

0% 0% 3%

0% 0% 10%

3% 34% 46%

25%

15%

27%

M A P P I N G TH E F I E L D :

A Survey of Youth Media Organizations in the United States

T11 TABLE 11 CLIENT AGE LEVEL S

Table 12 shows the demographic makeup of the client base served in each category.

Most organizations work with youth in grades 9 through 12, followed by grades 7 and 8.Only 7% of programs surveyed

T12 TABLE 12: CLIENT DEMOGRAPHIC

do not work with middle- or secondary-school-aged youth.

Results demonstrate a diverse client base. Youth media orga-

Over half (53%) work with grades 4 through 6,although these ages represent a smaller percentage of their work than

nizations in this survey are most likely to serve urban youth

do the upper grades.Seven percent devote at least half of

and least likely to serve suburban youth.Twenty percent of

their services to university-aged students.Over half work

the programs serve high percentages of rural youth.Females

with teachers or other adults.Four percent devote a signifi-

are represented slightly more often in the programs than

cant percentage of their work to teachers’ professional devel-

males,with 3% of programs devoted exclusively to females.

opment.They are less likely to identify artists as a target

Overall, youth who are non-U.S. citizens, who live with dis-

audience.Organizations in this sample are least likely to

abilities,or who are identified as gay/lesbian/transgendered

work with very young children or elders.

youth have some of the lowest levels of service in the survey.

TABLE 11 CLIENT AGE LEVELS Please estimate the targetaudience for all services through your youth media programs in the following age groups: Responses by Frequency * Lower Number of Clients

Grades 9–12 Grades 7–8 University Adults:teachers Adults:miscellaneous community members Grades 4–6 Adults:artists Grades preschool through 3 Elders

Higher Number of Clients

1–10%

11–25%

26–50%

51–75%

76–100%

None

5% 20% 32% 20%

2% 19% 12% 19%

22% 25% 7% 10%

22% 2% 7% 2%

42% 3% 0% 2%

7% 29% 42% 46%

29% 22% 22% 19% 12%

12% 20% 10% 0% 5%

8% 5% 2% 2% 2%

2% 3% 2% 2% 0%

2% 0% 0% 0% 0%

46% 47% 64% 78% 80%

TABLE 12 CLIENT DEMOGRAPHICS Please estimate the percentage of clients served each year in your youth media programs in the following demographic groups: Responses by Frequency * Lower Number of Clients 1–10% • Geographic Location Urban Rural Suburban • Gender/Sexual Orientation Female Male Gay/lesbian/transgendered • Special Needs Non–U.S. citizens Disabled • Racial/Cultural Orientation Caucasian/white African-American Latino/Hispanic Asian-American Native American Indian or Alaskan Native Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

11–25%

Higher Number of Clients 26–50%

51–75%

76–100%

None

2% 17% 15%

12% 8% 24%

12% 7% 10%

8% 5% 7%

53% 15% 0%

14% 47% 44%

0% 0% 49%

2% 3% 14%

44% 66% 0%

51% 29% 3%

3% 0% 0%

0% 2% 34%

36% 54%

15% 8%

7% 0%

2% 0%

0% 0%

41% 36%

19% 22% 27% 46%

24% 15% 27% 17%

19% 25% 10% 3%

19% 14% 15% 3%

12% 12% 3% 0%

7% 12% 17% 31%

44%

46%

31%

68%

* Responses may notadd up to 100% due to rounding;n = 59.

Nonetheless,more than 50% of the organizations say that

Asian-American youth.Ethnic groups least likely to be repre-

youth in these demographic categories form as much as one-

sented by these respondents include Native Hawaiian or

quarter of their total youth client base.No programs are

other Pacific Islanders and Native American Indian or

devoted exclusively to disabled youth,non–U.S. citizens,or

Alaskan Native.Nonetheless,33 percent report that Native

gay/lesbian/transgendered youth, but two organizations

Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders comprise up to one-fourth of the

(3%) devote significant levels of service to gay/lesbian/

organizations’client base,and 52 percent report that Native

transgendered youth.

Americans and Alaskan Native youth do.

T13 TABLE 13 ECONOMIC LEVELS

The youth media programs that responded to the survey are most likely to identify the ethnicity of the youth they serve

The youth media organizations represented in the survey

as Caucasian/white and African-American.Service to these

work most extensively with youth from underserved commu-

demographic groups is roughly equal,and 12% of the pro-

nities and classify their economic levels as primarily poor/

grams are exclusively devoted to one or the other . Those

disadvantaged or low income/working class.Only 8% do not

who serve a majority of Caucasian/white students are more

work with either of these economic groups.

likely to be found in rural areas.Those who serve a majority of African-American youth are more likely to be found in

Lower middle class youth make up smaller percentages of

urban areas.

the clients served, but are still reflected as up to half of the client base of 78% of respondents.Only 14% did not work with

As can be seen in Table 12,other racial/cultural demographics

lower-middle class youth.Only 20% do not work with upper

reflect lower percentages of the reporting organizations’

middle class youth.Nearly half do not work with advantaged

client base.However, it can be argued that these percentages

or wealthy youth at all,and the other half serves only small

might match or exceed the relative demographic profile of

percentages.

these groups in the organizations’geographic regions. Although more research must be done to compare the census demographics of each region with the organizations’responses, it is likely that the responses underscore the field’s commit-

THE AIMS AND PURPOSES OF YOUTH MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS The youth media organizations that responded to the NAMAC

ment to diversity.

questionnaire serve a diverse population of youth,using all

Latino/Hispanic youth receive high levels of service from 18% of the respondents.Seventeen percent report no service to

communications media for a wide range of reasons.When asked to give the number one reason that they work in youth media,42% of the organizations reported that they wanted

this demographic group.Thirty-one percent of the organiza-

“to give youth a voice.” In open-ended responses,this concept

tions do not serve Asian-American youth, but 63% of the

of “voice”took on a number of forms related to advocacy,

organizations devote up to one-quarter of their service to

TABLE 13 ECONOMIC LEVELS Please estimate the percentage of clients served each year in your youth media program who fall within the following economic levels: Responses by Frequency * Lower Number of Clients

Disadvantaged/poverty Low income/working class Lower middle class Upper middle class Advantaged/wealthy

1–10%

11–25%

27% 7% 12% 41% 41%

19% 27% 29% 25% 8%

* Responses may notadd up to 100% due to rounding;n = 59.

Higher Number of Clients 26–50% 15% 31% 37% 10% 2%

51–75% 17% 15% 5% 2% 0%

76–100% 14% 12% 2% 0% 0%

None 8% 8% 14% 20% 49%

MAPPI NG THE FIELD:

A Survey of Youth Media Organizations in the United States

opportunity, leadership skills,social justice,and participatory

There is a sense th at commercial, mainstream media not only

citizenship.Respondents commented that their mission was

is limited in its range of form and content but also that it

“to let young people advocate for their own issues, have those

misrepresents youth.Eight percent of the organizations

issues added to the public discourse;to encourage leadership

report that they worked in youth media to counter the

skills;and to have the airing of [youth-generated] issues

preponderance of mainstream media or, as one respondent

influence the voting public and public policy makers.” The

wrote, “to promote diversity through the media.” Eight

primary mission reported by the remaining youth media

percent hope “to encourage creative,self-expression”through

organizations is spread among several other categories.

the media arts, “to develop artistic talent in media arts.”

14 PRIMARY MISSION OF YOUTH MEDIA T14 TABLE ORGANIZATIONS

Only a few (5%) reported more practical missions:to prepare youth for careers,to facilitate learning in academic subjects

The “other”category provided space for respondents to write

(3%),or to prepare youth for negotiating a digital world (2%).

additional comments.Fourteen percent of the “other”

One respondent wrote that the aim of their organization was

responses provide more nuances about the missions of these

“to empower youth to keep middle school girls interested in

organizations.Equal access to new literacy skills is an under-

science and technology.” The more general mission “to offer

lying issue, “to give youth access to media making tools and

youth healthy recreational activities”through the use of

skills who would not otherwise have access due to lack of

media was not the main reason for these organizations (2%).

resources.” Others wrote that their number one reason for

However, one organization remarked that their main focus is

youth media was “to develop youth’s critical literacy and citi-

to “use filmmaking and storytelling as a way for youth to

zenship skills;to create positive social change;and to develop

personalize the issue of sexual health.” Although some youth

critical thinking skills through media literacy.”

advocates believe that media content is harmful to children, none of the organizations responded that “to protect children

As previously mentioned,56% of the organizations in the

from the harm caused by media” was the number one reason

survey work within larger nonprofit organizations that are

for their work.

devoted to a wider range of social programs for youth.For 14% of respondents,the more general mission “to build and

When asked to name all of their aims and purposes,the

strengthen our community” was the aim of their youth

organizations chose a wide range of motivations for working

media work.For some,this aim was directed to “media liter-

in the field of youth media. Table 15 shows their many aims

ate youth and educators.” Some of the open-ended responses

and purposes and makes a case for some consensus in the

were related to specific communities,for example, “to explore

sample about the various missions that drive the youth

Jewish culture and push its boundaries as well as build and

media field.

strengthen our community.”

TABLE 14 PRIMARY MISSION OF YOUTH MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS Itis difficult to choose only one reason,but you will be able to state many reasons in other areas of the survey. For this question,please tell us the NUMBER ONE reason that your organization is devoted to youth media: Responses by Frequency * To give youth a voice Other To build and strengthen our community To encourage creative self-expression To provide alternatives to commercial,mainstream media To prepare youth for careers in media To facilitate learning in academic subjects To prepare youth for negotiating a digital world To offer youth healthy recreational activities To protect children from the harm caused by the media

42% 14% 14% 8% 8% 5% 3% 2% 2% 0%

* Responses may not add up to 100% due to rounding;n = 59.

T15 TABLE 15 MULTIPLE AIMS AND PU RPOSES OF

environments,the process of teaching is expressed in written

YOUTH MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS

comments by some respondents,for example, “to promote

Almost all of the organizations in the sample agree that

project-based,inquiry-driven learning where the process is

creative self-expression (97%),giving youth a voice (95%),

as important as the product.” In particular, peer education

and preparing youth for negotiating a digital world (93%)

appears in several of the written comments,for example, “to

are all important reasons that their organizations are devoted

promote peer education and healthy lifestyles;to give youth

to youth media.In open-ended responses, they comment

the opportunity to teach their peers;and to get youth think-

that they hope to “provide an environment for freedom of

ing about their choices and decisions.”

expression and thought [that] promotes self motivation and inner passion for achievement.” The need to apprentice

Twelve percent chose “to build and strengthen our community”

youth leaders generates a number of comments: “to encour-

as one of their organization’s missions,a slight decline from

age active citizenship,and youth leadership;to empower

the 14% who chose this as their main reason.A few others

youth by giving them an opportunity to develop leadership

chose “to protect children from the harm caused by media

& project development skills;to enrich and challenge our

(12%) as one of many aims and purposes for their

organization with the vitality, insight and demands that

organization.

young people bring to any endeavor.” Eighty-eight percent of respondents hope to provide alternatives to commercial, mainstream media.

ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT OF YOUTH MEDIA PROGRAMS Respondents were asked to estimate the percentage of time

The roots of youth media in informal educational environ-

they spend on activities related to their organization’s mission.

ments are reflected in the results. Very few respondents from

Table 16 shows these estimates.

formal educational settings are represented in the survey sample.Thirty-six percent want to facilitate learning in academic subjects,and 25% want to offer youth healthy recreational activities.Twenty percent want to prepare youth for careers in media.Whether in formal or informal learning

TABLE 15 MULTIPLE AIMS OF YOUTH MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS Please tell us about ALL THE REASONS that your organization is devoted to youth media:

Responses by Frequency *

To encourage creative self-expression To give youth a voice To prepare youth for negotiating a digital world To provide alternatives to commercial,mainstream media To facilitate learning in academic subjects To offer youth healthy recreational activities To prepare youth for careers in media To build and strengthen our community To protect children from the harm caused by the media

* Responses may notadd up to 100% due to rounding;n = 59.

97% 95% 93% 88% 36% 25% 20% 12% 12%

MAPPI NG THE FIELD:

A Survey of Youth Media Organizations in the United States

TABLE 16 ORGANIZATIONAL ACTIVITIES RELATED T16TO THE MISSION

Exhibition and visibility activities are conducted by a large majority (88%) of the organizations,although most devote

The responding organizations are most likely to devote large

10% or less of their time for screening and presenting youth-

amounts of time to direct youth service through workshops

produced work.The 12% who do no youth-produced presenta-

and training.The majority of organizations also develop cur-

tions also conduct no training activities with youth.

riculum for their workshops and training.The 12% that spend no time on curriculum development includes those who do

Large majorities of the organizations devote various percent-

not conduct workshops.Forty-six percent respond that they

ages of their time to outreach and visibility activities.

spend about half of their time on youth workshops or train-

Although most maintain a Web site,56% spend little time

ings,and only 8% spend no time at all with these activities.In

on the activity.

open-ended responses,they say that this includes “facilitating production of youth media content; youth directed meet-

The organizations in this sample are less likely to be involved

ings that involve planning for the show, pre-recording materi-

with the wider distribution of youth-produced work,with

al for the show;filming,on location filming and the research

32% reporting that they do not distribute youth media prod-

of topics;and daily announcements and student produced

ucts.However, the 7% of organizations who report that they

work.”

are involved in distribution activities spend large amounts of time distributing youth media.Another 12% spend up to half

The majority of organizations in this sample conduct educator workshops,although 47% spend only up to 10% of their time on these activities.One comments that the time is spent “educating funders and school administrators.” Thirty-seven percent respond that they conduct no educator workshops. The youth media organizations are least likely to conduct professional development activities with media artists/ trainers.Fifty-four percent spend no time in workshops with

of their time distributing youth’s work.Similarly, 36% are not involved in festivals, but 3% spend up to 75% of their time on these activities,and the majority spend small amounts of time either attending or hosting festivals.The organizations in this sample estimate the least amount of time for conference activities. When asked to estimate the percentage of time devoted to

media artists/ trainers.Presumably, this includes staff development activities for the artists who are employed as staff members.Forty-two percent spend small amounts of time in media artist and trainer activities;however, over half of the organizations surveyed (54%) report that they do no profes-

administrative activities,the majority of organizations (88%) report that they spend their time fund-raising, with 9% spending more than half of their time and 39% spending small amounts of time on fund-raising.Program administration activities take various percentages of time,with only 14%

sional development for media artists/trainers. TABLE 16 ORGANIZATIONAL ACTIVITIES RELATED TO THE MISSION Please estimate the percentage of time your youth media program devotes to the following activities: Responses by Frequency * Smaller % of Time

• Workshops and Training Activities Student/youth workshops/training Materials/curriculum development Educator workshops Workshops for media artists/trainers • Exhibition and Visibility Activities Screenings/presentations of youth-produced work Outreach Web site maintenance and development Distribution of youth-produced work Festivals Conferences • Administrative Activities Fund-raising Program administration Staff support for youth media programs Program evaluation

Larger % of Time

1–10%

11–25%

10% 46% 47% 34%

22% 29% 3% 8%

14% 10% 3% 0%

17% 2% 5% 2%

29% 0% 0% 0%

8% 12% 37% 54%

56% 36% 56% 34% 42% 58%

24% 32% 17% 15% 10% 5%

5% 14% 5% 12% 7% 2%

3% 0% 0% 5% 3% 0%

0% 2% 0% 2% 0% 0%

12% 17% 20% 32% 36% 34%

39% 31% 34% 59%

27% 36% 29% 19%

14% 17% 7% 3%

7% 3% 3% 2%

2% 0% 3% 0%

12% 14% 24% 17%

* Due to rounding, responses will notadd up to 100%;n = 59.

26–50%

51–75%

76–100%

None

reporting that their organizations do not engage in program administration.Twenty-four percent report no time spent on staff support for youth media programs and the remainder spend relatively smaller percentages of time on staff support activities.All but 17% of the organizations report that they do some evaluation activities.However, the estimated percentage of time spent on e valuation is small.Fifty-nine percent report that they spend a very small percentage of their time on evaluation. In a related follow-up question,the organizations were asked specifically about visibility. Table 17 shows the results to the question “How do clients hear about your youth media program?”

T17 TABLE 17 VISIBILITY Almost all (95%) of the organizations relied on word of mouth

PARTNERSHIPS, including schools, social service agencies, government organizations, and community-based partnerships. One respondent commented,“We collaborate with specific organizations locally for certain programs, and those organizations are either completely or partially responsible for or ganizing the clients to attend a program.” This is particularly true o f the school-based programs:“The program is offered as a class in high schools.Itis marketed and registered for in the same manner each school uses for other classes.” Another respondent elaborates,“Our programs are electives and published in a catalog.” OUTREACH to teachers, students, school guidance counselors, and community groups through recruitment presentations in high schools, teachers’meetings, and community-based organizations. NETWORKING,including the Youth Media Advocacy Coalition, the After-School Institute,and the Open Society Institute Fellow Network.

to spread awareness of their programs.Some found general press placements (44%) or more targeted press placements (42%) to be helpful.Less than one-third (31%) relied on community events to raise the visibility of their youth media work.Only one-fourth (25%) reported that they relied on the Web to promote their organizations.In open-ended responses,the organizations listed a number of other strategies for visibility. These included: TARGETED MAILINGS, including fliers to schools, catalogs, direct mail to teachers in schools, print/mail piece issued six times per year, and listservs that target nonprofits and teachers.

CABLE CHANNELS, mentioned as a visibility strategy by only one organization. Few organizations list electronic or digital media as a dissemination or visibility tool.

YOUTH MEDIA PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION In addition to the more general organizational activities,the questionnaire focused specifically on activities common to youth media production work.The organizations were asked to estimate the percentage of time spent on a number of youth media activities.

TABLE 17 VISIBILITY How do clients hear about your youth media program (Please select as many as apply):

Responses by Frequency *

Word of mouth General press placements (local news, cable television,etc.) Targeted press placements (school newspapers, etc.) Community events The Web

* Responses may not add up to 100% due to multiple responses and rounding;n = 59.

95% 44% 42% 31% 25%

M A P P I N G TH E F I E L D :

A Survey of Youth Media Organizations in the United States

T18 TABLE 18

T19 TABLE 19

YOUTH MEDIA ACTIVITIES

TECHNOLOGIES USED I N YOUTH MEDIA ACTIVITIES

The organizations devote significant program time to both

The penetration of digital media can be seen in the types of

field production and studio production,with slightly more

information and communications used by the organizations.

time to field production.In addition,media analysis and criti-

Forty-one percent report that they exclusively work with digi-

cal viewing activities represent an investment in time for all

tal multimedia forms.Another 37% work with a combination

but 14% of respondents.Responses about distribution and

of analog and digital media.Only 3% work exclusively with

evaluation are roughly reflected by the responses seen for

analog media such as film or tape.Radio work is represented

general organizational activities in Table 16.Distribution

by 12% of the respondents.Three percent work exclusively

activities lag noticeably behind production and analysis activ-

with photography. None of the respondents reported work in

ities,with 25% reporting that they do not engage in distribu-

print-based media.However, print was represented in the

tion of youth-produced work.Eighty-five percent of the orga-

“other”category (3%), which included these responses:“print

nizations participate in evaluation activities, but 56% spend

journalism;TV production;all of the above;split between

very little time on them.

analog and computer-based;computer technology;digital video/editing;16mm and Super-8 film;computer animation

In open-ended responses in the “other”category, individual

and digital video animation;and screenwriting.”

respondents elaborate that their activities include “airing the show (1% to 10%); youth leadership/community activism (1%

In addition to technologies,the survey took a look at the

to 10%); multimedia production (1% to 10%),editing (26% to

genres of youth-produced products.Respondents were asked

50%),postproduction (25%),general youth development activ-

to estimate the percentage of time spent on several types of

ities (26% to 50%),and special events (25%).

media content common to youth media programs.

TABLE 18 YOUTH MEDIA ACTIVITIES What percentage of time does your program spend on the following activities? Responses by Frequency * Smaller % of Time

Field production Studio production Media analysis/critical viewing Evaluation Distribution

1–10%

11–25%

14% 25% 34% 56% 37%

25% 20% 25% 22% 19%

Larger % of Time 26–50% 32% 22% 19% 3% 12%

51–75% 12% 10% 5% 3% 3%

76–100% 8% 7% 3% 0% 3%

None 8% 15% 14% 15% 25%

* Responses may not add up to 100% due to rounding;n = 59.

TABLE 19 TECHNOLOGIES USED IN YOUTH MEDIA ACTIVITIES Please tell us about ALL THE REASONS that your organization is devoted to youth media: Responses by Frequency *

Computer-based multimedia (e.g., web design,digital video/audio, etc.) A combination of analog and digital multimedia (audio converted to digital,analog footage edited on the computer, etc.) Radio Photography Analog (e.g.,film or tape-based audio/videotape) Other technologies Print * Responses may notadd up to 100% due to rounding;n = 59.

41% 37% 12% 3% 3% 3% 0%

T20 TABLE 20 KINDS OF WORK PRODUCED

instructional media,feature reports and talk shows, stage

The majority of organizations do some mixture of media

productions,talent shows,35mm photography, and architec-

genres,with a greater focus on documentary work across

tural and landscape CAD-based programs.

the board.Approximately two-thirds reported work on narrative/fictional work,although they were likely to spend a relatively smaller percentage of time on this genre.Another

BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE SERVICE AND OUTREACH FOR YOUTH MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS The organizations were asked to identify several barriers to

two-thirds (66%) worked with experimental and non-narra-

outreach and service for their youth media clients,as shown

tive media forms,a few of them (7%) extensively. Cutting-

in Table 21.

edge production with digital tools is not represented here. For example, very few of the youth media organizations

T21

have experience producing interactive games. Open-ended comments from 29% of respondents show that

the choices on the questionnaire for this item were too limited. Several noted public service announcements (PSAs) as a choice for this item.Respondents also noted significant time spent on music programs, Web sites,digital photography, live call-in shows,animation and video poems,public

TABLE 21 MULTIPLE BARRIERS TO SERVICE AND OUTREACH FOR YOUTH MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS Three of the barriers are c ited across programs,indicating some barriers common to the sample.Almost all of the groups surveyed (98%) report that “awareness of their program”is a barrier to outreach and service for their youth media clients. The digital divide is also alive and well with these groups.

affairs productions,hip-hop,comedy, print publications,

Almost all (92%) agree that technology access issues are a

TABLE 20 KINDS OF WORK PRODUCED Please estimate the percentage of work that students produce in the following genre: Responses by Frequency * Smaller % of Time

Documentary Narrative/fiction Experimental,non-narrative News Interactive games

1–10%

11–25%

12% 25% 24% 19% 8%

22% 19% 20% 14% 0%

Larger % of Time 26–50% 31% 17% 14% 7% 0%

51–75% 7% 5% 5% 3% 0%

76–100% 12% 3% 2% 7% 0%

None 17% 31% 34% 49% 92%

* Responses may not add up to 100% due to rounding;n = 59.

TABLE 21 MULTIPLE BARRIERS TO SERVICE AND OUTREACH FOR YOUTH MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS Please indicate some barriers to outreach and service for the youth media clients you serve: Responses by Frequency * Awareness of our program Technology access issues Students have too many other activities to choose from Student mobility/retention Staff need for more support/training to work effectively with youth Poor transportation options Language barriers Need for a curriculum Intergenerational communication (adultsupport/helping youth stay connected to the enterprise) Staff turnover The physical locations for our youth media activities are problematic

* Responses may notadd up to 100% due to multiple responses and rounding;n = 59.

98% 92% 92% 75% 71% 56% 51% 41% 37% 31% 27%

MAPPI NG THE FIELD:

A Survey of Youth Media Organizations in the United States

barrier to success.The same percentage (92%) agrees that contemporary young people are busy with other work,

22: BIGGEST BARRIER TO SERVICE AND OUTREACH FOR T22 TABLE YOUTH MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS

school,recreation,and enrichment activities.

Twenty-nine percent of the organizations identify a range of topics as their biggest barrier to successful program improve-

Student mobility and retention is a barrier to success for 75%

ment.Unsurprisingly, most have to do with funding and

of the organizations.Seventy-one percent indicate the need

capacity issues.Organizations cite a need for resources such

for more staff training and support.

as staff,equipment,and physical facilities.Others cite problems with technology access,a need for stronger partner-

Poor transportation options are a problem for youth,and over

ships,and poor school leadership for the arts.

half (56%) reflect this concern,although the physical locations for the youth media activities are not a large barrier, with

For 14% of the organizations,“awareness of our program”is

only 27% citing location as a problem.Respondents report

the main barrier to success.Poor transportation options are

that transportation is particularly problematic in rural areas.

cited by 14% of the organizations. One commented that

Language barriers are cited as a barrier to success for over

“transportation issues are the number one problem for pro-

half of the organizations (51%).Forty-one percent need more

jects off site in rural communities.” In contrast,one of the

curriculum resources.

urban organizations stated,“Our facility is well served by public transit for activities taking place here.”

Intergenerational communication,that is,adult support to help youth stay connected to the enterprise,is problematic

Twelve percent cite technology access issues as the primary

for 37%.Staff turnover is a problem for 31% of the youth

barrier. Another 10% report that their main concern is for

media organizations.Remarkably, one respondent reported

more staff support/training to work effectively with youth.

no barriers to the success of its youth media organization.

Ten percent report that retention of youth or student mobility is their main problem.

Open-ended responses both elaborate on existing categories and suggest new ones.The responses can be grouped into the

The remaining barriers were identified less frequently as the

following overlapping areas:capacity, especially funding;

primary obstacles to success:students have too many activi-

problems related to integration of youth media into the

ties to choose from (3%);the physical locations for our youth

school culture and curriculum;and problems related to inte-

media activities are problematic (3%);language barriers (2%);

gration into communities,including the poverty of communi-

staff turnover (2%); and intergenerational communication (2%).

ties served and the perception that youth media groups are “outsiders”to the client service areas’cultures. Table 22 shows little agreement on the biggest barrier to service and outreach.

TABLE 22 BIGGEST BARRIER TO SERVICE AND OUTREACH FOR YOUTH MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS Please indicate the biggestbarrier to outreach and service for the youth media clients you serve: Responses by Frequency * Other Awareness of our program Poor transportation options Technology access issues Student mobility/retention Staff need for more support/training to work effectively with youth Students have too many other activities to choose from The physical locations for our youth media activities are problematic Language barriers Staff turnover Intergenerational communication (adultsupport/helping youth stay connected to the enterprise) Need for a curriculum

29% 14% 14% 12% 10% 10% 3% 3% 2% 2% 2% 0%

* Responses may not add up to 100% due to rounding;n = 59.

MAPPING THE FIELD:

Discussion of Results

MAPPING THE FIELD:A SURVEY OF YOUTH MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES presents a snapshot of an emerging field,seeded with efforts across the United States. Slightly over half of the fifty-nine youth media programs surveyed operate under the fiscal umbrella of a larger nonprofit organization with broader missions in the arts,education,or youth development.Twenty percent of the respondents operate as stand-alone,nonprofit organizations devoted exclusively to youth media work.Nearly half of the youth media programs in the study are relatively new, with one to five years of service.A fifth of them have been in operation for only one or two years. Major purposes for almost all of these youth media organizations are to encourage creative self-expression, to give youth a voice, to prepare youth for negotiating a digital world, and to provide an alternative to commercial, mainstream media. Most of the responding organizations accomplish their objectives through programs that focus on direct media access and instruction to yo ut h ,w ith workshops and curriculum development. Some programs also have a teacher training component. Very few of the organizations in the study identify themselves as educational institutions, although many of the community-based nonprofits say that they integrate their youth media offerings into formal educational settings through school partnerships.Many of the informal education programs stress the value of peer-to-peer instructional methods. Most serve relatively small numbers of up to 100 youth in workshops,festivals,and community screenings.Smaller percentages of the sample serve large numbers of youth through these and other activities.The organizations that utilize broadcast,cablecast,or Internet channels serve many more youth than those that employ face-to-face methods. The organizations produce a range of youth-created work that is diverse in medium and genre.Perhaps reflecting their relatively recent establishment,most of them work in computer-based multimedia or a mix of analog and digital media.Radio is represented by 12% of the respondents.Print media organizations are underrepresented in the sample.The majority of the organizations work with the moving image and spend a great deal of time in field and studio production on documentaries, narrative/fiction,and experimental/nonnarrative genres.In open-ended comments,respondents also reported significant production of public service announcements and animated shorts.Although they are likely to work in digital environments,they do not yet report hands-on activities with newer, interactive genres such as interactive gaming.The great majority supplement their media production activities with a relatively smaller media analysis component. The organizations in the survey are most likely to represent the coasts,specifically California (44%) and the New York area (24%),although the remainder are scattered across the United States.Most work locally (59%), but some operate regionally (25%),internationally (19%),and nationally (8%).They are most likely to be found in urban or rural settings with a demographically diverse client base of poor or lower-income youth.The youth served are typically adolescents in grades 7 through 12.However, most organizations direct a small percentage of their program to students in grades 4 through 6 and to adults,especially teachers.

M A P P I N G TH E F I E L D :

A Survey of Youth Media Organizations in the United States

These organizations operate with relatively small budgets

respondents’open-ended responses related to need for fund-

and staff.The majority have operating budgets of less than

ing are telling:

$150,000 (65%),with 22% of these reporting budgets under $10,000 and an additional 2% reporting no budgets at all. Thirty-two percent report budgets of over $100,000.The organizations typically have a staff of 1 to 5 people (68%),supplemented by volunteers,consultants,and part-time personnel. Fifty-nine percent employ a full-time director or coordinator. Almost three-fourths of the program directors or coordinators make under $55,000 a year. The bulk of youth media budgets go toward direct client service such as staff,equipment,and overhead,with little left over for organizational development activities such as staff development,distribution/exhibition,or evaluation. The organizations have diversified funding portfolios,with most of the income from foundations,followed by individual donors.

CHALLENGES AND SUPPORTS FOR THE YOUTH MEDIA FIELD

We consistently have two and three times the number of youth who want to participate than we can afford to support.…lack of funds for equipment and staffing; We need financial support for quality technical staff. Financial support for software/hardware upgrades;Saturday seems to be the bestday for our YC to meetand produce their talk show. That’s great,butwhen you’re already working full time,devoting two Saturdays a month in addition is tough;Need more resources to secure and maintain equipment and staff to provide better services at our central location and to branch out into neighborhoods; Funding is needed to sustain and grow the program; Funding to hire more staff and offer more equipment and space to house more workshops; Consistent funding to maintain a paid staff person dedicated to youth media services;Our program is led by one full-time teacher; All part time staff and consultants are paid through grants, which are becoming difficult to obtain;The biggestbarriers are economic. Our videos are priced high for institutional use and arts/A.V. is first to go when budgets are cut;Lack of sufficient scholarship resources for fee-based activities ([We] have some but notenough);Our program is volunteer run and I feel that there is not enough support for the youth to stay involved because of that.

Although enthusiastic about the benefits of youth media, almost all organizations say that their work is hampered by a

These organizations find themselves in a common nonprofit

lack of awareness of their programs,technology access issues,

bind,with a need for more organizational development that

and the fact that youth already have a large menu of activi-

can lead to increased funding, yet with budgets so tight that

ties from which to choose.In open-ended remarks,the lack of

they cannot afford to divert funding to organizational devel-

funding for their programs was a common lament.

opment without cutting into direct client service. For example, one respondent reports,“Few programs make both a time

It is fair to say that the numbers of clients served correlate

and financial commitment to professional development.”

with the budgets and staff members of the organizations.

Another says,“[There is] no funding for marketing or

Only 10% have a full-time staff of six or more,and most

consistent staffing.”

depend on volunteers,part-time staff,and consultants to manage the organization and implement the programs.

Although the commitment of resources to client service is

Although they hope to spread their programs and reach out

admirable, it is difficult for the field to professionalize and

to more youth, it is clear that the majority of these organiza-

grow without parallel support for staff development,organi-

tions are hamstrung by a sheer lack of capacity.

zational development, evaluation for program improvement,

It is not for lack of trying.The vast majority spend time with

organizational “fundamentals”that block capacity-building.

visibility, and outreach.The study reveals gaps in these administrative activities,although compared to client service

When the foundations are strong, youth media organizations

time,administrative time is small.Their funding portfolios

are more likely increase their capacity for service,reversing

are slightly skewed toward foundations and individual

the dynamic from “barely hanging on”to more robust

donors, but overall it is clear that the organizations have

organizational health.

creatively “beat the bushes”for funding.For example, it is admirable that so many of the youth media programs receive

Moreover, although additional funding would undoubtedly

local,state,and federal funding,since public funding streams

help individual programs to accomplish their missions,

for the media arts and media education are meager. The

funding alone will not guarantee the sustainability and

spread of youth media as a field.Other factors include (1)

organizational practices,plans,and strategies by networks of

more organizational development,(2) a clear concept of the

youth media providers.

mission or missions of youth media and related indicators of success,(3) increased program visibility and outreach,(4) diverse and creative partnerships,(5) strategies for program

ARTICULATING THE CONCEPT AND RESULTS OF YOUTH MEDIA

improvement over time,and (6) dissemination and sharing

Youth media advocates are passionate about the need for

of best practices and lessons learned across programs.The

their programs.However, in order to engage and enlist a

following sections discuss these related issues, which lay the

wider public of community members,partners,and funders,

foundation for the sustainability and the spread of the field

it may be necessary to refine the concept and outcomes of

of youth media.

youth media.As previously noted,the study presents several related choices:to encourage creative self-expression,to give

DEVELOPING ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY

youth a voice,to prepare youth for negotiating a digital

Direct service of youth through programs and practices is a

world,and to provide an alternative to commercial, main-

top priority for the organizations in this survey. The organiza-

stream media.

tions serve as many youth as they possibly can with small budgets and staffs.They point to staff turnover and a need

Each of these operates under various assumptions about their

for more staff support and training as barriers to service and

social benefit and can be articulated in idiosyncratic and

outreach for their youth media programs.

ambiguous ways.In particular, the number one mission cited

It is obvious that many of these organizations are stretched to

in open-ended remarks in the study in so many ways as to

the limit .A lthough most engage in fund-raising, they devote

create confusion about the “how and why”of the concept.

very little time or money to other activities related to sustain-

There is a sense th at youth media programs are a way to pro-

by the organizations, “to give youth a voice,” was articulated

ability, such as staff development,program management,orga-

vide the access,knowledge,and skills with communication

nization building, and marketing.Until the organizations can

tools that help youth to become engaged in civic life.There is

find a way to support activities that build their organizations,

also a sense that youth are misrepresented or underrepre-

many of them will likely work feverishly to stand in place.

sented and deserve to create their own representations.In

Although capacity-building activities may limit client service

addition,there is awareness that the nature of media moti-

in the short run,they are essential for organizational health

vates students not only to use these tools str ategically but

in the long run.The staff and boards of directors of youth

also to amplify their voices to a wider audience.

media programs must work to ensure that staff has the opportunity to participate in staff development, leadership,

Comments from respondents indicate a range of intertwined

and organizational management activities.They must find a

reasons for youth media work,some related to the process as

way to create strategic plans for visibility, funding, market-

well as to the outcomes of the work.Other reasons apply to

ing, evaluation,and growth.

broader youth media development efforts and are only tangentially connected to the use of the media arts as an inter-

Some of the marginal capacity building in these organiza-

vention strategy. These open-ended remarks convey the

tions may be driven by funders.One respondent remarks that

breadth of response to the questionnaire item “Please tell us

“we often find that grants and funding for programs are

all the reasons that your organization is devoted to youth

easier to come by than organizational development or general

media”:

operating funding.” In addition to prioritizing capacity-building activities and dedicating some portion of the budget for organizational supports, youth media advocates must communicate to funders and donors the need to strengthen their organizations as a key way to serve their client base and grow the field.In the meantime,they could receive some technical assistance at low or no cost through increased sharing of

Comments Related to Civic Engagement and Community Leadership. “To let young people advocate for their own issues, have those issues added to the public discourse, and to have the airing of those issues influence the voting public and public policy makers; To foster intergenerational dialogue about possible solutions/actions around community issues; To encourage active citizenship, and youth leadership; To explore Jewish

MAPPING T TH HE FIELD:

A Survey of Youth Media Organizations in the United States

culture and push its boundaries as well as build and strengthen our community to enrich and challenge our organization with the vitality, insight and demands that young people bring to any endeavor; To empower youth to create positive social change and develop critical thinking skills through media literacy.” Comments Related to Learning and Critical Literacy. “To promote project-based,inquiry-driven learning where the process is as important as the product;[To provide] an environment for freedom of expression and thought,[that] promotes self motivation and inner passion for achie vement; To keep middle school girls interested in science and technolog y; to develop youth’s critical literacy and citizenship skills; To give youth the opportunity to teach their peers; to advocate for media literate youth and educators; To develop artistic talent in media arts.”

RAISING THE VISIBILITY OF THE FIELD A clearly articulated rationale for the field may help to create the kind of branding necessary to engage in the “social marketing”of youth media to a broader group of stakeholders. The survey shows that both time and money are in short supply for activities related to visibility and outreach,including exhibitions,festivals,conferences,organizational Web sites, and screenings or presentations of youth-created work.In addition, very few of the organizations engage in sustained distribution of the work to a wider audience. Almost all of the organizations rely on word of mouth as the number one way to spread awareness of their program and

Comments Related to Access and Diversity in Media. “To give youth access to media making tools and skills who would not otherwise have access due to lack of resources; To promote diversity through the media.”

are least likely to rely on the Web (25%). Fewer than half rely

Comments Related to General Youth Development. “To get youth thinking abouttheir choices and decisions. To use filmmaking and storytelling as a way for youth to personalize the issue of sexual health; To empower youth to create positive social change and develop critical thinking skills through media literacy; To promote peer education and healthy lifestyles.”

thousands of stakeholders.However, these organizations make

on press placements. Less than one-third rely on community events for increased visibility. In contrast, those who do use radio, television, and cable channels report that they can reach up small percentages of the organizations surveyed. A few of the organizations that participate in festivals,conferences,community events,exhibitions,and screenings report that they are able to serve large numbers of clients.Although

Priorities for the field and consensus about its core aims and

“awareness of our program”is cited as a barrier by nearly all

purposes would go a long way toward unifying it.Also need-

of the respondents,most keep the circle of outreach small

ed is an explicit statement of how youth media programs

and limited to their immediate communities.Increased par-

result in increased civic engagement, youth learning and

ticipation in events of this type could enhance awareness of

development,and improved media access and representation.

the benefits of youth media in the organizations’immediate

Several national organizations have already begun to articu-

communities and beyond.

late the connection between the overall missions of youth media programs and their practices. To refine these messages

Increased distribution of youth media productions is another

for use beyond the inner circle of youth media,practitioners

way to raise awareness about the field.Nonetheless, it is diffi-

and advocates must discuss both the general and the particular

cult for individual programs to find venues and outlets for

purposes of their programs and how these specifically lead

youth-produced work on any scale. The problem is similar to

to outcomes that address the needs of their communities.

those of other kinds of media arts organizations that produce

Every staff member of a youth media organization should

genres outside the mainstream,such as avant-garde or exper-

be able to easily and clearly articulate the mission and out-

imental film and video showcases.Distribution is especially

comes of their organization’s work.

problematic as practitioners attempt to balance a nurturing

Such discussions can take place in community-based

product.

learning process with a high-quality, deadline-driven end forums such as conferences,online listservs,and meetings. Participants can hone the key concepts for their field in

A select few have managed to produce high-quality, youth-

online “commons areas,” which are provided by some

created productions shown on mainstream media channels,

national youth media organizations.From such a dialogue

but the vast majority have not.Besides,for many youth

can come common threads to use in presenting the case for

media organizations,staying outside mainstream channels is

youth media programs to build the field,engage the

decidedly the point.Fortunately, some key organizations that

community, and recruit youth.

specialize almost exclusively in distribution of youth-pro-

of their programs and products with schools’idea of accept-

duced media are beginning to emerge.By working with

able content.Comments include:

youth media organizations,these distributors have an opportunity to create the kind of buzz and impact that can sustain and spread the concept of youth media. Given their current capacity limitations, it is no surprise that visibility and outreach efforts are constrained for most of the organizations.The organizations would benefit from technical assistance to produce simple visibility plans.Once implemented,the plans could be revised or expanded as the organizations develop.

An eroding schools attendance due to the state’s “teaching to the test” and lack of administrative support for field trips; New standardized exams and other graduation requirements hinder number of students advisors will send for internships and nonacademic experiential learning opportunities;It’s tough to get LGBT issues into the classroom and curriculum requirements make itimpossible;Our material is generally more challenging and therefore when addressing complex issues such as youth sexuality/identity, simpler and safer programs are selected,especially if distributors of this material have funds to sell/rent at costs lower than ours.

CULTIVATING STRONG PARTNERSHIPS

Even integration into other informal spaces can be problem-

Current trends in nonprofit management point to the use of

atic.Although more than half of the organizations work as

partners and consortia to successfully develop,implement,

one program within a larger nonprofit organization,some of

and sustain programs.Visibility and outreach efforts can also

them feel as though they are the “stepchild”of their “mother”

help enlist partners and locate affinity groups and networks

organizations.One respondent says,“We work with kids who

of committed individuals who will help support youth media

are connected with other not-for-profit groups and when the

programs.In open-ended remarks,respondents provided

other not-for-profit groups lose interest, we lose kids and the

some examples of successful partnerships:

quality of the projects suffer.” Another comments:

We operate on a small budget and rely on donations and tuition.An important factor is having access to “high tech” industry personnel as a starting point for raising funds such as expansion grants to getthings running, provide administration funding, building rental costs, phone,internet, overhead costs. Raising awareness of the importance of media arts in our community to the people who can make a difference in a child’s life is a full time job that could be made easier with a network of concerned tech people in the community. Our programs are school-based. Each high school we serve is located within a given community within the region (school district).When we provide after-school and weekend programming, we use the high schools for the given population in order to make it more convenient.

This program is perceived as a contribution to the community (outreach) and notprogrammatically crucial to the mission. Therefore itis marginalized and notgiven financial support needed either inside or outside the institution.It is a struggle to keep it going even though the demand from the community continues to grow. Also, differences in management styles and values make allocating resources and meeting deadlines a challenge.

In addition, many of the organizations surveyed serve communities below the poverty line in both urban and rural areas.In some ways this is also a capac ity issue—the capacity of the communities served by the organizations to take advantage of existing opportunities for youth.The “relative income”issue also relates to 92% of the organizations who

Finding and managing authentic,sustained relationships

say that “students have too many other activities to choose

with partners is not always easy. In particular, it is important

from” when citing barriers to outreach and service to youth

to work toward a common mission with compatible values

media clients:

that may demand the reconciliation of partners’organizational cultures.For example, many of the organizations operate in an informal educational setting,and some report that they have difficulty transitioning into the more formal school environment.In addition to curriculum integration issues,the organizations cite difficulties integrating the subject matter

Students often need to work to help support their families, scheduling activities around these varied work schedules can be hard;Other adults/parents/guardians/role models in youth client’s life that may notbe interested in our program enough to continue to support the youth’s desire to continue a sustained involvement and interest themselves.

MAPPIN G THE FIELD:

A Survey of Youth Media Organizations in the United States

Finally, tensions can arise when organizations attempt to

programs to respond to the needs of the communities they

disseminate and spread their programs as outsiders to the

serve.Practitioners would benefit from some guidelines

communities they hope to serve.Comments include:

about what works and what doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work in the field.

Staff is notfrom the community and therefore cannot connect to the youth we serve;problems with racism,sexism,ageism, classism are prevalent and do notallow for our center to be a safe space for other staff and youth.

Small staffs and limited budgets curb the use of evaluation plans and feedback loops that are necessary for program improvement and responsiveness to clients.On the other

Our primary clients represent the diversity of the Jewish community, including a range of ethnicities and socio-economic levels. Tensions sometimes occur along economic and ethnic lines. This has also been a fertile area of exploration in our work. Local politics made itdifficult to film one of our film projects. Local leaders were very unreceptive to GLBTQ issues (the subject of this film) in their school. We also have experienced some resistance distributing our adolescent health videos because we work in many abstinence-only communities. Our program is volunteer run and I feel that there is not enough support for the youth to stay involved because of that. The volunteers have not had the time to do sufficient outreach in the community to establish the partnerships with adults working with youth in the community. I feel that these partnerships are essential in order to getdiversity of young people involved,as well as give the right type of suppor t needed to maintain their involvement.

hand, it can be argued that it is futile to collect evidence when organizations do not have the capacity to use it for growth and change.Even if this is the case,more data about youth media would be useful to make a case for stakeholders outside the field,such as funders,educators,media artists, and social service agencies. Funders increasingly require evaluation as a program element,and youth media providers express interest about the benefits of evaluation for program improvement.As a result, the need is apparent for more technical assistance about the methods and tools for evaluating youth media programs. Fortunately, some instruments are available online to get youth media practitioners started in evaluation of their programs.Many more examples of model evaluation tools and strategies that are designed for the goals and objectives of youth media are needed to get practitioners started with sim-

Youth media brings innovation and vitality to more staid and

ple evaluation activities.

established partners.At the same time,recruiting,cultivating, and working with partners can boost fledgling youth media organizations to the next level of service.In other words,partnerships have been shown to enhance programs and to build capacity for all the partners.They provide â&#x20AC;&#x153;just-in-timeâ&#x20AC;?relief for implementation problems from technology expertise to second language translation.They are essential for growth and help to better integrate the programs into schools and communities.In short,partnerships are a promising strategy for small,struggling nonprofits.

SHARING BEST PRACTICES AND LESSONS LEARNED When the evidence from individual projects is aggregated across programs,a better picture of the benefits and successes of youth media emerges.Evaluation results published alongside articles and more formal and rigorous research studies build a research base for youth media.The research base makes a case for youth media interventions that can be used by practitioners to start new programs and improve existing programs.In this way, research about youth media contributes to the growth and credibility of the field.The

COLLECTING STRATEGIC FEEDBACK FOR PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT

research base also makes a case for the successful use of

Most of the evidence about successful program implementa-

development.

media as an intervention strategy for youth and community

tion in the youth media field is anecdotal. Very little rigorous research has been done to identify promising practices,chal-

In order for evidence of best practices and lessons learned to

lenges,and lessons learned that can be used by youth media

be useful, it must be disseminated to a wider audience.

practitioners.The thin research base for youth media stunts

Several organizations report that they disseminate informa-

the growth of the field and inhibits the ability of youth media

tion about youth media,student productions,and technical

assistance tools.More information for youth media â&#x20AC;&#x153;wonksâ&#x20AC;? about best practices and lessons learned in the field would be a welcome addition to information sharing at conferences,on Web sites,and through youth media networks.

NEXT STEPS Mapping the Field:A Survey of Youth Media Organizations in the United States is a pioneering effort to gather more information about the field of youth media.The study indicates some areas of need,consensus,and direction,and it provides some shape to this amorphous field.The survey also raises important questions that will require further research about the direction and priorities for the field over time.Many organizations and youth media advocates are already working nationally to implement proven strategies from the research on organizational management to ensure the success,sustainability, and spread of youth media programs.

In the coming years,NAMAC will conduct comparative studies to track and expand the data about youth media organizations for broad dissemination to the field.NAMAC hopes that the study will stimulate additional research about youth media programs from a wide range of researchers.More research of this type contributes to best practices,professionalism,and improvement in youth media programs across the United States.

KATHLEEN TYNERis President/CEO of Hi-Beam Consulting, an information-based consulting firm in San Francisco. She is author of numerous publications and research studies about the uses of media and technol ogy. Her latestbook is Literacy in a Digital World: Teaching and Learning in the Age of Information. RHEA MOKUND is the Director of Listen Up! a national network of over 60 youth media organizations, whose mission is to help youth be heard in the mass media, contributing to a culture of free speech and social responsibility. She also sits on the Board of Directors of the Manhattan Neighborhood Network, Public Access Television for Manhattan.

LIST OF PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS Thanks to the following organizations that responded to the questionnaire for Mapping the Field: A Survey Youth Media Organizations in the United States. Aki Kurose Middle School, Appalshop, Aspen Filmfest, Bay Area Video Coalition, Cable Communications Public Benefit Corporation, California Film Institute, Center for Media Literacy, Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s PressLine,Col.White High School for the Arts, Communication Arts and Sciences Small School at Berkeley High School, Community Concepts, Inc., Community Radio WERU-FM, Downtown Community Television Center, Inc., Educational Video Center, Floresville Middle School, Four Corners Behavioral Health,Inc., Fourth World Vision, Frameline, Inc., Grand Rapids Community Media Center, HarlemLive, In Progress, Just Think, KBOO Community Radio, Koahnic Broadcast Corporation, Listen Up!, Lowell Telecommunications Corporation, Manhattan Neighborhood Network Youth Channel, Media Arts Center San Diego, Media Bridges Cincinnati, Minneapolis Telecommunications Network,Motion Media Arts Center, MPower, The New Orleans Video Access Center (NOVAC), The NoodleHead Network, Out North, Pacific Film Archive, Perpich Center for Arts Education, Pickleberry Pie, Inc., PICTURE THIS Projects, Pomerene Center for the Arts, Portland Art Museum, Northwest Film Center, REACH LA, Radio Bilingue, SCETV, STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, Saint Paul Neighborhood Center, San Francisco Jewish Film Festival/New Jewish Film Project, Scenarios USA, Seattle Community Access Network, Spy Hop Productions, Squeaky Wheel/Buffalo Media Resources, Street Level Youth Media, Strive Media Institute,Thurston High School, The Visual Arts Foundation,WDIY Community Public Radio for the LeHigh Valley,WORT-FM,Wide Angle Community Media,The YouthLearn Initiative.

contact organizations:a closer look 2003 COMMUNITY ART CENTER Melina O'Grady, Resource Development Director 119 Windsor Street Cambridge, MA 02139 617 868 7100 info@communityartcenter.org www.communityartcenter.org

MANHATTAN NEIGHBORHOOD NETWORK Youth Channel Hye-Jung Park, Director 537 West 59th Street New York, NY 10019 212 757 2670 x 328 youthinfo@youthchannel.org www.youthchannel.org

REACH LA Martha Chono-Helsley, Executive Director 1400 E.Olympic Blvd.Ste. 240 Los Angeles, CA 90021 213 622 1650 reachla@earthlink.net www.reachla.org

SPY HOP PRODUCTIONS MEDIA BRIDGES CINCINNATI Belinda Rawlins, Executive Director 1100 Race Street Cincinnati,OH 45210 513 651 4171 info@mediabridges.org www.mediabridges.org

Matt Bradley, Programs Manager 353 W. Pierpont Ave. #200B SaltLake City, UT 84101 801 532 7500 info@spyhop.org www.spyhop.org

TECH TEAM OTHERFRIDAY Hai Dai Nguyen, Executive Director 28 Hana Highway Paia, HI 96779 808 870 7847 haidai@otherfriday.org www.otherfriday.org

South Carolina Educational Television Betsy Newman Creative Services Department 1101 George Rogers Blvd. Columbia,SC 29201 803 737 3466 bnewman@scetv.org www.scetv.org

SPY HOP PRODUCTIONS AND THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH SHAPE A NEW VISION FOR MEDIA LITERACY by Rebecca DaPra

A PLACE TO BE HEARD: The Cambridge Community Art Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Teen Media Program by Adriana Katzew

REACH LA: Reaching Out in New Directions by Jim Moran

MANHATTAN NEIGHBORHOOD NETWORK YOUTH CHANNEL: A Grand Experiment in Youth Governance by Shelley Pasnik

OTHERFRIDAY: Media Arts Mentoring (Island Style) by Diane Peters and Kathleen Heid

TECHNO-FOXES:

acloserlook Media Ar ts 2003

Linking Girl Power to Technology by Candace Thompson

MEDIA BRIDGES: Spanning Divisions in Cincinnati by Tom Zaniello

MAPPING THE FIELD: A Survey of Youth Media Organizations in the United States by Kathleen Tyner and Rhea Mokund

Funded by a grant from the Youth Initiatives Program of the Open Society Institute with additional suppor t from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation,the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation,and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Published by National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture namac@namac.org www.namac.org Artwork by Hector Flores courtesy REACH LA.