Funders Briefing: Can Funding Media Energize Democracy?

Joan Blades is the co-founder of MoveOn.org, a political action website dedicated to promoting broad public participation in political discourse. During its anti-impeachment campaign, MoveOn.org garnered 500,000 online supporters, 8000 active volunteers, and generated more than 2 million communications to Congress. Going beyond “virtual” action, MoveOn.org organized hundreds of local events across the nation and a get-out-the-vote drive that reached 4 million people on the day before the 1998 election. Through MoveOn.org, citizens contributed more than $2 million to year 2000 congressional candidates. Following the election has helped members be heard on the issues of campaign finance reform, environmental protection and tax reform. Ms. Blades is a software industry veteran, having co-founded a leading entertainment software company, Berkeley Systems. Prior to her work in consumer software, Ms. Blades taught mediation at Golden Gate Law School, wrote a book on Divorce Mediation published by Prentice Hall, and practiced mediation.

Katy Chevigny formed Big Mouth Productions in 1997 with her colleague Julia Pimsleur in order to produce and support the work on emerging social issue documentary filmmakers. In 2000 they founded MediaRights.org, a nonprofit organization that helps media makers, educators, librarians, youth, nonprofits, and activists use documentaries to encourage action and inspire dialogue on contemporary social issues. MediaRights.org has grown tremendously in three years to include the Media That Matters Film Festival, the Independent Producer’s Outreach Toolkit, YMDI.org, and a database of 5,500 social issue documentary films. Ms. Chevigny currently serves as Director of Operations for MediaRights.org and continues her work as a documentary filmmaker. Most recently, Ms. Chevigny directed a one-hour documentary called Journey to the West: Chinese Medicine Today which premiered at the Asia Society.

Malkia Cyril is a 29-year old African-American organizer and Brooklyn native. She has worked low-income youth and communities of color as an organizer for the past nine years with organizations such as the Applied Research Center, the Alameda County Homeless Youth Collaborative, Youth Together, the Community Organizing Team of BOSS, Youth Force Coalition, Uniting Communities Against War & Racism, and We Interrupt This Message. Ms. Cyril has directed numerous youth organizing projects, focusing specifically on poverty and race, and has worked closely with young people on media accountability for balanced news coverage of youth and youth policy. Ms. Cyril is currently serving as Director of the Youth Media Council, which is working to build media capacity in the Bay Area’s vibrant youth movement while holding local outlets accountable for their participation in youth policy debates.

Sally Jo Fifer was appointed President, CEO of the Independent Television Service (ITVS) in August 2001. Prior to taking the helm at ITVS, she spent nine years as Executive Director of the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC). Under her leadership, BAVC grew from a half million dollar, six employee organization for videomakers, to a five million dollar, 60 employee, state-of-the-art digital media center. Ms. Fifer has published numerous articles and was co-editor of Illuminating Video: An Essential Guide to Video Art. She currently serves on the boards of WorldLink and the Center for Cultural Innovation, and has served on funding panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and the California Arts Council. Ms. Fifer received a B.A. in History of Art from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.A. in Communications from Stanford University. She has received fellowships for executive training from Harvard and Stanford Business schools.

Nan Rubin has been involved for more than two decades in broadcast production and public policy, arts management, community outreach, and technical planning in the service of diversifying the voices and control of media programming and ownership. Ms. Rubin is the powerhouse behind Community Media Services in New York City, a consulting firm which has been providing management and fundraising assistance to public television and radio stations, independent radio and video producers, grassroots arts organizations, nonprofit groups, and foundations since 1985. Besides building two community-based public radio stations, she has served as project director on many acclaimed public radio productions, including The Family of Women: Stories from a World Gathering, Search for the Buried Past: The Hidden Jews of New Mexico, and Behind the Mask.