ITVS Board Elects Three New Members

Today, ITVS announced three new members would be joining its board of directors — Lisa Cortés, Cheryl Head, and Malinda Maynor Lowery.

“We are honored to have these very talented individuals, all tremendous experts in their fields, on our board,” said Sally Jo Fifer, ITVS president and CEO. “All three bring a strong commitment to ITVS’s mission of serving independent producers and public broadcasting as we all continue the transition to reaching and engaging citizens in the 21st century.”

The standing ITVS board nominates and selects new members to ensure diverse points of view and varied skills. “All three new board members bring a wide range of experience and leadership that will inform the tremendous work ITVS is undertaking in the public media realm,” said Garry Denny, ITVS board chair and director of programming for Wisconsin Public Television.

The ITVS board welcomes:

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Tags: ITVS board, new members

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Are you a big fan of Beyond the Box blog? Since launching a year ago, we’ve brought you regular updates about ITVS productions, funding opportunities, highlighted news articles, streaming video and audio, as well as announcements about upcoming projects and film events.

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ITVS Staffer Reflects on the Earthquake in Haiti

Nearly a month ago, Haiti experienced its strongest earthquake in more than two centuries, which caused massive destruction and left hundreds of thousands homeless and an estimated 200,000 dead. ITVS’s Voleine Amilcar, a Haitian American, was at the Television Critics Association Press Tour in Los Angeles when the earthquake struck. Read her personal account below about how the tragedy impacted her family and how she remains optimistic about the recovery efforts.

Voleine Amilcar (right) with her cousin who survived the Haiti earthquake.

The library in Carrefour-Feuilles, a town outside the capital, before the earthquake.

The library after the earthquake.

It has been almost a month since the massive earthquake in Haiti and the glare of the media is dimming but for many Haitian Americans the shock and deadly impact of the earthquake still haunts us.

As a Haitian American, I was deeply affected by the massive earthquake in Haiti that occurred on January 12. I was in Los Angeles for work to manage a press conference for an upcoming Independent Lens program, Dirt! The Movie, when I received news of the 7.0 Earthquake. But I didn’t understand the enormity, the level of devastation the quake had caused until I was able to turn the TV to CNN.

The epicenter of the quake was situated about 20 minutes from where many of my relatives lived in Haiti. Immediately I called my parents who live 30 minutes outside of San Francisco to find out if they had heard from family members in Haiti. They had not been able to get through to anyone on their cell phones or house phones. Then the waiting game began and the agony set in as I watched endless images and footage of collapsed buildings and bodies being pulled out of those very familiar cinder block homes and buildings. My mind couldn’t stop racing with the awful possibilities. A wave of despair washed over me when I saw images of the partially collapsed presidential palace. Despite a myriad of corrupt inhabitants, the presidential palace was for many Haitians a source of pride. But the symbolism, a defeated government, could not be ignored. And I thought, Haiti has been brought to its knees.

Three days after the earthquake we received word that my cousins and uncles had survived the quake. One of my uncles lost his home and was transported to the Dominican Republic for an operation on his broken arm. Another cousin sustained a broken leg. Most of my relatives were now homeless. Everyone was accounted for except for a dear woman named Madame Alexi who helped raised me when I lived in Haiti. For days, a dark cloud hung over me as I waited to hear about Madame Alexi’s whereabouts. Was she alive? And how would we ever know if whether she was one of the thousands buried under the rubble? Ten days later we were able to connect with Madame Alexi to confirm that she was safe. Her dream house, which included the room she had prepared for me for my visits to Haiti, collapsed entirely. And now she is among the thousands who are homeless, living in her front yard with the rest of her family staying close to what remains of their house because bodies still litter the streets.

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Tags: earthquake, family, Haiti

Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr. and his Legacy

“Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. It is a sword that heals. [It] cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it.”
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

At the heart of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s was the use of nonviolent direct-action protest. Inspired by the example of Jesus, and the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi during India’s struggle for independence, black church and community leaders in the United States began advocating the use of non-violence in their own struggle. Beyond spontaneous and planned student sit-ins, several organizations were formed to fight for civil rights using Gandhi’s model of nonviolent dissent and action. Three of the most influential groups—the Congress of Racial Equality, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee—were pivotal in bringing about social change in America.

Read more about the life of King, Jr. on the Independent Lens website >>

Check out the PBS Indies page on iTunes where you’ll find these powerful films about the African American civil rights movement

Adjust Your Color: The Truth of Petey Green
The unlikely story of America’s original shock-jock — Petey Greene — who battled the system and his own demons during a time of civil unrest in the nation’s capital.

Banished
From the 1860s to the 1920s, towns across the U.S. violently expelled African American residents. Today, these communities remain virtually all white. As black descendants return to demand justice, Banished exposes the hidden history of racial cleansing in America.

Each film is now available for rent for $2.99 or for purchase at $9.99.

Visit the iTunes store >>

Tags: African American, iTunes, Martin Luther King

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If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, sign up to get Beyond the Box Blog posts delivered by email. This once-a-day email will give you the latest news from the Independent Television Service (ITVS), which funds and presents award-winning documentaries and dramas on public and cable, innovative new media projects on the Web, including Global Voices on PBS World (check local listings) and the Emmy Award-winning weekly series Independent Lens, airing Tuesday nights at 10:00 PM on PBS (check local listings).

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Tags: film resources, filmmakers, funding

“Media as a Global Diplomat” Videos and Recap

With a new administration in office, improving the U.S. image abroad and creating more opportunities for Americans to connect with people around the world through new technologies have taken on greater urgency in American foreign policy. President Barack Obama’s debut TV interview was with the Arab TV network Al-Arabiya. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has designated public diplomacy as a pillar of a new foreign policy.

To explore this critical and evolving topic, on February 3, 2009 the Independent Television Service (ITVS) International and the U.S. Institute of Peace co-sponsored a pioneering multimedia event, “Media as a Global Diplomat.” A constellation of luminaries in the field, capped by distinguished veteran journalist and moderator Ted Koppel, participated. To reach a global audience virtual beyond the physical meeting space at Washington, D.C.’s Newseum, a host of Internet-based innovations were used.

ITVS President and CEO Sally Fifer, along with USIP leadership, kicked off the day framing the issue of media’s potential as a key role in helping shape America’s image abroad.

The first panel, “Public Diplomacy 2.0: Rethinking Official Media” addressed shifting definitions of public diplomacy and explored how media can best serve American policy. Panelists agreed that policies and actions are the best determinants of attitudes toward the U.S. worldwide and that the U.S. must actively promote its core values of democracy, rule of law and tolerance. However, not surprisingly, opinions from representatives from the USG, Google, Al Jazeera, UN Foundation and others differed on the most effective mediums to transmit such messages.

The second panel, “The Global Media Marketplace,” centered on the challenges of mass media ownership and profitability in the Internet era. Participants from Abu Dhabi Media, National Geographic, MTV, the Hewlett Foundation, The New York Times and others discussed the viability of traditional media outlets such as television, the atomization of media outlets through the web and the need to bring global stories to a U.S. audience as part of the public diplomacy effort.

The ITVS International-funded, Golden Globe award-winning and Oscar-nominated film WALTZ WITH BASHIR was a highlight of the event. The animated documentary focuses on the reflections of Israeli veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. I led the post-film discussion, which focused on the importance of independent documentaries as authentic and credible forms of communication, and on the role of artists as cultural ambassadors. Much of the discussion centered also on the need for this communication to be two-way, and the power of the ITVS Global Perspective Project to connect audiences and media professionals around the world.

The event was heavily interactive and was streamed live around the world. Citizen journalists from all over the globe sent in questions for the panelists and used live blogging and “tweets” (using Twitter, a method of transmitting short text messages to numerous recipients via the Web or mobile simultaneously).

ITVS was proud to be a part of this exciting day and to support the role of independent filmmakers as thought leaders and artists.

- Tamara Gould
ITVS Vice President of Distribution

Check out the videos from the event below:

ITVS President and CEO Sally Jo Fifer gives opening remarks.

“Public Diplomacy 2.0: Rethinking Official Media” addressed shifting definitions of public diplomacy and explored how media can best serve American policy.

Want to see all the videos? › Continue reading

Tags: digital, film resources, Ted Koppel

ITVS Co-Hosts Media Summit, Ted Koppel Moderates

What role does the media play in shaping public diplomacy? Tuesday, Feb. 3, starting at 9:00 AM EST, ITVS will be co-hosting a Media Leadership Summit entitled “Media As Global Diplomat” with the U.S. Institute of Peace at the Newseum in Washington, DC.

Moderated by Ted Koppel, representatives from Google, National Geographic, MTV, Al Jazeera, the U.S. State Department, ITVS and others will develop media involvement recommendations to present to the new administration.

Bloggers from around the world will participate and ask questions, including Lois Vossen, vice president and Independent Lens series producer, representing ITVS.

Missed the streaming video? The event was recorded and is available on the USIP website. Visit their site for the latest updates >>

Tags: digital, media, public policy

Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr. and his Legacy

“Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. It is a sword that heals. [It] cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it.”
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

At the heart of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s was the use of nonviolent direct-action protest. Inspired by the example of Jesus, and the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi during India’s struggle for independence, black church and community leaders in the United States began advocating the use of non-violence in their own struggle. Beyond spontaneous and planned student sit-ins, several organizations were formed to fight for civil rights using Gandhi’s model of nonviolent dissent and action. Three of the most influential groups—the Congress of Racial Equality, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee—were pivotal in bringing about social change in America.

Read more about the life of King, Jr. on the Independent Lens Web site >>

P.O.V.’s Web site also has resources about the last 100 years of protests on the Washington Mall and its history as well as the future of marching in Washington.
Visit the interactive photo gallery and timeline >>

From everyone at ITVS, Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Tags: African American, Martin Luther King, protests