ITVS President Sally Jo Fifer

We have been chanting about change for a while and sometimes we must sound like the boy who cried wolf: “Global is coming! Digital is coming!” We’re not chanting anymore. Change has come. The past year has seen the dawn of our new International Media Development Fund, new digital strategies for production and distribution; and new ways of working with independents in our core work, too.

In this edition of Beyond the Box, you will find an annual report for 2006, with highlights, trends, and signposts. For all the recent changes, our 15th year ended with the realization that the meaning inherent in our name and in our mission remains steady and true, even as the words take on additional connotations.

From the beginning, “independent” has meant the diverse community of filmmakers working outside of the commercial studios—a community we continue to rely on to bring the public new perspectives. But how is what we mean by “independent” different from what they mean over at Focus Features or Sundance?

For ITVS, wrapped into our “independent” is the mission of public media. That means producers who are creating programs with people, perspectives and depth seldom seen on commercial television. That means producers committed to communities. The indie “brand” has made headway in the commercial world, and user-generated content is exploding online, but these worlds do not share our bottom line of diversity and depth. Over the last year, we worked to bring more points of view from more communities to more people than ever before—including points of view from beyond our borders, communities we did not talk much about ten years ago, and viewers who spend more time online than in front of their televisions. When we say “independent,” we mean filmmakers who provide what’s needed and what’s missing on the media landscape, wherever that landscape is.

“Television” is a word that continues to outgrow its box. The digital revolution doesn’t mean we should toss out our widescreen and scrap Independent Lens—but it does mean all of us in public media must work to bring fresh ideas to old models, and look for new models ahead. Our progress is also reflected here in this issue of Beyond the Box. We know that our work on this front has just begun, and we must be prepared.

Why? That’s where the word “service” comes in. “Service” means that ITVS is more than a funder—we are a support organization committed to making sure programs have an impact. But the “service” also means helping create a healthy ecosystem for all independents. As a group, their health and strength directly affects the health of public media and our democracy. What can we do to help independents face multiplatforms, global competition, or new communities with new definitions?

When we look back ten years from now, we will see a 2006 that was both a watershed and part of a smooth continuum—a moving figure with one foot in the past, one foot in the future, and two hands wrapped around the present.

—Sally Jo Fifer