THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH

Since I'm attending The New School for interdisciplinary studies this MovieMaker magazine interview is quite fitting. Jennifer Wood interviews Annie Howell and I especially like this quote from her:

"I believe documentary is the interdisciplinary discipline. In addition to spanning academic fields—film studies, anthropology, sociology, to name a few—good documentary engages with both form and content; hopefully content that has real relevance in peoples’ lives. Documentary films allow us to experience situations, meet individuals and understand issues in a personal, emotional or intellectual way that is simply unique, and that tends to have appeal across mediums, fields of study and professions. At The New School, documentary study and practice have always thrived. Institutionally, there is an emphasis on making change in the world as well as on developing a serious art practice within a social and historical context."

I couldn't agree more with Annie Howell's assessment and it's precisely why I decided to return to study media, documentaries and advocacy, and especially why I chose The New School.

Read the Interview

4th ANNUAL GRASSROOTS MEDIA CONFERENCE

Event Date: February 24, 2007 | This year, the NYC Grassroots Media Conference seeks to ask: What are the common threads inherent in our global struggles for social change and how does the media contribute to our understanding of the root causes of injustice faced by world communities? From educating ourselves and our government leaders to spreading our messages and recruiting broader and more diverse constituencies into our campaigns, media is central to the struggle for social justice. Therefore, the fight for better access to and representation in the media is essential for advancing peace and justice both at home and abroad.

Join the 4th annual NYC Grassroots Media Conference to explore these connections and strategies, and come together to demand a media system that will link our diverse communities, connect local and international struggles, and fight for social justice across boundaries and beyond borders. Register Today.

SUPERBOWL SUNDAY—SO FAR—SNICKERS TAKES BEST AD

Ok, I'm watching the game. I don't really follow football all that closely, but this is a great game. I was reminded of the opportunity I had to buy a Romeo Britta painting of a cat 15 years ago, but Cirq de Soleil was just ok. Maybe you had to see them in person. I never realized exactly how entertaining watching grown men scrambling for a wet ball in the pouring rain could be. Downright sexy. Prince? Oh he's always great. The commercials? So far, too much violence. They lack creativity. Coke's are not bad—I wasn't all that crazy on the take-off on Grand Theft Auto, but at least they're conceptualized and well executed. The best so far? Snickers. Original!

WHAT REMAINS: THE LIFE AND WORK OF SALLY MANN

I find it so interesting to observe the things that inspire me to write and those that don't. I really love technology and the Internet and all the opportunities it offers to become inspired. Sometimes I collect on a memory in an instant, and it can be so circuitous. That’s what happened today.

I was trying to find a particular series on HBO and came upon an upcoming documentary about the photographer Sally Mann. That triggered my memory. I met Sally Mann briefly about 15 years ago when I worked at the Black Book. At the time she may have been interested in getting more work as a commercial photographer. She showed me black and white photos of kids; I believe some made with a box camera. I remember thinking her work was very original. I had met literally hundreds of photographers over the years and her work stood out. She has a unique point of view and I can’t wait to see the documentary about her work.

I Googled her and found a provocative essay that was written about a book of hers, Intimate Family and went on to read her response to the essay. This is truly a scintillating dialogue between artists and opinions. I highly recommend reading Noelle Oxenhandler’s essay, Mann’s response and watching the documentary. 15 years ago Sally Mann struck me as a pioneer for the life of an artist who pushes her way through what at one glance may be a taboo subject and on another glance a simple artistic.

I consider myself lucky in many ways. One--15 years ago, for only an hour or two, I was in the presence of what I perceived to be a pioneer, someone who I wanted to emulate as an artist. An artist who helps people make the leap to think deeply, analyze, learn and make great art. That memory and mission is still with me and going strong.

Synopsis of WHAT REMAINS: THE LIFE AND WORK OF SALLY MANN

MEDIA CULTURE -- DID YOU KNOW?

MotherJones Magazine has a terrific column called Ad Nauseum and in it's January/February 2007 issue they highlight some unbelievable media statistics including the following:

In 2005, there were 108,000 instances of product placement in television programming—up 30% from 2004.

he 2005 season of nbc's reality show The Contender had 7,502 instances of product placement—adding up to 11 hours and 57 minutes of screen time.

Placing ads inside video games is expected to be a $1 billion industry by 2010.

When Dateline NBC recently asked children to choose between a banana and a rock with a Scooby-Doo sticker on it for breakfast, nearly all chose the rock.

A recent Broadway production of Sweet Charity was rewritten to plug Gran Centenario tequila. José Cuervo described the change as "elegant, organic, not forced."

Advertisers spend more than $12 billion a year marketing to kids. The average American child is exposed to 40,000 ads per year.

References to "a killer coat of Lipslicks" and other Cover Girl products were worked into Cathy's Book, a novel for 12- to 17-year-old girls published in October.

Great Moments in Product Placement

1965 A Charlie Brown Christmas is conceptualized and sponsored by Coke.

2000 FedEx says of its supporting role in Castaway, "We're a character in this movie."

2005 Target buys all ad space in the August 22 New Yorker; its logo appears tore than 1,200 times in the issue.

Read them all

SPAM/SCAM | Cry for Help: 36 Scam Emails from Africa

There's nothing I dislike more than SPAM. We all know what SPAM is and I'm not talking about that delicious delicacy in a can that Monty Python referred to that became ingrained into our pop culture. No, it's a different icon of culture -- SPAM/SCAM email-- we either trash it or curiously look through the SPAM filtering software available in our email browsers to make sure we haven't missed a 'real' email. Those pesky spammers are smart and creative! They figure out how to rig forms and Opt-Ins, and create special software to fish for free email addresses. I just wish software developers could come up with a better filtering system so as not to catch 'real' email. Some spammers actually know what business you're in and create specialized content to fit that business.

Illustrator Henning Wagenbreth recently created a book Cry for Help: 36 SCAM Emails from Africa, in which he compiled and illustrated the bizarre 'Nigerian' SCAM email letters that asked for our help in making a fortune in lucrative business propositions. Wagenbreth explains "The deception with SCAM-mails works in the following way: first the scammers locate appropriate e-mail address suppliers and buy thousands of addresses of people all over the world, especially those people from rich, industrial nations. Enticing letters are then written and sent as mass e-mails. The author asserts that he has come upon too much money either through legitimate inheritance, political unrest, a tragic accident or through simple theft. In telling his plausible story, he slips into one of various roles decorated with rich detail. Sometimes it’s the helpless child by his parent’s deathbed who’s received millions of dollars and doesn’t know what to do with it all. Another time he may pose as the government official who is manipulating the state budget or embezzling state funds and is in search of someone to help launder the money. Or he pretends to be the relative of a deposed dictator and authoritatively demands immediate assistance with a foreign currency transfer."

While I'm on the subject, here's a particularly fascinating subject header of a SPAM email I just received while writing this post. Dad: My daughter killed my wife.news just come. I peer through my preview pane it's a press release with a stock tip. We've all gotten them. When will this SPAM/SCAM end? Perhaps we should all start archiving the SPAM/SCAM we get. There are some humorous SPAM/SCAM annotations out there, that's for sure.

MEDIA REFORM CONFERENCE UPDATE

Watch video of the speakers including: Bill Moyers, Jesse Jackson, Jane Fonda, Congressman Ed Markey, Gina Davis, Amy Goodman and Robert McChesney. Be sure to watch "5 words" from Conference Participants.

JOIN THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR MEDIA REFORM--ONLINE

The National Conference for Media Reform is for anyone who is concerned about the state of our media and committed to working for change. This energizing weekend from January 12-14, presents ideas and strategies for winning the fight for better media and connects you with thousands of media reformers from across the country. The conference opens today with 3000 people who have traveled to Memphis to listen to over 250 speakers and attend their choice of 100 panels and workshops. If you care about media and can't leave your desk or office log on and watch streaming live video of the opening plenaries with Bill Moyers and Jesse Jackson, and closing plenary with Jane Fonda. You can also view the keynote session with Congressman Ed Markey who introduced the Net Neutrality bill and chairs the Subcommittee on Telecom and the Internet, actress Gina Davis and FreePress founder Robert McChesney. Tonight watch the Memphis Music Concert and rally streamed live on the Internet. Be sure to check out their blog over the weekend as well.

Be sure to take advantage of :

Downloadable audio of hundreds of panels and workshops
Live Blogging
Photographs of Conference on Flickr
YouTube footage of Conference taken by participants

USER GENERATED COMMERCIALS TOUT DORITOS AS "SNACK STRONG PRODUCTIONS"

User-generated content has become mainstream in the past few years with the development of blogging and social networking sites like MySpace and YouTube. Corporations have been scrambling with how to profit from this new media content revolution and they seem to have hit on something big that could also be quite powerful, creative and interactive. But it goes beyond that— it’s also cheap and they are wired right into their target audience. We are experiencing a paradigm shift in the way media and advertising business is done and I have some concerns.

Doritos has launched a web based contest where users create a 30 second spot to be judged by consumers and aired on the most watched event of the year in the US—Super Bowl Sunday. As of January 5^th there were 1066 “Crash the Super Bowl” user created commercials uploaded and the top 5 winners were viewed over 676,000 times. They’ve created the contest on a fabulous beta site called Jumpcut where video can be edited online. People are commenting, hitting “I love it” buttons, and coming back to the site to vote for their favorite commercial. The winner gets $10,000 and a trip to the Super Bowl. Frito-Lay will have already gotten all those eyeballs and website traffic prior to the commercial actually being aired. That’s getting away cheap—very cheap in Madison Avenue terms. Then on Super Sunday there will be free PR with everyone talking about the ad. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. What company could ask for more from its advertising? It’s sure to result in a surge of Doritos sales.

Ok, so I hate to be the naysayer here, but let’s not forget that in the past I enjoyed many an hour developing advertising concepts and design for large corporations. Frito-Lay completely bypassed its advertising agency, Goodby Silverstein & Partners in favor of letting the masses create their ad campaign. I have no problem with this. But, how will ad agencies compete with this incredible new user created concept? Frito-Lay is not the only brand to tap into the masses. This is just the beginning. But here’s what I don’t like. They are paying these young creators practically nothing for their ideas, and if successful they will use them into perpetuity without the originator getting any additional compensation. I really hate to include the small print of their “contract” but someone has to point it out:

“irrevocably grants to Contest Parties and their affiliates, legal representatives, assigns, agents and licensees, the unconditional and perpetual right and permission to copyright (as appropriate), reproduce, encode, store, copy, transmit, publish, post, broadcast, display, publicly perform, adapt, exhibit and/or otherwise use or reuse (without limitation as to when or to the number of times used), the Entrant's name, address, image, voice, likeness, statements, biographical material and Submission, including, but not limited to, the video or digital recording and performances contained in any of the above items (in each case, as submitted or as edited/modified in any way by the Contest Parties, in the Contest Parties' sole discretion), as well as any additional photographic images, video images, portraits, interviews or other materials relating to the Entrant and arising out of his/her participation in this Contest (with or without using the Entrant's name) (collectively, the "Additional Materials") in any media throughout the world for any purpose, without limitation, and without additional review, compensation, or approval from the Entrant or any other party."

Isn’t that a mouthful?

What does this mean for the future of advertising? How about the young creators who are not only signing their creative rights away for pennies, but are also helping to push products by word-of-mouth, as well as buying and consuming them too? Who really wins with this model and is it a good economic one? I’m not so sure. I think user created content is great, but many of the young people who are participating in these projects may not realize exactly what they are getting themselves into.

Someone put on a critical thinking cap, please.

VOICES SELECT | MAGAZINE |

New Moon Magazine for Girls
New Moon magazine is an inspirational magazine for girls and women. What makes it incredibly special is that it is advertising free. New Moon states on their website that they're for every girl who "wants her voice heard and dreams taken seriously." Their blog tells of their next issue titled Letter to Congress. They're looking for political blogger journalists—someone who will watch when bills are stalled or move in congress. Sounds like advocacy to me... :-)... way to go New Moon magazine!

MAKE MEDIA LESS ADDICTIVE FOR YOU AND YOUR KIDS

Kids and adults are getting bombarded more than ever by commercials, advertising, video games and product placements. Soon they will be all over the cell phones as well. It's big business and not everyone realizes that this thing called "media" can become addictive. Last year, kids 4 to 12 years old had an estimated spending power of $45 billion, and teens $160 billion. There are teams of very smart, well-paid advertisers out there whose job it is to equate more “stuff” with more happiness. It’s a tough job for all of us to resist that kind of pressure - but even more difficult for kids. Download the MediaWise Parent Survival Guide to find out how advertisers are targeting your kids. Get the Facts.

While you're at it-- find out more about how your kids post to places like YOUTUBE and MYSPACE. MediaWise Walks you through how they do it.

VOICES SELECT | WEB SITE|

Check out some of the best news photography of the year. View the Winners Gallery at World Press Photo -- awards for best photography in twenty categories -- from portrait to nature to spot news and TIME MAGAZINE offers their year in photos.

DON'T LAY OFF NOW--

Make Net Neutrality Priority 1 for 2007. There's little to no discussion of what net neutrality is on regular broadcast news. Because of this the Free Press initiative "SavetheInternet Coalition" was born in April 2006 and byseveral months later, in July, over 1 MILLION people had signed the petition to maintain our Internet freedom. By September the public stood together on Net Neutrality and the anti-net neutrality Bill that passed through Senate stalled.

Net Neutrality ensures that any citizen can view the smallest website or blog as easily as they can view a large corporation's website, preventing phone and Internet companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon from charging additional fees or making it very difficult to navigate and load the websites you want to see and read. Only the big payers would get the fast "broadband" lane. The best way to understand net neutrality is to take 5 minutes and watch this new video. If you want to continue to have a free and open Internet (the way it is right now) then you you owe it to yourself to understand the principles of Net Neutrality before these companies spend enough on lobbying Congress to take away our free and participatory aspect of the Internet. If they do that, they take away our voices too. The Internet is an incredible Democratic resource for every citizen. We can't let the Internet become this generation's TV and Radio—as citizens will lose our power. Take notice --watch the video.

VOICES SELECT | AD CAMPAIGN | MILENIO

Milenio is a national newspaper in Mexico. Who says Mexico is poor? Here's a rich ad campaign with a sense of humor. Good or Bad?

“A very complex world needs a good explanation.”

WHAT ARE AVATARS?

Here's my avatar created at Yahoo.com. If you look on the blog's right column you will see more avatars. An avatar represents an internet user's online image in a digital form. AOL's instant messenger was the first to use these 'buddy icons.' Avatars have been used for some time in video games where the game user digitally alters the looks of their "character" in a similar fashion to traditional paper dolls. Starting with a basic template, avatars are created by interchanging face shape and features, hairstyles, physique, clothing and accessories. Create your own avatar or visit the 13 Most Beautiful Avatars exhibition, which captures the most visually dynamic and celebrated "stars" of Second Life. The Matteses have been living in the virtual world, Second Life, for over a year, exploring its terrain and interacting with its peculiar inhabitants. The result of their "video-game flanerie" is this series of portraits.

The 13 Most Beautiful Avatars images will be exhibited, in the real-world, at the Italian Academy in the Columbia University, New York. Nov. 30 - Dec. 19, 2006 at The Italian Academy, Columbia University (New York)

CAPITALIZING ON CONVERGENCE

Social Innovation Review Nonprofits and businesses are converging - in the value they create, the stakeholders they manage, the organizations they form, and the financial instruments they use. The era of convergence is upon us. Do you know how to take advantage of it?

The leaders of nonprofits and businesses would be wise to shift their current mind-set from one of “us and them” to one of “we.” This new mind-set thinks in terms of systems and focuses on interdependence, partners, and strategic allies. It embraces new organizational forms and views organizational boundaries as elastic and permeable. It takes advantage of the migration of talent across sectors and deepens its relationships with the full range of its stakeholders.

This new mind-set recognizes that it must not only produce both economic and social value, but also capture the synergies between the two. It seizes new instruments to integrate the financial and philanthropic capital markets. And it insists upon transparency and accountability, understanding that this will ultimately attract more talent, trust, and funding. Get Article

VOICES SELECT | BOOK |

Communication for Social Change Anthology

Published by Communication for Social Change Consortium, this groundbreaking book brings together a broad variety of views and features more than 150 key thinkers throughout the world.

After the Second World War, the strategic role of communication in development and social change became clear: The liberation movements of many former colonies, the growing number of non-governmental organisations and the rapid spread of mass media all demonstrated that the communication process is essential to advancing social change, combating poverty and giving people the power to improve their own lives.

Today, there is an urgent need to know: “Which ideas contributed to what we now understand communication for social change to be? Who were the communication experts who helped develop a new communication approach? What are the emerging issues and trends shaping communication for social change?” Edited by leaders in the field, the Communication for Social Change Anthology contains the most important texts in this field.

The CFSC Consortium offers numerous resources on Communication for Social Change and are located in South Orange, New Jersey. Visit their website.

INTERNET VIDEO ADVERTISING:

On the Fast Track to Growth
Companies are still trying to figure out how to make advertising that viewers want to watch. Now television stations and advertisers are developing their own media divisions to create their own 'branded video content' and mobile webisodes. These companies need to figure out that TV style commercials embedded in video and on webpages are not going to work. New research shows that corporations are hot on interactive advertising, but they also need to recognize that they no longer have a captive audience. Content needs to be free, good, entertaining and relevant and then, maybe then they will sell their product. But is putting Burger King's "King" character in a feature length film the right way to go? We'll just watch and see if this campaign goes viral (word-of-mouth).

Nontheless, companies will keep spending the advertising dollars until they find the perfect formula. According to an eMarketer summary of an upcoming study release, spending on online video advertising will reach $410 million this year, 82% more than was spent in 2005. By 2010, Internet video advertising will be a $3 billion business, according to eMarketer's latest projections.

FAKE NEWS:

Stations Fail to Disclose Video News Releases
The Center for Media and Democracy's follow-up research indicates that viewers are still routinely deceived by fake TV news. From April through October 2006, CMD documented 46 stations in 22 states airing at least one of 33 different video news releases. (See "Methodology.") The total number of VNRs tracked for this study—109—represents just two percent of the estimated 5,000 VNRs offered to U.S. television newsrooms over a six-month period.

Eighty-nine percent of the VNR broadcasts documented—48 of the 54 examples in this report—included no disclosure whatsoever of the nature or source of the sponsored video. The six remaining VNR broadcasts exhibited different approaches to disclosure. However, none approached the level recommended by CMD: continuous on-screen notification of the client that funded the VNR. Read more Go to PRWATCH

PR WEEK'S CAUSE MARKETING SURVEY--DIG A LITTLE DEEPER INTO CAUSE MARKETING RELATIONSHIPS

87% of respondents believe that it’s important for companies to support causes and charities.

Today’s consumer may or may not be aware of the methods companies use to gain their attention and loyalty. When brands align with causes, the battle for trust has only just begun. One has to wonder about the transparency of it all. People surveyed in PR Week's Cause Survey 2006 mentioned companies who made a difference, but do they mention them solely based on the companies' communications and media campaigns?

The following example shows the good in cause marketing. But buyer and nonprofit beware. Get out your critical thinking skills before embarking on cause marketing relationships. Get PR Week's Study to understand what companies, nonprofits and individuals are thinking and acting upon. Be sure to do your homework when considering a cause marketing relationship.

~Every October for the past 13 years, shoppers at Marshalls department stores have played a role in ending domestic violence, just by filling their carts with clothing, shoes, and household goods. On the day Marshalls hosts its annual “Shop ’Til It Stops” benefit, the retailer donates 1% of all sales from its 700 stores to the San Francisco based Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF), providing support to the FVPF’s efforts to prevent domestic violence and help victims nationwide. This year, not only did Shop ’Til It Stops Day generate more than $300,000 to fund public education and training programs, but it also raised awareness among hundreds of thousands of shoppers about the issue of domestic violence against women and children.~

Top Companies Mentioned by Respondents:
Microsoft
Target
Wal-Mart
McDonald’s
Yoplait
Avon 3
Newman’s Own