Media Content

Media Issues

GFEM is an advocate to our grantmaker colleagues, encouraging them to fund innovative media arts and public interest media—through support of content, infrastructure, and policy—as a vital form of cultural expression and essential component of our democracy. Whether providing support for documentary or narrative films, or efforts to close the national or international “digital divide,” or supporting advocacy and educational organizations to keep the Internet unrestricted, or highlighting media advancements being made in developing countries, or the evolving media policies in developed nations-GFEM’s aim is to provide small and large funders alike with information to assist them in making decisions about supporting the interconnected areas of media content, infrastructure and policy.

Content

A television program or film puts a face on an issue. A radio news feature or documentary brings a tangible reality to recited facts. Video streamed on a website underscores issues presented in plain text and can move people to action. Whether the content is targeted to public or commercial media outlets, funders need a working understanding of the entire media landscape in order to be most effective in their grantmaking. View Content articles

Infrastructure

A high-speed, unfettered Internet, community-based media arts organizations, PBS, NPR, Public/Educational/Government (PEG) public access stations, or mobile phones are all a part of our media infrastructure—GFEM provides funders with information to help them in supporting media infrastructure, whether local, national, or international. View Infrastructure articles

Policy

Restrictive media policies can curtail access to the content we do have through the infrastructure we currently have in place. There are clear roles for funders to play in helping to address media policy issues and GFEM works to keep funders abreast of the constantly shifting media policy environment. View Policy articles

Nonprofit Communicators: half a glass

Two-thirds of Nonprofits Lack Communications Staff

Freedom of Expression Across Africa with a Focus on Kenya

Wilson Ugangu, currently serving a fellowship at Consumers Union’s Washington office, is with the African Woman and Child Feature Service (AWC), a non governmental media organization that works on ...

Making Movies that Make Change

Jeff Skoll of the Skoll Foundation and founder of Participant Productions and eBay, talks about making movies that make change at the 2007 TED Conference. Click here to watch.

Alliance for Community Media’s "Community Media & Social Justice"

Alliance for Community Media (ACM) is the national umbrella organization for nearly 3000 Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) Access Centers in the U.S. ACM's quarterly journal, Community ...

Key ACM Speechs Now Available For Viewing Online

The opening plenary speeches by former FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani, Illinois’ Senior Assistant Attorney General Susan Satter, and Hannah Sassaman of Prometheus Radio Project at the Alliance ...

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) Announces a New Book About Civil Society and WSIS

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) has been roundly criticised in the past and this new study from APC concludes that the summit “is not the best starting point for new action.” ...

Study Explores Radio as a Mobilization Tool in Latino Communities

The results of a study funded through the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), a grantee of the Ford Foundation, have just been released.San Francisco State University researcher Graciela ...

New Channel Focusing on Philanthropy Announced

The Philanthropy Channel is a national, multimedia public service campaign aimed at the general public, legislators, opinion leaders and the always influential media. It will highlight the often ...

Why Media Diversity Matters Town Hall Meeting

Media Diversity town hall meeting was simultaneously held at George Washington University in Washington, DC and in Denver, CO, and moderated by Tavis Smiley and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper on ...