Social networks and sharing sites are invaluable resources for anyone—but especially for the indies out there who have a message, a new documentary, or an album, but don’t have the funds for an expensive ad campaign. And the fact that big corporations are making use of these tools seems harmless for now, but we need to make sure that there’s always room for the indie culture.

What started out as personal and independent social networks and sharing websites are now corporatized. YouTube is owned by Google, Facebook is partially owned by Google’s “rival” Microsoft, and MySpace is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s ever-growing News Corp. This was apparent during the Superbowl, which was broadcast on Fox, when the announcers urged viewers who missed some of the commercials to go to MySpace and watch them.

Speaking of commercials, this year’s Superbowl ads are being viewed more than the actual game thanks to video sharing sites, social networks, and even news websites like MSNBC.

The digital age is changing the marketing strategies of big corporations—they’re taking advantage of viral marketing. Which is fine. Everyone should be allowed to use these resources. We just need to be careful because things can become dangerous when one company owns so many media outlets. Content can become discreetly censored or controlled.

Most recently, Montel Williams (whose show airs on Fox), appeared on the FoxNews program Fox and Friends on January 26th, 2008. While on air, Williams expressed his discontent that FoxNews devoted excessive news coverage on Heath Ledger’s death, while ignoring the soldiers that have recently died in Iraq.

Four days later, it was announced that the Montel Williams Show is being cancelled, after seventeen years. Coincidence? Maybe so, maybe not. But we still need to watch out for issues like these so the independent culture doesn’t get left in the dust.

Here are some websites for you to get away from, or to keep an eye on, corporate media.

Independent/Alternative News
· Free Press
· Alternet
· Media Channel

Media Watchdogs
· Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR)
· Media Matters
· Newswatch.org

—Posted by Brittany Mayne

Our friends at P.O.V. have posted on their blog a beautiful slideshow of artwork by Stanley Grafton Njootli, Jr. of Arctic Son fame. More images of Stan, Jr.’s artwork will be featured on the upcoming Arctic Son DVD that Docurama is releasing this summer. You can get your copy of the preview DVD here.

It’s an exciting time with this year’s presidential primaries breaking many boundaries including voter participation and ability of reporters to follow the campaign trail closer than ever before with new digital technologies.

The primaries have seen record voter turnout, and as they progress, more records are expected to be broken. Yesterday’s Potomac primaries saw record participation; in Virginia there was a 130 percent increase in Democratic voters compared with 2004.

Also, new technologies are allowing reporters to cover the election faster than past elections. Tiny cameras and portable computers allow one reporter to do the job of an entire crew; they are able to record footage and quickly file it online.

An article in the New York Times earlier in the week talked about the rise the these “off-air” reporters on the campaign trail, who are hired by news organizations to follow the candidates and filing video and blog posts as the news happens.

Although keeping close tabs on the candidates is good, the voters’ point of view and the voting process needs to be closely documented too. After issues with the 2000 presidential election including the fact that Al Gore won the citizen vote but lost the presidency and questionable vote counts in Florida, it’s safe to say that at least 48.4 percent of Americans are weary of the voting process.

I think these new reporting methods mixed with the record increase in political participation this election make it the perfect time for journalists to step in and report about the election from the voters’ point of view, similar to our documentary, Election Day, which follows voters at the polling places on the day of the 2004 presidential election. The film gives the perspective of voting from a human point of view; the problems, concerns and overall experiences.

Maggie Bowman, one of the producers of the documentary, wrote a reflective blog post about the film on Free Press last week. She brings up a very good question:

Almost anyone now can record on a pint-sized camera, or even a cell phone, and then quickly put the footage online for all to see. New, portable and fast paced reporting techniques have the potential to make this year’s presidential election transparent to voters.

Posted by Brittany Mayne

With the Media That Matters lineup nearly finalized, Arts Engine has been abuzz with talk of what makes a good short film. This was my first year taking part in the Media That Matters selection process and that experience has definitely drawn me into the world of the short documentary. On my way down the rabbit hole, I’ve been thinking more and more about: What makes a good short doc? What kinds of subjects work for short pieces? And why aren’t the good ones celebrated more often and with more gusto?

Last night I felt that I was definitely at some kind of celebration when Thom Powers took the stage at the IFC Center for a sold-out Stranger Than Fiction screening (on a snowy night!) that showcased documentary shorts from Wholphin. Captains of the clever and the quirky, the crew at McSweeney’s puts out the quarterly DVD magazine Wholphin as a tribute to “unique and ponderable films designed to make you feel the way we felt when we learned that dolphins and whales sometimes, you know, do it.”

In between last night’s films, Thom and Wholphin editor/head curator Brent Hoff exchanged some punchy interstitial banter along with updates on the films and their subjects. It was great to have the folks from Wholphin there—it added to the celebratory vibe I mentioned earlier.

I’d like to highlight a few of my favorites from last night’s event, films that inched me closer to an understanding of what makes a good short doc like a perfect haiku:

Heavy Metal Jr.
This fantastic film portrays the Scottish pre-teen heavy metal band, Hatred, as they prepare for their first live performance (complete with songs they actually wrote in lieu of their usual routine of just singing covers). Down a bass player and struggling to turn some new death metal phrases, Hatred is a pint-sized version of the turmoil we’re so used to seeing in Behind the Music, but it’s ten times more interesting to see these creative obstacles through the eyes of eleven- and twelve-year-olds. Trust me.

There are two aspects of this film that show its mastery of the short genre. First, it uses the momentum of the big gig to really keep us going. Second, the director Chris Waitt really knows which moments are true gems and he’s buffed them up for maximum shine. Case in point: While trying to coach the skeptical boys, the father of one Hatred member launches into a spirited rendition of one of their songs (the title escapes me…might have been “Satan Rocks”), complete with some pretty incredible vocal flourishes (he’s studied the craft of David Hasselhoff, for sure). If you missed Heavy Metal Jr. on the festival circuit and its broadcast on the Sundance Channel, you can catch it on Issue 4 of Wholphin.

American Outrage
Some of the scenes from this film were the most striking and disturbing documentary moments I’ve witnessed on screen in awhile. Two Shoshone grandmothers, Mary and Carrie Dann, fight against the U.S. government’s unlawful attempts to take over Shoshone land in Nevada. During their thirty-year struggle, the Dann sisters face steady harassment from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and seizures of their horses and livestock. In one scene, Carrie Dann gets into a physical showdown with one BLM officer when he tried to seize her horses, during which she repeats, “You’re hurting me. You’re hurting me”; it’s a haunting mantra that won’t let you forget the injustices the U.S. government continues to commit against Native Americans. You can watch this clip from American Outrage here.

I’m not done contemplating the short doc and it’s potential for glory. For now, I’m just happy that Wholphin is encouraging filmmakers to make shorts and giving them a platform to get their work out into the world.

And stay tuned for news on the Eighth Annual Media That Matters Film Festival, another vehicle for quality short documentaries!

A California judge ordered earlier this week that the whistleblower website, Wikileaks, be taken offline. The site allows people to anonymously post classified documents in hopes of discouraging unethical and illegal behavior of corporations and governments.

A Cayman Island Bank, Julius Baer, took the matter to court after classified documents were posted on the site that contain, “what are alleged to be highly damaging documents about the bank’s offshore activities,” according to Wikileaks. The court papers stated that the stolen documents were posted by an angry ex-employee trying to harass the company, which violated confidentiality agreements and bank laws, The New York Times said today.

But the court case only seems to have given Wikileaks more publicity. I didn’t even know that the website existed until countless news sources and blogs began writing about it.

The folks at Wikileaks were prepared for something like this to happen; though Wikileaks.org is shut down, the website can still be accessed as it was put online at other locations. A simple Google search and you can easily navigate the site and all of its classified documents.

Jonathan Werve of Wikileaks Advisory Board said on the site:

Even so, the issue of the Internet and the First Amendment are at risk. While the California Judge didn’t succeed in shutting down the website, he had complete intentions of doing so.

All this leaves me with a few questions:

Why was the website taken to court instead of the alleged disgruntled ex-employee? He was violating the laws and agreements, not the website.

Also, if these particular documents were the center of the court case, why didn’t the judge order that only the documents in question be removed from the site, instead of the whole site itself? The situation sets a dangerous precedent for censorship on the Internet.

And finally, if the documents are true and show that Julius Baer was engaging in illegal activities in the first place, who is taking them to court?

—Posted by Brittany Mayne

My colleague Kibra sent me a New York Times article this morning that really caught my eye. The article cites a study published by the Pew Internet & American Life Project that found, among teenagers ages 12 to 17, more girls blog or create their own websites than boys.

I have to say that I’m not very surprised at the findings of the study simply because I was one of those girls. As a teenager during the initial Internet boom, I spent most of my afternoons tying up my parents’ phone line using dial-up Internet to create my own websites. Initially just a means of passing time, my interest in creating my own sites led me to begin freelance web designing for others and to study computer science at the university level.

However, as the article notes, the path I chose is out of the ordinary:

This again does not surprise me. I remember noticing how, as I made my way into the advanced computer science courses in college, the number of female students drastically declined. In my senior year, I was either the only female student in my classes or one of two. Additionally, my professors were predominantly male; in my four years of study I only had two female computer science instructors.

The article describes some possible reasons behind this disparity:

As a woman who successfully completed a computer science curriculum, I do not agree with these conclusions. The lack of women at the university level is more a result of little effort to engage women in technology at earlier levels of education. Case in point, I attended a private high school for girls where a course that taught touch-typing skills was mandatory but an Advanced Placement Computer Science course was not even offered. Though implicit, traditional roles of gender come into play here—but, as I have a lot to say about the subject, that’s clearly a post for another day.

Despite the lack of numbers, the women who are in technology are becoming more vocal. Women Who Tech is a great example of women in the industry mobilizing to showcase their contributions. Also significant is the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology that honors both men and women who make significant changes in the world for women and technology.

Last Sunday, I spent the evening watching the Oscars with my sister. While our primary objective was to gawk at the best and worst dressed celebrities, we stuck around for the rest of the ceremony. According to Bloomberg, we were among the minority of television watchers.

Even more interesting is Silicon Alley Insider’s report on how it seems that, if you missed the initial broadcast, you’ll just have to wait until next year’s Oscar video package. Countless clips have been removed from YouTube and other such video sharing sites. However, the official Oscar website—whose streaming clips from the ceremony are still not functional—has large advertisements that function perfectly.

On the topic of ads, I and other gadget geeks at Engadget, noticed quite a bit of tech product placement during the actual ceremony. At one point, Jon Stewart watched a film on his iPhone, the popular Apple product, and the logo and product name are clearly visible (in high definition for some!) on the screen. Not a complete surprise given the relationship between the network, ABC, and Apple; ABC is owned by Disney, Steve Jobs—head of Apple—has served on Disney’s board, and Disney has often been an early adopter for Apple’s distribution model—particularly providing the popular Pirates of the Caribbean to bolster their store’s initial catalog of films.

Also making an appearance at the Oscars was the Nintendo Wii gaming system. This was pretty interesting as the rumor mills have been going on about a connection between Apple and Nintendo for as long as I can remember. However, this may be a sign that a partnership could be in the works. Last year, the Unofficial Apple Weblog reported on a rumor that Nintendo would license some games for the iPhone. I could also imagine iTunes Music Store podcasts and movie downloads/rentals being available on my Wii at home, but perhaps that is all rumors and wishful thinking.

Sessions like Time’s Up! and friends’ Art, Advocacy, Media, and Direct Action: Complimentary Strategies for Making Change on the Streets of NYC, Paper Tiger’s On the Fly - Conducting Interviews on the Street, AWAAM’s Handala Takes Aim: Textile Design for Social Justice are sure to inspire you to reclaim the streets as public space.

And sessions like these Arts Engine’s With My Voice: Youth Video Making, MNN and friends’ Beyond the Box: The Future of Video Distribution, and May First/People Link’s Organizing the Organic Internet are sure to add insight into the grander scheme of making and distributing media today.

How do we know the difference between programmatic decisions and censorship? It’s sometimes difficult to tell - beyond feeling suspicious - when something is not right for a particular distributor or broadcaster and when it’s been deliberately censored. That is, unless they tell you directly.

Such is the case for Alex Gibney and his film Taxi to the Dark Side. This article by Amy Goodman talks about the Discovery Channel’s discomfort with Gibney’s film. Gibney told Goodman, “Well, it turns out that the Discovery Channel isn’t so interested in discovery. I was told a little bit before my Academy Award nomination that they had no intention of airing the film, that new management had come in and they were about to go through a public offering, so it was probably too controversial for that. They didn’t want to cause any waves. It turns out Discovery turns out to be the see-no-evil/hear-no-evil channel.”

That said, some folks in the media have a different take. HBO feels it’s important and will broadcast Taxi in September 2008. Hats off to Sheila Nevins!