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The Right to be Seen and Heard

Published on August 21, 2001

Youth Media Distribution

by Lora Myers

"We don't want our messages changed, censored, diluted, or watered down... We want our time to shine; we want people to know what's on our minds."

... that's the proud manifesto of teen videographers and youth media program directors from around the country who met in Chicago this past September at Video Machete, a collective of activists, artists, and students working towards social change through video production and other media arts. Under the leadership of Mindy Faber, VM's Coordinator of Distribution, and funded by a grant from Open Society Institute, the focus group brainstormed ways to build a national distribution network for youth media.

Photo courtesy of ListenUp.org

"Not good" is the way Faber describes current prospects for teenage producers and directors (11-18 years) to exhibit and distribute their works to the world beyond their classrooms and communities. "Youth media is very marginalized even within the independent media field," she explains. "Youth media programs have been around since the late 60's and early 70s, just like independent media organizations. But while independent producers -- the adults -- have created a non-profit infrastructure of distribution and marketing to support the field, youth media never became part of that. So you have lots of distributors of independent and alternative works, but for the most part they don't represent youth media. It's up to us to take this issue on and to advocate that the voices of youth, the perspective of youth, have a right to be seen and heard. We have to take ownership and control over the process."

Despite the shortage of outlets, there are several ways that producers of youth media are already getting teen productions onto the radar screens of local and national programmers and audiences.

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