Downloads: Press Release
Funding from MacArthur Foundation will strengthen ties between the two organizations and allow POV to expand the scope of its digital storytelling
- POV and The New York Times collaborate on a new “embedded mediamaker” project to explore the future of digital documentaries
- The project will be funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
- The mediamaker will be embedded at The New York Times with the Race/Related newsletter team from August to December 2016 to explore issues of race via new media formats
- The mediamaker can be a documentary filmmaker, creator or creative technologist rooted in documentary storytelling
- Applications are due by Monday, July 25, 2016 at 5 pm ET: pov.org/jobs
New York, NY, June 29, 2016 — American Documentary, Inc., producer of the award-winning PBS documentary series POV (Point of View) and an innovator in digital storytelling and engagement for public media, and The New York Times today announced a new project supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
The “Embedded Mediamaker” project will allow a documentary filmmaker, creator or creative technologist rooted in documentary storytelling to work for 20 weeks at The New York Times alongside some of its most creative journalists. The mediamaker will work with The Times and POV to create new forms of documentary and interactive content with a team of Times writers, editors and visual storytellers involved in Race/Related, a newsletter and reporting project exploring race as it is lived today.
POV and The New York Times are currently seeking pitches from mediamakers for an extraordinary project about race and ethnicity — one that includes publishing early and often and takes advantage of the unique opportunities that working online provides. Applications are due by Monday, July 25, 2016 at 5 pm ET. More information and complete application instructions are available at pov.org/jobs
Previous digital collaborations between POV and The New York Times include the co-distribution of the documentaries The Men of Atalissa (pov.org/atalissa), Strangers at Sea (pov.org/strangersatsea) and The Nipple Artist (pov.org/nippleartist).
“This funding from MacArthur allows POV and The New York Times to lead the exploration of what it means to be a documentary filmmaker in an age of rapid technological change,” said Adnaan Wasey, POV Digital Executive Producer. “We’re looking now for a mediamaker — whether a traditional filmmaker, an online video creator or a developer who uses code — to merge storytelling and social platforms to create a conversation that’s entirely new.”
“We are thrilled to collaborate with POV on what will certainly be a transformative moment for digital journalism,” said Nancy Gauss, Executive Director of Video, The New York Times. “The filmmaker will work alongside The Times‘s most creative journalists to experiment with innovative storytelling tools to explore and report on race, one of the biggest issues in the country right now.”
“The MacArthur Foundation is actively encouraging collaborations at the intersection of documentary storytelling techniques and digital journalism,” said Kathy Im, Director of the Journalism and Media program at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. “POV is among the handful of documentary organizations providing artistic and technical leadership to bridge these two fields, developing innovative ways to inform and engage American audiences about contemporary social and civic issues.”
In 2013, American Documentary | POV was one of only 13 nonprofit organizations around the world to win a MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. The award recognizes exceptional grantees that have demonstrated creativity and impact.
About the MacArthur Foundation:
The MacArthur Foundation supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. In addition to selecting the MacArthur Fellows, the Foundation works to defend human rights, advance global conservation and security, make cities better places, and supports the production and distribution of news and documentary programs that help inform the American public about important issues. More information is at www.macfound.org.
About The New York Times Company:
The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT) is a global media organization dedicated to enhancing society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news and information. The company includes The New York Times, International New York Times, NYTimes.com, INYT.com and related properties. It is known globally for excellence in its journalism, and innovation in its print and digital storytelling and its business model. Follow news about the company at @NYTimesComm.
About POV Digital:
Since 1994, POV Digital has driven new storytelling initiatives and interactive production for POV. The department created PBS’s first program website and its first web-based documentary (POV’s Borders) and has won major awards, including a Webby Award (and six nominations) and an Online News Association Award. POV Digital continues to explore the future of independent nonfiction media through its digital productions and the POV Digital Labs, where media makers and technologists collaborate to reinvent storytelling forms. @povdocs on Twitter.
About POV:
Produced by American Documentary, Inc., POV is public television’s premier showcase for nonfiction films. Since 1988, POV has been the home for the world’s boldest contemporary filmmakers, celebrating intriguing personal stories that spark conversation and inspire action. Always an innovator, POV discovers fresh new voices and creates interactive experiences that shine a light on social issues and elevate the art of storytelling. With our documentary broadcasts, original online programming and dynamic community engagement campaigns, we are committed to supporting films that capture the imagination and present diverse perspectives.
POV films have won 34 Emmy® Awards, 19 George Foster Peabody Awards, 12 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, three Academy Awards®, the first-ever George Polk Documentary Film Award and the Prix Italia. The POV series has been honored with a Special News & Documentary Emmy Award for Excellence in Television Documentary Filmmaking, three IDA Awards for Best Curated Series and the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) Award for Corporate Commitment to Diversity. Learn more: www.pbs.org/pov.
Major funding for POV is provided by PBS, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Corporation for Public Broadcasting and National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding comes from Nancy Blachman and David desJardins, Bertha Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, The Fledgling Fund, Marguerite Casey Foundation, Ettinger Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee, and public television viewers. POV is presented by a consortium of public television stations including KQED San Francisco, WGBH Boston and THIRTEEN in association with WNET.ORG.
