Citizen-Powered Media Annual ReportOrganization Mission Statement: Citizen-Powered Media will bring its communication, filmmaking and media relations expertise to bear on important viewpoints under-represented in the public debate. We’ll particularly focus on environmental, sustainability, and population issues, and where profit-making entities dominate the discussion. Description of Organization: Citizen-Powered Media (CPM) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded by Dave Gardner, who serves as its president. There is no paid staff. Dave Gardner volunteers his administrative time and to-date has not been compensated for any of his professional filmmaking work for the organization. Dave also donates office space and equipment for use by the organization. A number of volunteers around the world have been attracted to the Growthbusters™ project, providing assistance in production, outreach, research and interview transcription. Board members also volunteer their service. The motivation and immediate purpose for creation of the organization was to produce the documentary, Hooked on Growth, as well as a number of follow-up titles in the Growthbusters™ series. Over the long-term we hope to also lend our expertise more broadly to the community at large pursuant to our mission statement. History: CPM was incorporated in November, 2006; however Dave Gardner began work on the Hooked on Growth film two years earlier. 2007/2008 saw Dave’s efforts on the film become nearly full-time. Dave’s commitment to making a difference in this area has driven him to fund virtually all the costs incurred so far – production and edit equipment, travel costs, and tape stock. He’s performed nearly all the administration of Citizen-Powered Media without pay. Principal photography on the film is approaching completion, and Dave remains committed to finishing the project and implementing an aggressive media and distribution campaign Accomplishments: The GrowthBusters™ website went online in 2007, and an updated version went live in January of this year. Principal photography on Hooked on Growth is about 80% complete, with the lion’s share of that taking place during 2007 and 2008. In Q4 2008 we began our social networking outreach in earnest. We utilized our first grant in late 2008 to engage an online marketing consultant, who is advising and assisting with our website overhaul and social outreach program. The goal of this effort is to build the online support network essential to our distribution strategy. We now have a presence on Facebook, YouTube, DailyKos, Vimeo, Twitter, Change.org, IndieGoGo, Sierra Club’s Activist Network, and several other social networking portals. In the Fall of 2008 we produced a Sustainable Population Public Service Announcement for submission to ABC-News for their Earth2100 special and companion website. That PSA is also available on our YouTube channel, where it was viewed approximately 1,000 times in its first month. ABC refused to post the video on the Earth2100 website or include any of it in their broadcast, an indication the overpopulation taboo is alive and well. We also created playlists on this YouTube channel collecting the best of YouTube in such areas as growth addiction, economic growth, immigration, overpopulation, climate disruption, etc. We completed a 20:00 extended preview DVD in 2008 for fundraising and other promotional use, and a brief trailer for use on the homepage of our updated website. This short trailer is also posted on YouTube, Facebook and a few independent film online communities. In 2008 we applied for a Sundance Institute Documentary Fund grant and were declined. Dave Gardner has done radio interviews and has given presentations either specifically about this project or about sustainability in general at over two dozen regional events, classes and film festivals during the past two years. This outreach helps to meet the Growthbusters™ project goals of generating public dialogue, raising issue awareness, and shifting attitudes. It also helps to build the project support network, and gives Dave valuable practice for traveling and speaking with the film when it is released. Gardner has shot interviews and B-roll for Hooked on Growth in Washington, D.C.; San Francisco; Oregon; Southern California; Imperial Valley, CA; the U.S.-Mexico Border near Yuma, AZ; Phoenix, Biosphere 2 and Lake Havasu, AZ; Kansas City; and throughout Colorado. Even while heavily focused on producing Hooked on Growth and building our online network, Citizen-Powered Media has provided media assistance in 2007/2008 to some worthy organizations in our home community:
|
