Social Issue Documentaries and Civil Society in the Emerging Media Landscape
By Robert Lavelle and Martha Fowlkes
Roundtable Inc./ www.roundtablemedia.com
Funded by the Ford Foundation
A Report with Recommendations for Near-Term Action
Not long ago, documentaries on important social issues could be successfully addressed to the American public – and not just segments of the public. These documentaries were designed to launch reflection and deliberation among an ideological array of community members across the nation. But today, the documentary industry is in an era of rapid change. While many documentaries are enjoying unprecedented commercial success, others that seek to serve a broad and diverse public are in danger of disappearing altogether. The problem isn’t just that “old-fashioned,” thoughtful, carefully constructed documentaries are being replaced by advocacy films or entertainments. The problem is that the stakeholders in the social issue media community are not adapting to the changing media environment.
The values and skills of the social issue media industry are in danger of being left behind, of not successfully making the transition to the new era of on-demand viewing in multiple formats (while retaining the core value of engaging the public and prompting deliberation serving the common good). The commercial documentary marketplace is adept at adapting. The advocacy documentary marketplace is adept at exploiting all the new advantages of communications technology. Commercialism is fine, and advocacy has a valuable place in our political landscape. But when it comes to public media, to using public resources to enhance civil society and advance the common good, there is much work needed to ensure that social issue media adapts and finds new ways to be effective.
Media that helps the public consider important social issues and helps community members participate in civil society is critical to a healthy democracy. But the willingness of the social issue media community to transform itself and the industry is in doubt. The tools at hand and those that are emerging offer great promise, but all components of the industry need to realize what is at stake and move quickly to reconfigure the way business is conducted for social issue media.
Roundtable Inc./ www.roundtablemedia.com
Funded by the Ford Foundation
A Report with Recommendations for Near-Term Action
Not long ago, documentaries on important social issues could be successfully addressed to the American public – and not just segments of the public. These documentaries were designed to launch reflection and deliberation among an ideological array of community members across the nation. But today, the documentary industry is in an era of rapid change. While many documentaries are enjoying unprecedented commercial success, others that seek to serve a broad and diverse public are in danger of disappearing altogether. The problem isn’t just that “old-fashioned,” thoughtful, carefully constructed documentaries are being replaced by advocacy films or entertainments. The problem is that the stakeholders in the social issue media community are not adapting to the changing media environment.
The values and skills of the social issue media industry are in danger of being left behind, of not successfully making the transition to the new era of on-demand viewing in multiple formats (while retaining the core value of engaging the public and prompting deliberation serving the common good). The commercial documentary marketplace is adept at adapting. The advocacy documentary marketplace is adept at exploiting all the new advantages of communications technology. Commercialism is fine, and advocacy has a valuable place in our political landscape. But when it comes to public media, to using public resources to enhance civil society and advance the common good, there is much work needed to ensure that social issue media adapts and finds new ways to be effective.
Media that helps the public consider important social issues and helps community members participate in civil society is critical to a healthy democracy. But the willingness of the social issue media community to transform itself and the industry is in doubt. The tools at hand and those that are emerging offer great promise, but all components of the industry need to realize what is at stake and move quickly to reconfigure the way business is conducted for social issue media.
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