<nettime> The Future of Paper Tiger Television

[Geert Lovink <geert@xs4all.nl>]

From: deepdish@igc.org

Paper Tiger Television was founded as a non-profit media collective in 1981 with the purpose of advancing criticism of corporate media, and independent production. Since then, it has produced hundreds of programs and worked with organizations to amplify social justice causes. It has been widely recognized as a pioneer in media access and production throughout the world.

Now, the organization is at a crossroads. Public, community, and educational access stations remain a platform, however, the media landscape has expanded into the web, and social media. In this context, there must be a critical engagement with new media platforms and practices. It’s time to talk back to the web, and read digital media.

THE OFFICE

Since the 1980s Paper Tiger was housed within the AJ Muste Memorial Institute at 339 Lafayette Street. But two years ago AJMI sold the building, and moved to a new office in Chinatown at 168 Canal Street. Paper Tiger also moved, and now rents an office in the new AJMI space. This has given us access to the shared floor plan, which we have used for collective and board meetings, as well as the Reels for Radicals screening series, which highlights political documentary films, and opens critical discussions with community and activist groups. This year we screened Born in Flames, and had the director, Lizzie Borden, as a guest speaker. We also welcomed Heinz Nigg, the Swiss media maker and critic to present a program on Rebel Video.

In the last year we have upgraded our operations, and increased production capacity. We currently own a Sony FS5 4K handheld camera, shot gun microphone, zoom recorder, and two lav mics, as well as tripods. There’s also a new 4K iMac editing station with the Adobe Creative Suite including Adobe Premiere Pro CC, which enables editing in non-linear HD and 4K workflows.

PRODUCTION

In the last year Paper Tiger partnered with Deep Dish to launch a new web series, We Interrupt This Program, in response to the rise of the far right. The series has been screened on four continents to thousands of people. The outreach and engagement for the series is ongoing, and one episode is being translated into Spanish.

This summer, Paper Tiger launched The Bronx Project, which is a series of portraits of community groups in South Bronx including urban gardeners, queer dancers, Chicana artists, and after school boxing gyms. Collective members and two interns from The New School participated in the field production, using Paper Tiger equipment, and learning about the production process. This is now in post-production, and will be released next year to coincide with the anniversary of the Bronx fires.

Currently, in development, is a series on media criticism called Tiger Talk in which guest speakers talk back to the mainstream press, and read social media. Having regularly produced content will help to situate Paper Tiger in current debates around the future of media, journalism, and technology, as well as develop an audience. The future of media is online, and Paper Tiger must make critical interventions in this media landscape.

EDUCATION

Media is a powerful tool that can shape how we see and understand the world. The mission of Paper Tiger is rooted in media analysis, and creating an alternative. To ensure that these critical media skills are shared, it is vital for the organization to create educational programming.

In the course of the next year Paper Tiger will develop skills among staff, members, and community partners, to ensure access and equity are at the center of our work. This will include curriculum development, hosting workshops at the Chinatown office and going out into the field with community partners such as Loisaida.

THE ARCHIVE

The Paper Tiger and Deep Dish archives are being preserved at NYU Fales, and now owned by Paper Tiger, which continues to manage them via both organizational websites, and through Kanopy, the online educational distributor. This allows for the most possible access to the material, and for a wide spectrum of institutions including community organizations, universities, k-12 schools, museums, and galleries to screen the material for minimal licensing fees and for free.

To expand the reach of the archive will require making concerted outreach to institutions, including the development of lists and personal relationships. Both organizations have made important historical contributions to media studies and other fields. In some cases, the archives are the only record of events or notable personalities, and so it is a priority of Paper Tiger going forward to ensure that the material lives on, and is part of a canon for independent media.

Help us ensure that Paper Tiger Television continues to be a place for critically engaged and independent media!

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