IN THE LIFE: Stonewall 40th Anniversary Special
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Images
Pre-Stonewall Photo of Drag Queens being arrested
First Gay Liberation Day Parade in New York, 1970
Website
Topics
Health: HIV/AIDS
Human Development: Youth
Human Rights: Civil Rights, Gender, Religion, Sexuality, Social Exclusion
Information & Media: Communication, Culture, Freedom of Expression, Knowledge, Media
Politics: Activism, Civil Society, Democracy, Law
Identity Niches
Budget
Raised to date: $50,000.00
Estimate to complete: $100,000.00
Total Estimated Budget: $150,000.00
The budget numbers above are accurate as of 01/19/2009
Status
Production
Media Type
Video
Project End Use
Other: Broadcast on public television and distributed across the Internet
Key Personnel
Ron Dodd
Series Producer
Ron Dodd has more than 15 years media, advocacy and education experience spanning TV and radio, advertising and non-profits. Prior to In The Life Media he was Senior Broadcast Producer of HITN's Destination Casa Blanca, a "road to the White House" series hosted by Ray Saurez in Washington, DC. Also in Washington Ron served as an International Producer at C-SPAN where he covered international events and produced and edited a documentary series on American soldiers in Iraq.
Ron was an Executive Producer at Air America Radio launching new programming, reformatting existing programs and providing on-air analysis of news and events. At CNN he produced and wrote for American Morning.
He is a former Peace Corps Volunteer serving as an education volunteer in Poland from 1991-1993. He received a B.A. in International Relations and a M.A. in Radio/TV/Film, both from the University of North Texas. He has a Certificate from the Institute on Comparative Political and Economic Systems from Georgetown University and has completed coursework for a Ph.D. from the Tisch School at New York University.
Jacqueline Gares
Coordinating Producer
Jacqueline Gares is a New York-based filmmaker, who joined IN THE LIFE in September 2007 as Coordinating Producer. As a producer, she's worked on television specials and documentaries for the History Channel, Food Network, USA Networks, and The GLAAD Media Awards.
She served as post-production supervisor for the Daytime Emmys and the Tony Awards in 2006 and 2007. Her independently produced documentary about genetic testing and Alzheimer's Disease, UNRAVELED won a 2008 Freddie Award; her short film REMNANT won a TELLY Award in 1999.
Between 1997 and 2001, she worked for PBS's premiere non-fiction film showcase, P.O.V./The American Documentary, in a variety of roles including Associate Producer. Her work as a video artist in the performance Fidget has been shown at The Whitney at Philip Morris. Gares has a BA in English Literature from Rutgers University and an MA in Media Studies from The New School University.
Amber Hall
Associate Producer
Amber graduated from the Theatre Arts Department at SUNY New Paltz in 2004 with a Fine and Performing Arts degree. Upon moving to NYC she stage-managed several off-off Broadway shows at the HERE Arts Center and Wings Theatre. After deciding to combine her passion for television production and her commitment to LGBT rights, she joined IN THE LIFE in the fall of 2004 as a Production Intern. In May of 2005 Amber was appointed Production Coordinator of IN THE LIFE MEDIA and is now an Associate Producer.
As Associate Producer she is responsible for the operational aspects of production such as hiring freelance staff, overseeing the video archive, managing our studio, supervising interns, coordinating tape stock and equipment purchases, managing the production schedule and story budgets. On the creative side Amber is responsible for researching story ideas, assisting producers, and producing our "Real to Reel" segments.
Outreach/Engagement Plan(s)
Television Distribution
Through our presenting station, WNET/Thirteen, and our distributor, American Public Television, IN THE LIFE is broadcast on hundreds of analog and digital public television channels, reaching more than 75 million households. With an average market rating of .02, IN THE LIFE reaches more than 750,000 viewers each month, with our June episode being the highest rated. We anticipate more than 1 million viewers on public television alone will watch this special episode.
Internet Distribution
Beyond public television, IN THE LIFE widely distributes all of our content on the Internet. Through our own website, www.inthelifetv.org, we reach tens of thousands of online viewers each month. In The Life Media also has a significant new media presence on blogs and social networks, including Facebook and MySpace. Content from the episode will by made available on these social networks, thereby allowing fans to “virally push” the episode to their own networks. Similarly, the episode will be made available on YouTube, and shared with bloggers.
Organizational Partnerships
In The Life Media works with a diverse array of nonprofit organizations to produce our video content, including Human Rights Watch, Soulforce, Human Rights Campaign, Positive Health Project, and the National Center for Transgender Equality. These organizations also help us to promote our content to their constituencies through newsletter blurbs, banners on their websites, and e-mail alerts. In turn, we provide them with DVDs of relevant segments and episodes for use in their public education and community organizing work. A recent example would be our producing 250 copies of our October 2008 segment Funding the Marriage War for community organizing and education work by the No on Proposition 8 campaign in California. In The Life Media is currently in discussions with a number of local and national nonprofits to cross-promote this episode.
Community Screenings
In order to capitalize on the importance of this particular episode of IN THE LIFE, we intend to broaden the scope of our distribution beyond broadcast on public television and the web. Specifically, we will be organizing screenings of the special to be held at LGBT community centers in at least four cities, including New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, and Tucson. At each screening, the viewing will be followed by a town hall panel discussion featuring national and local community leaders and activists.
Marketing
To maximize attendance for each community screening, we will devote more resources toward advertising than we typically do. The screenings will be promoted in local LGBT publications and on social networking sites,such as Facebook. We will collaborate with the individual community centers on the marketing of the screenings, in order to engage their constituencies andreach the largest possible audience.
Funders
| Name | Amount | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| H. van Ameringen Foundation | $15,000.00 | 02/01/2009 | |
| Arcus Foundation | $35,000.00 | 11/14/2008 |
Location
50 Haverford St
Hamden, CT, 06517
Short Synopsis
In recognition of the 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall riots in June 1969, In The Life Media is producing a one-hour special that will look at the growth of the LGBT community and movement over the past forty years. The special will air on public television stations nationwide throughout June 2009.
Description/Treatment
In The Life Media seeks funding to support the production, distribution, marketing, and community screenings of this one-hour June 2009 public television special, marking the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The Stonewall riots are often cited as the birth of the modern LGBT rights movement, when LGBT people began to openly oppose anti-gay discrimination and advocate for equal rights on behalf of their communities. The first riot, which sparked others over the subsequent days, occurred early on the morning of June 28, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn, a Greenwich Village gay bar. The riot was a direct response to repeated police raids, during which police arrested and harassed, both physically and verbally, the bar’s patrons. The history of the LGBT rights movement is especially relevant now, two months after a general election in which three states passed Constitutional-amendments banning same-sex marriages and one passed a Constitutional-amendment banning unmarried couples from adopting children.
This one-hour video will provide a context for the current state of the LGBT rights movement, by chronicling the historic events that have led to the movement’s recent progress and setbacks. Through five individual segments, the special will explore the evolution of the movement from radical, grassroots activism, to the planned and largely professionalized movement weknow it as today. We also intend for the episode to explore the contributions to the movement made by activists, artists, politicians, and philanthropists over the last forty years. The focus on the anniversary of Stonewall serves to remind us of the tremendous gains that the LGBT movement has achieved, thanksto the work of this specific generation of pioneers, and to remind us of the struggles that have yet to be overcome in the quest for full equality.
Segments Currently in Development
“State of the Movement” – From the Stonewall riots to the passage of California's Proposition 8, this segment will follow the history of the LGBT rights movement over the course of the last forty years.
“The Gay 'Betsy Ross'” – Gilbert Baker is truly an unsung hero and historian of the LGBT movement. Though not widely known, when asked by Harvey Milk in 1978 to create a symbol for the community, Baker made the now famous rainbow flag. Baker remains an important activist for LGBT rights, most recently creating an "out 2 vote" collection of flags for the 2004 election.
“Youth Then and Now” – A look at the lives and experiences of young LGBT people growing up in the 21stcentury, including their unique contributions to grassroots queer activism.
“Queer Communication: The Written Word” – In past decades, gay newspapers and magazines served the role that blogs do today, providing commentary and analysis on events and stories impacting the LGBT community. This segment will explore how this shift impacts the way in which the LGBT community connects and interacts.
“A Conversation With…” – A candid discussion between two high-profile movement leaders about the history and current state of the LGBTrights movement.
Click here to ask for more information about this project: