Theme: Alternative Media
Friday, October 18th
Introduction by Steve Katz, Publisher, Mother Jones
Democracy is in crisis, and one central reason is the transformation of the media landscape resulting from the collapse of the economic model for news. From where will truth-seeking, fact-based, trustworthy journalism come as we rebuild our democracy? How do we overcome the hyper-capitalist algorithm devouring the free press? Monika Bauerlein is the groundbreaking CEO and former Co-Editor of Mother Jones, which since 1976 has stood among the world’s premier progressive investigative journalism news organizations.
October 18th | 12:10 pm to 12:45 pm | Veterans' Memorial Auditorium (VMA)
Introduced by
Steve Katz
Publisher | Mother Jones
Steve Katz, Ph.D., Publisher of Mother Jones, has been with the magazine since 2003, wearing a wide range of hats in the organization over that time. He currently devotes most of his time to development, membership and special fundraising campaigns. His previous jobs have included Vice President for Development at Earthjustice, activism in the South Bronx in the 1970s. and work in the nonprofit theater scene in the Bay Area.
Keynote
Monika Bauerlein
CEO | Mother Jones
Monika Bauerlein is CEO of Mother Jones, the American Society of Magazine Editors’ 2017 Magazine of the Year. Previously, she served as co-editor with Clara Jeffery, who is now editor-in-chief. Together, they spearheaded an era of editorial growth and innovation, marked by tenfold growth in audience and newsroom staff.
Fake news, junk news, viral headlines, scandals and newsroom layoffs. What’s happening in—and to—the news can make your head hurt. But there is a way to build a better, more just and democratic model for journalism than the corporate media of the past. We’ll hear from the courageous people doing it. Hosted by Mother Jones CEO Monika Bauerlein. With: Lila LaHood, Publisher, San Francisco Public Press; Nikhil Swaminathan, Executive Editor of Grist; Marcia Parker, publisher of CalMatters.
October 18th | 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm | Showcase Theater
Panelists
Monika Bauerlein
CEO | Mother Jones
Monika Bauerlein is CEO of Mother Jones, the American Society of Magazine Editors’ 2017 Magazine of the Year. Previously, she served as co-editor with Clara Jeffery, who is now editor-in-chief. Together, they spearheaded an era of editorial growth and innovation, marked by tenfold growth in audience and newsroom staff.
Nikhil Swaminathan
Executive Editor | Grist
Nikhil Swaminathan, an award-winning journalist and the Executive Editor of Grist, the nation’s leading environmental news site, oversees a distributed nonprofit newsroom of 15 journalists. Previously, he led the publication's coverage of Environmental Justice, and he's held editorial positions at Scientific American, Al Jazeera America, GOOD, and Archaeology. Prior to joining Grist, Nikhil was an inaugural Ida B. Wells Fellow at Type Investigations.
Lila LaHood
Publisher | San Francisco Public Press
Lila LaHood is Publisher of the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit news organization producing local public-interest journalism online, in a quarterly newspaper and on KSFP 102.5 FM in San Francisco. A graduate of Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism and of Stanford, she is a member of San Francisco’s Sunshine Ordinance Task Force and the board of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Northern California chapter.
Marcia Parker
Publisher | CalMatters
Marcia Parker is Publisher of CalMatters, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization covering California state government. Formerly Editorial Director for Patch's West Coast local news sites, CIR's California Watch site launch manager, and Assistant Dean at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, Marcia serves on the Institute for Nonprofit News board, the Stanford Knight Journalism Fellowships selection committee, and also teaches at Northwestern University's SF campus.
The renaissance of documentary films is having real impact and influence on social change. How can documentaries best achieve this purpose? How can filmmakers be best equipped to operate in today’s vastly expanded digital space, including navigating difficult issues of “fair” and “transformative” use? Hosted by: Jeremy Kagan, award-winning filmmaker and founder of Change Making Media Lab at the School of Cinematic Arts at USC. With: master filmmaker Louie Psihoyos, (Racing Extinction, The Cove); Jennifer Taylor, multiple award-winning documentarian (Paulina, Home Front, New Muslim Cool); Shaun Spalding, leading intellectual property attorney at New Media Rights; Stephen Most, award-winning writer, filmmaker, playwright and author of Stories Make the World, Reflections on Storytelling and the Art of the Documentary.
October 18th | 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm | Sausalito Room
Panelists
Jeremy Kagan
Director, Writer and Producer | USC’s School of Cinematic Arts
Jeremy Kagan, an award-winning, internationally recognized director, writer, and producer of feature films and television, is a tenured professor at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and runs its Change Making Media Lab. Jeremy has directed 12 features including his most recent, Shot. His past films include: Heroes, The Big Fix, The Chosen and The Journey of Natty Gann. Jeremy’s many awards include the Humanitas Award and an Emmy.
Louie Psihoyos
Executive Director | Oceanic Preservation Society
Louie Psihoyos, award-winning filmmaker and Executive Director of the Oceanic Preservation Society (OPS), is one of the world’s top photographers whose work has often appeared in National Geographic and on hundreds of magazine covers. An ardent diver, Psihoyos’ most passionate mission is to reveal the dramatic decline of the oceans and to work to save the planet. His films include the Academy Award-winning documentary, The Cove, Racing Extinction, and The Game Changers.
Shaun Spalding
Assistant Director | New Media Rights
Shaun Spalding, a former commercial filmmaker, is a highly experienced IP attorney specializing in digital entertainment transactions and licensing and the Assistant Director of New Media Rights, a non-profit representing creators and startups otherwise unable to afford legal services. He is also a professor at California Western School of Law and teaches highly popular online courses in legal basics for creatives.
Stephen Most
Writer/Producer
Stephen Most, a writer, filmmaker, and playwright, is the author of Stories Make the World, Reflections on Storytelling and the Art of the Documentary and River of Renewal, Myth and History in the Klamath Basin. The writer/producer of River of Renewal, Nature's Orchestra, and Wilder than Wild, he has writing credits on four Academy Award-nominated documentaries and five Emmy winners.
Jennifer Taylor
Associate Professor | UC Santa Cruz
Jennifer Taylor, a filmmaker, Associate Professor in the Department of Film and Digital Media at UC Santa Cruz and Director of that school’s Graduate Studies of the Social Documentation MFA program as well as a Sundance Documentary Institute Fellow, makes colorful, character-based films about real people with extraordinary stories. Her work has been shown at Sundance and a wide range of film festivals nationally and internationally.
4:30 pm: Youth Leadership. Making Media for the Movement: A Storytelling Laboratory
Facilitated by Tianna Arredondo and Robin Bean Crane
Come practice your storytelling skills in this creative media laboratory. We’ll discuss ethical journalism dilemmas, enact on-the-ground direct action scenarios, and engage each other in telling our unique stories on and off camera.
October 18th | 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm | Youth Unity Center
Panelists
Tianna Arredondo
Co-Founder | Frontline’s to Power
Tianna Arredondo (they/them), of African-American and Mexican ancestry, is co-founder of the Frontline’s to Power (F2P) initiative (affiliated with the Power Shift Network), which works to build a national coalition of environmental justice leaders dedicated to story-based strategy, anti-oppression tactics, and decolonization in daily interactions.
Robin Bean Crane
Oakland-based Artist and Organizer
Robin Bean Crane is an Oakland-based artist and organizer who uses storytelling as a tool at the intersection of climate, racial and economic justice to spotlight community-driven solutions to current crises. With a focus on participatory, non-extractive media and experimenting with stop motion and digital animation, Robin works with nonprofits and community groups to create content that meets their needs.
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