The Future of Independent Media
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The technologies that enable us to make and consume motion media are becoming better, cheaper, and more widely available—and with blistering speed. As a consequence, patterns of media production and consumption are changing just as rapidly and will transform the way we make and experience motion media as thoroughly in the next decade as the world of print was reshaped in the last. Nowhere is this more deeply felt than in the field of independent media, which is already experiencing the rumblings of great change. But what if the people and organizations that thrived in the last era will not be the ones who thrive in the era just now emerging? How should media makers respond to the changes they see all around them, changes that represent huge possibilities and challenges for both independent and traditional media?
This report assesses the coming opportunities and challenges for the field of independent media, and, by extension, for any organization or individual that will be affected by the new media landscape—which is to say, all of us. The ideas stem from what GBN learned during the research phase of a year-long project on the future of independent media, a project that—with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Tides Foundation, and the San Francisco Foundation—brought together representatives from six leading independent media organizations to take a deep look at their shared future. This has sparked conversation, even healthy debate, about paths toward the next generation of independent media-making—a generation that faces great challenges, yet holds such promise.
This report assesses the coming opportunities and challenges for the field of independent media, and, by extension, for any organization or individual that will be affected by the new media landscape—which is to say, all of us. The ideas stem from what GBN learned during the research phase of a year-long project on the future of independent media, a project that—with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Tides Foundation, and the San Francisco Foundation—brought together representatives from six leading independent media organizations to take a deep look at their shared future. This has sparked conversation, even healthy debate, about paths toward the next generation of independent media-making—a generation that faces great challenges, yet holds such promise.
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