Media

New Media, New Issues

Stories from the Ford Foundation Report (FFR)

New York, N.Y. (January 7, 2003). The dot.com bubble may have burst, but information technology continues its advance in ways that make the world a more intimate place -- for better and worse. “In much of the world, computers are becoming as ubiquitous as video cams; meanwhile, broadcasters are exploring the considerable potential for digital transmission of audio and video programming via satellites and fiber optic cable,” write the editors of FFR, a magazine of the Ford Foundation, introducing a series of articles on the looming new age of communications. “Stir these trends together, and the implications are powerful for democracy and freedom.” The articles in the Winter 2003 issue of the magazine include: New Channels OneWorld TV and WorldLink TV demonstrate the potential for more interactive programming as they provide outlets for members to distribute video documentary footage from the front lines of human rights conflicts. Seeing Is Believing WITNESS provides cameras and training to 150 human rights organizations in 50 countries, helping them produce their own videos for distribution worldwide. Public Eyes, Private Eyes As Americans face unprecedented threats to privacy – camera surveillance, computer monitoring, identity theft, consumer profiling – the Electronic Privacy Information Center stands as a sentry on the privacy rights perimeter. The current issue of the magazine offers a new design and an enriched menu of reviews, essays and commentary, as well as more full length articles: All in the Family Intended for use in the classroom, the film “That’s a Family!” lets children talk about divorced parents, multiracial families, adoption and gay partners – and in some places ignites battles over diversity education. ‘Loose Nukes’ Vladimir Orlov, a Russian nuclear policy expert -- with a solid track record in pointing out security risks and getting governments to respond – discusses efforts to safeguard Russia’s nuclear arsenal. Pregnant and Punished Women in the United States increasingly are imprisoned for jeopardizing their pregnancies. National Advocates for Pregnant Women, a legal aid group, says that social services, not punitive measures, are needed to help those who may suffer from domestic violence, sexual abuse and drug addiction. Listening to Obatalá A new initiative at Boston University School of Medicine maps the shifting topography of spiritual practices that influence illness and health. It turns out that traditional healers have much to teach medical doctors. FFR, a magazine published quarterly by the Ford Foundation's Office of Communications, offers journalistic reports, stories and interviews on a wide range of issues engaged by the work of the foundation's program divisions: Peace and Social Justice; Asset Building and Community Development; and Knowledge, Creativity and Freedom.

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The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has worked with courageous people on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.