"P.O.V.'s Borders" Partners With Open Media Network to Put the “Public” Back in Public Media

How would you define "American?" How would your family and friends? Is there something you want to say to people all over the world about your vision for America? If you have a video or cell-phone camera, you can share your point of view on P.O.V.’s innovative new Web site, P.O.V.’s Borders | American ID,” www.pbs.org/pov/borders, and on Open Media Network (OMN), www.omn.org.

P.O.V. and OMN have joined forces to put the “public” back in public media by allowing people to “upload” their videos easily on the Web to share their unique perspectives. P.O.V. (“point of view”), public television's award-winning showcase for independent nonfiction films, recently launched P.O.V.’s Borders | American ID, a new installment of PBS’s first Web-only documentary series. The interactive, multipart series looks at American identity from a global perspective. The “How We See Us” section (http://guide-h.omn.org/POVBorders/), accessed from the P.O.V. and OMN sites, will showcase video created by Americans about American identity starting Monday, July 24. Open Media Network is a nonprofit focused on making it easier to find high-quality audio and video programming from innovative educational, community and nonprofit organizations.

At home and abroad, the question of what makes an American has become one of the key issues for the 21st century. P.O.V.'s Borders | American ID explores the myths and realities of being American in the world today. Through a series of interactive features, Web visitors are invited to explore and share their own views on how American identity is shaped and perceived. Reporters in Beirut, Lebanon, Caracas, Venezuela and Cape Town, South Africa offer a look at how others see Americans. Each episode of the series will ask visitors to consider an aspect of their everyday lives in ways that challenge their preconceptions and expand our own “borders” of understanding.

Anyone over 14 years of age may submit a live-action or animated video up to three minutes in length. Submissions may be made online in Windows Media (.wmv), Quicktime (.mov) or MPEG-4 (.mp4) digital formats. First-time visitors will be required to install OMN's Free Internet TV Viewer.

P.O.V. will also accept submissions by mail, to: P.O.V.'s Borders, American Documentary, Inc., P.O. Box 5034, Bowling Green Station, New York, NY 10004. The best videos will be featured prominently on P.O.V.'s Borders and may be shown as part of a P.O.V. “Talking Back” segment on a future P.O.V. broadcast on PBS. More information can be found in the Guidelines section at http://guide-h.omn.org/POVBorders/.

"We are excited about the growing opportunities available online for people to share videos they've created, and we want to give them an opportunity on our site,” said Theresa Riley, Director, P.O.V. Interactive. “We want regular Americans to tell us what they think about our country and its role in the world – and share those opinions with the world.

"Our partnership with OMN will allow people to post their videos easily and quickly. Since OMN is committed to presenting the best-quality work, there are no restrictions on file size, making this a very user-friendly experience.”

“As technology advances, so do the mediums for dialogue,” said Mike Homer, founder of OMN. “Our goal in working with P.O.V. is to give Americans a way to use online video to share their views with others on a topic that is important to us as a nation. We’re committed to making meaningful video content available on the Internet and are pleased to be teaming up with P.O.V. in this endeavor.”

Now in its 19^th season on PBS, the P.O.V. documentary series showcases innovative storytelling by presenting today's best independent, nonfiction films. First launched in 2002, P.O.V.’s Borders furthers this goal by pioneering a new form of public dialogue—one in which site visitors interact with and respond to multimedia stories—offering a new way for Americans to explore how we live our lives today. P.O.V.’s Borders strives to tell stories that are only possible online.

Named Hot Site of the Week by USA Today, Pick of the Week by Yahoo!, and Cool Site of the Day by coolsiteoftheday.com, P.O.V.’s Borders is the winner of the prestigious Webby Award, a Parents’ Choice Silver Honor, a Batten Award and an Online News Association Award for Creative Use of the Medium. The series features commissioned work from multimedia artists along with originally produced content created by a team of in-house Web artists.

About Open Media Network

Open Media Network is a non-profit focused on making it easier to find high-quality video and audio programming created by non-commercial networks, educational institutions, non-profits and community-based organizations. OMN is the leading online audio and video showcase of subjects you care deeply about — subjects that inform, educate and engage the public. More information can be found at www.OMN.org.

About P.O.V. Interactive

P.O.V.'s award-winning Web department produces our Web-only showcase for interactive storytelling, P.O.V.’s Borders. It also produces a Web site for every P.O.V. presentation, extending the life of P.O.V. films through community-based and educational applications, involving viewers in activities, and providing information and feedback on the issues. In addition, www.pbs.org/pov houses our unique Talking Back feature, filmmaker interviews, viewer resources and the P.O.V. archives, which include myriad special sites for previous P.O.V. broadcasts. Theresa Riley is the director of P.O.V. Interactive, and series producer for P.O.V.’s Borders.

About P.O.V.

Now in its 19th season on PBS, P.O.V. is the first and longest-running series on television to feature the work of America’s most innovative independent documentary storytellers. Bringing nearly 20 award-winning films to millions nationwide, P.O.V. has pioneered the art of presentation and outreach using independent nonfiction media to build new communities in conversation about today’s most pressing social issues.

Major funding for P.O.V. and P.O.V.’s Borders is provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Ford Foundation, PBS and public television viewers. Support for P.O.V.’s Community Engagement and Education activities and the Diverse Voices Project is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. P.O.V. is presented by a consortium of public television stations, including KCET Los Angeles, WGBH Boston, and Thirteen/WNET New York. More information about P.O.V is available online at www.pbs.org/pov.