Q1. Tell us about New Left Media… your inspiration and goals!
We were inspired by the conservative opposition to healthcare reform to explore the nature and sources of the grievances many expressed towards the healthcare bill. In general, we hope that our videos demonstrate the way media narratives are manifested in the general public.
Q2. What's your campaign all about? Who should care and why?
We've had an exciting and rewarding first year, and would like to continue producing films even as we lose access to the filmmaking equipment that our university currently provides us with. As we move into our second year, we hope to begin producing longer and more substantial pieces about issues often ignored by traditional media sources. Independent documentary journalism is neither cheap nor profitable. In order to continue producing content, we need the support of those who value our attempts to compensate for the inadequacies of the popular news media.
Q3. How are you reaching, engaging, and involving others? Your DIWO tactics, please!
As our videos have been shared widely throughout the internet, we've been pleased that they have inspired many heated discussions about not just the conservative opposition to the Obama Administration, but about the failure of the media in debunking the myths and misinformation upon which much of this opposition is premised. Furthermore, we have utilized our network to spread information and ideas about the issues we care most about.
New Left Media's Most Viewed video on their YouTube channel with 1,716,893 views
Q4. You're rocking the fundraising on IndieGoGo. Congrats! What's working? Any surprises?
We're very lucky to have an active and engaged network on Facebook in particular, and have been able to utilize social networking in general to get word about our IndieGoGo fundraiser out.
Q5. Any tips / advice for other aspiring entrepreneurs like you guys?
Increasingly, the digital revolution is allowing content makers to do the job that traditional media sources have long since abandoned. We would encourage people to examine the shortcomings of our current media creators and attempt to utilize the new financial and artistic freedom afforded by digital tools and the internet to create challenging content. We think many audiences, particularly on the internet, are hungry for original media that breaks the paradigms established by profit-driven media conglomerates.
Q6. Are your having fun?
It's been a hectic year and our studies have admittedly suffered as a result of our work, but we've been humbled and energized by the response we've received, and are excited to move forward into our second year.
