Burning up the internets

Just a couple of quick links & promotions before I carve out the time for a real blog post:

I had the pleasure and honor of doing an interview with Henry Jenkins about my new book, Television & American Culture. Today, Henry published the first part of the interview, with a very flattering introduction. I assume my readers also read Henry’s more prolific and interesting blog, but just in case you don’t, get on it! [Update: part 2 is up now…]

I also want to point people toward Planet Foward, an interesting web/TV hybrid that I’ve been tangentially involved in. The website aggregates user-generated videos about global warming and energy issues, and then PBS will air a special this Wednesday (4/15, 8pm in Vermont, but check your local listings…) that brings together ideas and people from the website and beyond.

The project is being spearheaded by Frank Sesno, a former CNN producer/anchor and current professor at George Washington University. Frank is a Middlebury alum, parent, and former trustee, and invited us to be involved in the project’s launch. I reached out to our students to create short videos for the site, with the potential that they might end up on national television. Two projects that my students developed are featured on the show: Leslie Stonebraker’s profile of Middlebury’s new biomass energy plant, and a collaborative animation about the potential disaster that global warming might have on Bangladesh, which turned out to be the site’s most popular video. One of the animators, Farhan Ahmed, even appears on the program on a panel with President Obama’s Energy Czar, Carol Browner! It’s a great tribute to what our students are doing here. So tune in!

Posted in Meta-blogging, Middlebury, Technology, Television, TV Shows, TV Textbook Tagged: planet forward, Self-Promotion