Alyce Myatt of the MacArthur Foundation Talks with NAMAC
In between finishing the new 1998 "Support for Media Centers" Funding Guidelines and leaving for New York to attend the Independent Feature Project Market, Alyce Myatt, the newly appointed Program Officer for Media at The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, found time to speak with NAMAC about her thoughts on the direction of independent media and some of her upcoming goals for supporting the media arts field.
Helen De Michiel: Can you tell us about your background and what brings you to the MacArthur Foundation?
Alyce Myatt: I began as a production intern 25 years ago in Boston at WBZ after receiving my degree in Mass Communications at Emerson College. I got a job in New York working for a children's TV program which was funded under the Emergency School Aid Act called Vegetable Soup, and part of its mandate was to hire people of color to fulfill the spirit of the Act. Many of the people of color that are still in the field got their start through television programs like Sesame Street and Vegetable Soup.
I then went to ABC News and worked on the startup staff of 20/20, and that's where I really got my experience in news and journalism, doing feature stories, investigative reports and celebrity profiles across the country. From there I went to cable, and worked for Nickelodeon in its initial national rollout, doing a show for them as Executive producer for three seasons. For the next five years I was a freelancer: producing, writing and developing both children's and adult programming.
In 1992 I went on staff with Children's Television Workshop to do new program development, and then I was Director of Children's Programming for PBS for a short time. Back in New York again, I became a consultant. Some of my projects included developing the cable channel for CTW, working with WNYC radio, doing strategic planning with Echostar, and consulting with ITVS to create and implement their Children's initiative.
My experience cuts across age groups and across programming models in both public and private sectors. Most recently I have focused on strategic planning and program development for specific concepts, and working with producers to help them realize their vision and market it.
What interested you in coming to the MacArthur Foundation after being a producer for 25 years?
For the last several years I've worked in project development and directly with producers. So I felt it was a natural transition to come to the Foundation. I see myself primarily as a facilitator. That's not to say that I don't have some creative bent, but I am most comfortable when I can create a space for others to create work.
What are some of your particular interests and concerns about independent media and the media arts as you begin your position at MacArthur?
One of my biggest concerns is having independents continue to have a voice in public television. There are limited opportunities for independent producers to have their work aired on public television. That's a major concern.
First and foremost, I believe in having forums for expression, and developing an audience to receive those forms of expression. I've always believed in mass communication, in creating a work and having it be seen. My background is in television. I love television. I love the power and intimacy of it. I love the idea of event programming and that we all can share it. That's very old-fashioned, in terms of the global village, but it's really terrific when we both can talk about something we both saw. I respect the power of television and understand that, as a medium, it is at an important point of transition. I believe in keeping it democratic. And one of my concerns is, because of converging commercial vertical corporate integration, we are seeing a lack of venues and a lack of diverse platforms.
Although we potentially have the Internet, because of its limited access at this point it can only be counted in perspective. As it becomes more pervasive, and technology allows for real time video and audio, it will become a more meaningful platform. But we still have to insure that it too will remain democratic. It's promise is not unlike the introduction of cable with the 500 channel universe-but the main question is what is the value when there are only eight companies that control it all?
The MacArthur Foundation is very committed to the democratization of media. We believe in supporting independent voices that are not being heard.
Can you give us a sense of how you and the Foundation views its interest in funding the field now and in the future?
That's a good question because it coincides with the release of our 1998 guidelines. As we move forward and look at the history of our support for media arts centers, and what we've learned because of that support, we've decided that in 1998 and 1999 we are going to try to focus our funding on program-related activities. We're asking media centers to propose projects, instead of ongoing operating expenses.
What interest does the foundation have in funding the field's infrastructure?
In the best of all possible worlds, it would be wonderful if we could continue funding the field at previous levels, but we can't. So we've been looking at the general areas of interest of the foundation, and are trying to make determinations on how we can continue to fund media centers and tie it to these areas of interest. This has been the genesis of the current guidelines that are now out.
How can the media arts field dovetail with the Foundation's long term interest in issues of community-building?
There are a number of ways. From evaluating what has been happening with media arts centers, we are pleased with centers that have been able to forge solid relationships with community-based organizations and are working with those organizations to help them use media to further their cause-whether that's in training, or creating video programs that can be used by those community-based organizations, or helping them understand the general media and how to work with them to get their stories out to the public at large. All these elements are important for building community capacity.
Do you have a vision for how you would like to see the MacArthur Foundation play a role in supporting independent media and our organizations?
I think that media centers are first and foremost community-based. And by their very nature, they have the opportunity to work with people in their immediate community - whether that's developing new videomakers, or working with community-based organizations to get their ideas across. The fact that they exist in a community at ground level is so very important. We've all heard the word "outreach" far too many times to really to take the term too seriously anymore, but that concept is extremely important to me. It means taking a realistic look at your community - rather than taking a narrow-focused look - and saying "Who is here and what is it that we can do to strengthen those ties?"
Going back to the specifics of our new guidelines, we are asking media centers to propose projects in three very specific areas: the first is projects that support child and youth development; the second is building community capacity; and the third is exploring welfare, workforce and related economic issues. In the project proposal there has to be a clear link with how the project will serve the community.
What are your thoughts about the direction you'd like to see independent media move into as we approach the new century?
There are places where independents are finding a home beyond public television. Now is that good or bad? The universe of those cable channels are far smaller than the potential universe of public television. But public television has moved into the direction of servicing the larger producers, and the smaller voices are having a difficult, if not impossible time finding a place there. I would like to see venues of various kinds-not just broadcast.
If we can get past conventional thinking on how to get our work to an audience, and look at a variety of ways given what we have currently at our disposal, yes, in part, it is broadcast. But it is also our media arts centers, and it is events that can be created, and it is dialogue that can happen around media. While I started out by saying I believe in mass communications, and shared ideas and experiences, the reality of it is that sometimes it can't always be that way. And I also believe in very intimate experiences that a community center can provide.
I am interested in looking at each situation and trying to figure out where an individual project or individual concept fits, as opposed to following a general model and thinking that one size fits all. That's not the world we live in anymore. It's saying who is this organization-- the Whitney or Facets or DCTV or Appalshop? It's about what makes sense for us, and where we are in the community that we call our own and how can we best serve that community. Everything is not appropriate for everybody all the time.
If people would like more information about the new MacArthur Foundation media funding guidelines how can they be obtained?
We have a great website - www. macfdn.org - and the guidelines can be downloaded from there.
HELEN DE MICHIEL is the National Director at NAMAC
© 1998 National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture. All Rights Reserved.
