Dear MediaChannel Members: A note from Danny Schechter, a MediaChannel founder/editor.

At the turn of the century, when we created MediaChannel.org, the media world was very different. The broadcast networks were dominant and the Internet was still emerging. While the reasons we created the site are still valid -- the pathetic quality of news, the over-commercialization of everything, the dumbing down of content and the growing consolidation of ownership -- there are exciting new opportunities for us to harness creative technologies, foster more interactivity and have greater impact.

A new generation is now dominant in the online world, and we must change with the times. We have already deepened a partnership with Media Tenor to offer more global content and original media monitoring. We have redesigned the site, and added videos and many other new features.

Now we want to reenergize our approach by moving in the direction of Web 2.0. Leading that effort is Zach Pickens, a new Youth and Interactive Editor who joins us by way of Ohio University and his own passions about the urgent need for media transformation.

Zach is charged up with lots of promising ideas and willing to work hard not only to serve our current audience, but also to make this network more attractive to younger activists worldwide. Please welcome him to our ranks and hear what he has in mind. (And don't be surprised when he asks for financial support because resources are needed to upgrade our technology, increase our membership base, and sustain our work.)

Take it away Zach. ________________________________________________________________________

Greetings! I am excited to let you be the first to know about some new developments at MediaChannel. Founders Rory and Danny have been generous enough to work closely with me to develop ideas on how we can take MediaChannel to the next level and connect to a growing body of young online news readers. With your support and input, we will push MediaChannel into a new era of media and lead the way once again with two new initiatives: MediaChannel 2.0 and Youth MediaChannel.

As more and more of my generation are getting their news online and taking part in a wave of "User Generated Content", more are saying they do not trust the mainstream media. Young adults are increasingly looking to the Internet for less framing, fewer commercials, and a bigger platform for their own voices. Popular websites like Wikipedia, Youtube, Digg, and Facebook allow the younger generations to express their views and gain valuable information at their command. This new era is exciting and has the potential to be empowering.

MediaChannel wants to combine these disparate elements into a new hub for media issues on a Web 2.0 platform. Already a trusted name in media reform, we want to lead the way in educating, engaging, and attracting new media users. We will build the new MediaChannel 2.0 and subproject Youth MediaChannel, concentrating on five main elements:

1. Creating a hub for user generated video-format media critiques and analyses
2. Hosting a new user-generated wiki
3. Offering online training in media literacy
4. Offering production assistance
5. Organizing Youth Media conferences with young journalists, editors, and readers

With your help, we can make this happen. We ask for your suggestions, feedback, and support. First we need to know if you like the idea of more interactive features on MediaChannel. Would you find them useful? We'd like to hear other thoughts on the Web 2.0 platform and MediaChannel. Second, we ask for your support in the development of these new features. We desperately need to upgrade our computer technologies, reach out to web developers, promote our new materials, and build relationships with organizations of younger journalists and activists. By donating $20, $50, or $100 to MediaChannel today, you will give us the start-up money we need to educate a generation on new media and their world.

Thank you all in advance! We will keep you posted on our developments.

-- Zach Pickens

A MEDIACHANNEL/MANDELA EXCLUSIVE OFFER: CELEBRATE NELSON MANDELA'S 90TH BIRTHDAY

In honor of the visionary South African leader's 90th birthday, and as part of our ongoing "MediaChannel 2.0" fundraising effort, we are offering as a premium -- to the first 50 readers to donate $50 or more -- copies of a special edition, collector's item VHS tape of the landmark Globalvision documentary Mandela: Free at Last.

This award-winning 80 minute documentary film, originally broadcast nationally on PBS on the day Mandela walked to freedom after twenty seven years, is the definitive primer on his long struggle against apartheid, with rare footage, interviews with principal players, and the first speech Mandela gave upon his release from prison.

Nelson Mandela has long had a special place in our hearts - particularly since MediaChannel founders Rory O'Connor and Danny Schechter helped raise global awareness of the realities of apartheid through their legendary, Emmy award-winning weekly television series South Africa Now. By donating $50 or more today, you can relive one of the greatest and most successful liberation struggles of our time - while also helping MediaChannel continue to bring you the best global media news and analyses anywhere on the Internet, and supporting our efforts to create new social interactivity tools that will connect and educate our community even further.