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IFC Media Project

NEW YORK, Nov. 17, 2008- IFC tv today unveiled plans for a national pro-social initiative designed to help Americans become better-informed consumers of news and media. 

The IFC Media Project aims to raise awareness about the influences shaping today's media coverage and to improve understanding of the media's role in American society by examining media from a critical, independent perspective. The multi-platform campaign will include original programming, a high profile panel discussion, a new website and a series of town hall meetings.

"This is the largest-scale pro-social initiative IFC has ever undertaken. We took great care to line up a tremendous group of partners whose credibility and expertise on the subject are unmatched, and we are looking forward to sparking a spirited public discussion of these important issues," said Jennifer Caserta, executive vice president & general manager of IFC tv. 

As part of the campaign, IFC tv will also launch the IFC Media Project website, (www.ifc.com/mediaproject), where users can get more information about how to be better- informed, critical consumers of media and strengthen their media literacy skills A key feature of the site will be a media literacy quiz, developed exclusively for IFC in conjunction with the Media Education Lab at Temple University.  Designed to increase awareness of how media is consumed, analyzed and interpreted, the quiz will measure perceptions and attitudes about media,  with a focus on news, advertising, film, and the internet .

The IFC Media Project will launch on November 18 in New York City with a panel discussion of leading national journalists, including Arianna Huffington, Pete Hamill,  William Kristol and Christopher Buckley, who will address the media's role in shaping the Presidential election and discuss how the public can consume media more responsibly. The panel discussion will be filmed and made available for viewing at ifc.com.

That evening, IFC tv will premiere a six-part IFC original documentary series, also named IFC Media Project. Hosted by Peabody and Emmy Award-winning news correspondent Gideon Yago (CBS News, MTV), the series will air on IFC tv at 8 PM ET on Tuesday nights, through December 23.  Created and produced by Honest Engine TV, Meghan O'Hara (Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko) and Nick McKinney (The Daily Show, Morgan Spurlock's "30 Days") the documentary series reveals the truth behind the news.

"We couldn't be launching this pro-social initiative and series at a more important time in our nation's history," said Evan Shapiro, president of IFC tv and Sundance Channel. "Media coverage of the election and the economy has run the gamut from credible and insightful to wholly  unreliable, making it more important than ever for all of us to be able to filter news coverage with a discerning eye. IFC tv stands for independent thought, and this initiative reinforces our mission in a constructive and important way."

In addition, in conjunction with the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program, the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) and the Media Education Lab at Temple University, IFC tv will launch a series of "I on the Media Town Hall Meetings." Taking place in December in Philadelphia and Boston, the first two events will bring together public officials, local television and newspaper professionals, independent filmmakers, academics and students who will discuss how media is created, edited and transmitted and reflect on how it shapes personal decision-making, public opinion and public policy.