means of communication is essential in a democratic society, regularly exposed
the hidden agenda of the mainstream media and questioned the powerful grip of
corporate influence on media content to become the first nationally disseminated
public access television program.”
Paper Tiger Television has been creating fun, funky, hard-hitting, investigative, compelling and truly alternative media since 1981. The programs produced at PTTV have inspired media-savvy community productions and activism around the world. The archive includes shows that provide critical analysis of media, educate about the communications industry and highlight issues that are absent from mainstream information sources. Through local and national broadcasts, digital distribution of short documentary programs, workshops, exhibitions, community screenings and grassroots advocacy, PTTV works to expose and challenge the corporate control of media. The bias and misrepresentation of issues in mainstream media necessitates critical vigilance and the inclusion of diverse perspectives in the process of making media. PTTV strives to increase awareness of how media can be used to affect social change. A public that can strategically and creatively use the media is necessary for a more equitable and healthy democracy.
Paper Tiger Reads: U.S Department of Defense Contracts, 2010
As coordinator of the collective, I initiated and produced over 40 community-based productions, created for digital distribution, local broadcast in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and nationally on FreeSpeech TV. Some of the topics covered over the years include the debt crisis, critical analysis of race and gender representation in reality television, the right to the city movement, gentrification, military spending, and surveillance culture. As a collective we staged public interventions, organized exhibitions, curated video series for broadcast, museums and galleries, and design workshops.
Infiltrating the Underground: The Corporatization of Radical Culture, 2009
In 2010 the collective created an exhibition, workshop, conference, and four-days of screenings in collaboration with MoMA, NYU and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics at the New School. The Future of Media Activism: Media Intensive and Design Challenge. This event brought together academics and practitioners to discuss and design the future of radical media. Prototypes were presented at MoMA’s documentary fortnight series, along with a curated program of Paper Tiger productions.
Rerooting the Motor City: Notes on a City in Transformation–TRT: 01:33, Trailer, 2013
Credit Card Debt Opera Trailer–TRT: 28:00 Broadcast in Manhattan and Brooklyn, NY, 2010
Surveilling Surveillance–TRT: 28:00 Broadcast in Manhattan and Brooklyn, NY, 2010
Little Mermaid Sing-a-long,TRT: 28:00 Broadcast in Manhattan and Brooklyn, Broadcast TV, NY, 2009
Sweatshop Project Runway Mobile Truck Hat Factory–TRT: 6:00 Public Intervention Documentation, NY, 2009
U.S. Department of Defense Contracts–TRT: 28:00 Broadcast in Manhattan and Brooklyn, Broadcast TV, NY, 2010
Paper Tiger Reads Paper Tiger Television–TRT: 42:00 Broadcast in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and nationally on FreeSpeechTV, 2008
Paper Tiger Instant Television–TRT: 00:42 Video Short, NY, 2007