NewsRap.TV : Canada and Worldwide youth collaborate through a virtual studio to make a positive impact on local TV News
NewsRap is YOUR way to tell the WORLD what you FEEL on TV.
About You
About You
First Name
Ely
Last Name
Bonder
Twitter URL
Facebook URL
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Les Medias Emage-Media Inc.
Organization Website
Organization Country
Canada
Country where this project is creating social impact
Canada
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has your organization been operating?
More than 5 years
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Innovation
Entry Form title
NewsRap.TV : Canada and Worldwide youth collaborate through a virtual studio to make a positive impact on local TV News
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Idea (you're poised to launch)
How long have you been in operation?
Still in idea phase, but looking to launch soon
THE NEED: Describe the need for your solution and the size/dynamic of the community (ies) you will engage
Engagement with news by young people is an important value for both parents and educators. Younger people are getting theirs from Jon Stewart.
But youth still perceive "real TV' as a vehicle of empowerment, if only they had access to it and a voice in it.
Meanwhile, broadcasters are leery of losing existing and future audiences to the web, and need to find outreach strategies to stabilize their futures. Their commercial sponsors are determined to find viral marketing opportunities for their products.
www.NewsRap.TV brings all these elements together as a social enterprise, valuing the creativity and engagement of youth in news and issues. The NewsRap.TV site is to be a mentored, collaborative writing and video-production space for youth, with ties to the school curriculum .
Tens of thousands of diverse high school youth will have access to the local broadcast/marketing/film sector as they engage through our site as young producers and creators.
THE SOLUTION: Please explain what your solution offers and how it is innovative. How will you put your solution into the hands of users or beneficiaries? Be specific!
Through partnerships with the educational and broadcast sectors, NewsRap.TV will provide a virtual studio on the web , where youth will engage in defining what news is to them, through blogs and commentary, lyrics development, and performance of poetry slams and rap. Employing the concept of “digital storytelling”, young people aged 12-24 will employ a mix of digital images, flash animation, video and sound, to give visual voice to those personal perspectives, resulting in short, effective multimedia clips ranging from 30 seconds to 5 minutes, with resources provided by the site.
As an innovative social enterprise, NewsRap.TV is designed to address first-hand the issues, experiences, and perspectives of young people in diverse and disadvantaged communities through the collaborative and creative use of new media. Mentors (both peer and professional) will be matched with young creators, in a secure environment. At the same time, local broadcasters are offered an opportunity to integrate young voices into their news broadcast, with quality control assured by our site. The resulting NewsRap clips will be hosted on the NewsRap.TV and broadcaster sites, distributed virally, screened at local events, and considered for airing as public service announcements (PSAs) or news-features on the news and current-affairs programs of local television broadcasters. This bilingual pilot enterprise is being initiated in the Montreal region, known for its diversity, with a view to extending it to regions around the world in subsequent phases.
THE MODEL: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference through use of information technology and media
Montreal’s CTV NEWS , the market leader in its niche, is losing viewers to the web, as all TV broadcasters are. It needs to breed fierce loyalty to its brand, as it did in the past. Its web portal allows for viewer commentary and submission of breaking news video, while providing refeeds of its on-air content. Can that alone breed loyalty in a vast webnews landscape ?
Meanwhile, Bboy Piecez attracts thousands to his Unity Charity HipHop festivals in downtown Toronto , where self-expression is celebrated and force given to youth self-esteem.
NewsRap.TV builds on those realities: Social studies in the classroom comes alive when Jamal is invited to identify what news issues are important to him and his family. Turning to NewsRap.TV , he finds an edgy but secure space to post his reflections, and comment on those of his peers, from around the corner and around the world. Welcoming widgets in this space encourage him to express those feelings through lyrics development, egged on by peers and mentors. He is in a creative space now. Beckoning to him is a third plane: a space to record and edit his performance of his lyrics, or someone else’s. Editing resources abound, with suggestions from peers and mentors as to how to visualize those thoughts.
Local broadcasters monitor the rising talent, and select Jamal to present his video NewsRap on the local newscast, with enhanced post-production. Sponsors are aware of this new segment of the population who are increasingly drawn to the process, aware that TV stations value their young creativity: Win-win for all.
THE MARKETPLACE: Who are your peers and competitors? What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
This initiative is innovative to the extent that there is no competition in this niche. There is value-added for a youth, who may benefit both as an artist/writer/producer, as well as entrepreneur. There is value-added to the classroom, bringing relevance and real-world opportunities to the student. There is value-added to the broadcaster and her sponsors, as they engage a loyal segment of new viewers to their on-air and web properties, by supporting and celebrating youth creativity and engagement.
The closest any broadcaster (e.g.Channel One)comes to this initiative is having youngsters emulate “real reporters”, and stick microphones in people’s faces, or be wowed by celebrities. The benefits accrue only to child stars, not to a massive community of youth.
Any deliberate mimicking of the NewsRap model, will surely benefit youth in general, as same-market broadcasters compete with each other , by trying to place the most popular NewsRaps on their own news-shows.
Social Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
FOUNDING STORY: We want to hear about your “Aha!” moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution’s potential to change the world.
NewsRap was borne of the enthusiasm that Ely Bonder perceived in youth when they were given opportunities to create TV, a language youngsters gravitated to.
Another language many of them love is HipHop, which has been proved to boost self-esteem and work habits. Poetry Slamming is also finding its way in the world.
Integrate all these elements into curriculum, and work becomes play. Integrate TV-production into the curriculum, and work becomes unrelenting organization out of chaos, through self-initiative and collaboration, and a resulting pride in the finished product and oneself.
As a fulltime television employee, Ely was well aware of the pressures riding on that industry; the need to develop brand loyalty. It was time to find a way to bring two natural allies together: TV and Youth. And that solution was NewsRap.
Specify both the depth and scale of your solution’s social impact to date
This initiative has struck a chord amongst educators and news directors, and young people themselves. When creating the demo, our co-producers reached out to youth-at-risk, who immediately launched into the creative process , feeling that NewsRap was the solution they had been aiming for forever. Collaboration was heart-felt and unpaid and enthusiastic.
However it will be the website, a virtual studio, incorporating a teacher’s guide, and all the tools necessary for easy access and rapid success for youth, that will make or break this initiative. Fully multi-lingual, the site will encourage youth and mentors throughout the world to collaborate together, such that youngsters no matter where they are, will be able to link up with their local TV broadcaster, and share their concerns on TV and on the web, in an inspiring manner, with friends and family and community.
Tens of thousands of youth will have access to this project, due to its affinity to the curriculum and the way teachers think. But students will be having too much fun to notice.
What is your projected impact within the next 1-5 years? Is your idea replicable? If so, how?
We hope to construct the NewsRap site and test it with focus groups over the next year. A tandem approach will be made to both the educational sector and broadcast sector to incorporate NewsRap in their planning, and continue producing demos. By the 2nd or third year , we would hope to see 50,000 youth across Canada engaged in NewsRap, with promotional leadership provided by Canada’s largest private network, CTV .
The site will be multi-lingual, and through networking provided by broadcasters and educators, we would hope to see a world-wide movement of young NewsRappers, by the fifth year.
By design, the project can be replicated worldwide, with a central site that encourages collaboration, sharing, and mentorship.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and mark growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
In six months, we hope to deliver the backbone of the NewsRap virtual studio site
Six-Month Tasks
Task 1
Engage a committee of educators, parents, and broadcasters in our initiative
Task 2
Produce 3 demos and apply for grants and partnerships
Task 3
Initiate engineering of the site backbone
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
By the end of Year One , the completed site will have attracted buzz and enquiries around the world.
12-Month Tasks
Task 1
Complete backbone and front-end design and functionality in English
Task 2
Complete focus group evaluation of demos and web-function
Task 3
Continue fund-raising and partnership development
How many people have been impacted by your project?
Fewer than 100
How many people could be impacted by your project in the next three years?
More than 10,000
Sustainability
Explain how your company, program, service or product is structured
Hybrid model
What barriers have hindered the success of your project to date? How do you plan to overcome these and other challenges as you grow your solution?
Non-profit Youth eMage Jeunesse Inc. (eMage.ca) was founded in 1999 and was funded by both the private and public sectors. For-profit Les Medias Emage-Media Inc. (emage-media.com) is a social enterprise. Both companies are devoted to the same mission, but seek funding in different ways.
The shifting sands of the broadcast industry (new ownerships, decreased sales, viewing habits) has led to difficulties in engaging decision-makers at the networks. All unpaid team-members of our eMage companies have day-jobs which constrain forward movement. The educational sector is fighting budget cuts and burn-out by teachers.
We hope to bridge the communication gaps with the broadcasters, and seek out a lead commercial sponsor to help develop our project.
How do you see the information-technology and media sectors shifting over the next decade? How will your solution adapt to and/or drive that changing environment?
Youth culture has adopted video whole-heartedly and this will continue, while fiber will enhance video-production capacity on the web. Emage will build on that. Education will continue to build on video-production and social awareness, and eMage will be in the forefront by creating its virtual studio, which will be more than just a technical space, rather a mentoring and resource space, to encourage creativity and entrepreneurship by youth, in partnership with broadcasters
Failure is not always an option. If your solution fails to gain traction in the next two years, what other applications of the idea could you explore?
The role of a mentoring video organization such as eMage will of necessity arise, as broadcasters look to new forms of video on the web. The studio system of old will rise again in this context, tracking rising talent from a young age, and allying with media organizations and marketers. Emage will attempt to lead this process, by projects such as NewsRap, and others like BzzzClip, where youth create video spots for SMEs in on-line directories.
Expand on your selections, explaining how you will sustain funding
Past grants from business and federal government keeps us still in the game, and we are determined to seek out further opportunities in the context of NewsRap, or any other initiative that could parallel our mission.
The business plan suggests that corporate and commercial sponsorship of young producers, and their NewsRap videos, will impact our organizations and those of the broadcasters, making all participants equal winners.
Tell us about your partnerships
Our last grants were from Quebecor, a Quebec media company, and the Canadian Government. A Montreal-based charity , CCS, processes any grants we solicit, that require a charity receipt.
Les Productions Oracle of Montreal are our outreach and production partners.
We sponsor summer video program activities for youth serving agencies, such as CCS, and Park Ex Youth Organization.
What type of team (staff, volunteers, etc.) will ensure that you achieve the growth milestones identified in the Social Impact section?
Capacity to achieve our mission, rests in the hope for a paid professional staff of 1-3 team-members.
Changemakers is a collaborative and supportive space. Please specify any community resources you would need to grow and sustain your initiative. Select all that apply
Investment, Human resources or talent, Marketing or media, Research or information, Collaboration or networking, Pro-bono help (legal, financial, etc.), Innovation or ideas, Mentorship.
Specify any resources you might offer to support other initiatives. Select all that apply
Human resources or talent, Marketing or media, Research or information, Collaboration or networking, Innovation or ideas, Mentorship.
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren’t specified within the list
As much as we desire support from others, our dayjob occupations allow us to openly collaborate with other projects in a mentoring relationship.
Summary
Define your company, program, service or product in 1-2 short sentences
NewsRap.TV : Stuff happens. You see it. You feel it. Rap it. Air it.
Identify what is innovative about your solution in 1-2 short sentences
NewsRap is YOUR way to tell the WORLD what you FEEL on TV.
 | 42 weeks agoEly Bonder updated this Competition Entry. |
| 42 weeks agoEly Bonder submitted this idea. |
