right) keynoting a talk on public service media in which she discussed the importance of enabling storytelling in individual communities. Live Webcasts of the entire conference are available at the BB09 site. "You can’t understand a community only through its location, nor can you understand it only through ethnicity or cultural attributes," said Ball-Rokeach, also the director of USC Annenberg's Metamorphosis Project. "Instead, it’s the interaction between cultures in specific locations – the geo-ethnic relations."
Dean Ernest J. Wilson III introduced Ball-Rokeach, and said she embodies many of the themes of Beyond Broadcast, including the relationship between hyper-local and global media, breaking down international boundaries, and how to turn scholarship into action.
"One of many things that’s exciting about her work is she refuses to only look at one media at a time," Dean Wilson said. "Some only look at cell phones or computers or broadcast. Sandra says that’s not the way to do it – people don’t walk around and only use one type of media. They live in an ecosystem of media."
Ball-Rokeach said the Metamorphosis Project is driven by residents, community organizations and institutions that matter to residents and local businesses. It conducts focus groups, interviews and on-site observations, and first uncovers the storytelling network in the communities.
"If you have a safe park where people can congregate, meet and greet, they will start talking to each other and maybe share their concerns for the neighborhood," she said. "If you have unsafe streets where people can’t congregate, you’re going to inhibit neighborhood storytelling and in the process inhibit civic engagement."
Check back for more updates through the conference's end.
Beyond Broadcast 2009 (Live Webcasts Thursday and Friday)
Metamorphosis Project
