“MISSION/GOALS: What is the Media Giraffe Project accomplishing? Innovation for democracy; Standing above the crowd. THE MISSION: The Media Giraffe Project (MGP) mission is to foster participatory democracy and community. We do so by discovering and celebrating above-the-crowd individuals making innovative, sustainable use of media. They use fresh, effective tools and approaches that empower and inform citizens. By focusing on media role models, our website, conference, planned book, film, curricula and workshops: Celebrate and support innovation in both traditional and emerging media. Help citizens find and support — as both consumers and creators — media that informs civic dialog and aids open, participatory government.” (Retrieved on September 16, 2008 from http://www.mediagiraffe.org/artman/publish/article_188.shtml).
“TEAM: Who is the Media Giraffe Project? The Media Giraffe Project is the collective idea of journalists, educators, producers, technologists, web-media practitioners and media reform activists (…).” (Retrieved on September 16, 2008 from http://www.mediagiraffe.org/artman/publish/article_186.shtml).
“RESULTS: What is The Media Giraffe Project achieving? WHAT ARE WE ACHIEVING?
The Media Giraffe Project seeks to serve as an aggregator and convenor of research and analysis on citizen/media participation. Within five years, and based upon an evolving action plan, the project will contribute to realizing three visions in which: U.S. citizens are monitoring and influencing government and civil society through an array of new information-technology services, which both leverage collective wisdom and support multiple voices. Mainstream media is prosperously making the transition from primarily print/central and broadcast to primarily web/distributed and interactive, having learned to (a) embrace broader participation by users, and (b) support continued watchdog reporting through advertising, subscriptions, sponsorships or other means. Principles of journalistic ethics and practice – including fact gathering and reporting of diverse cultures and views — are core curriculum in U.S. secondary schools and colleges. As a result, the public understands how to both consume and create media which foster participatory democracy and community. Together, these efforts are intended to uncover and illustrate market forces promoting media responsiveness to the information needs of a sustainable democracy, including support for literacy, civic participation and reflection of justice, equality, fairness, free-speech and open-government values. In addition, they hold the promise of producing ideas for structural rule changes and increasing the competitive and marketing advantages of independent media.” (Retrieved on September 16, 2008 from http://www.mediagiraffe.org/artman/publish/article_362.shtml).
