Media Justice Website by & for youth!

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

Date: April 8, 2009
Contact: Lila Kitaeff
Email: lila (at) reelgrrls.org
Phone: (206) 393-2085

YOUTH FILMMAKER LAUNCHES MEDIA JUSTICE WEBSITE

“We are the next generation of media makers. We are already a generation of media consumers. We need to step up and take control of our media if we want it to accurately reflect our world. The first step towards taking this stance is learning how our current media system operates.”
-Sami Muilenburg, GenerationOfConsolidation.org

SEATTLE, WA — Reel Grrls is proud to announce the launch of GenerationOfConsolidation.org, a website created by youth and for youth, aimed at disseminating information about, and beginning discussions around issues of media justice.

Reel Grrls filmmaker and first time web designer Sami Muilenburg, with support from graphic designer and mentor Jessica Speigel, created the website, which centers on the award-winning 2008 Reel Grrls film A Generation of Consolidation.

www.GenerationOfConsolidation.org launches worldwide this week, and features:
• Flash-embedded full-length film and radio versions
• Youth-created content about Media Representation, Media Consolidation, the FCC, Net Neutrality and Broadband Stimulus
• A relatable writing style, emphasizing how media affects youth each day, and what next steps young people can take to make a difference about these issues
• Links to Youth Media and Media Justice Organizations
• An interactive Discussion Board


ABOUT THE FILM: A Generation of Consolidation, created by teen filmmakers Sami Muilenburg and Brooke Noel, explores the impact of media consolidation on news content and its effects on youth, both as viewers and media makers. The film highlights the 2008 Seattle FCC hearing on Media Ownership, and features Jonathan Lawson and Susan Gleason of Reclaim the Media, Author Anne Elizabeth Moore, UW Professor Lance Bennett, and the perspectives of numerous young people. Generation has screened at multiple film festivals, including:
• ListenUp! VIP Awards: Winner, Best Documentary
• San Francisco International Film Festival: Youth For Change Award Nominee
• Seoul Youth International Film Festival: Screening by special request
• The Social Justice Film Festival

ABOUT REEL GRRLS: Seattle-based Reel Grrls is the first all girl, year round media program in the country, empowering teen girls from diverse communities to realize their power, talent and influence through media production. www.reelgrrls.org

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