Miami University

Project to create Women's Media Equity Collaborative

07/09/2008

Miami University's Lisa McLaughlin, associate professor of communication and women's studies, is co-recipient of a $30,000 grant from the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) to address under-funding of U.S. women's media organizations.

McLaughlin, along with co-principal investigator Susan Feiner of the University of Southern Maine, will create the Women's Media Equity Collaborative (WMEC), a research and outreach partnership intended to identify women's media organizations and develop models to expand strategic alliances to enhance fundraising, production, distribution and marketing efforts.

"In funding this collaborative, the Social Science Research Council recognizes the urgency that few foundations fund women's media," McLaughlin said. "Simultaneously, intense competition for scarce financial resources discourages collaboration among women's media organizations."

The collaborative includes Ariel Dougherty, co-founder of Women Make Movies; National Radio Project (NRP); and Chica Luna Productions, which focuses on low-income women of color.

The competitive grant is offered by the SSRC-sponsored Necessary Knowledge for a Public Sphere program through funds from the Ford Foundation.