Latino Public Broadcasting Receives Major Award
Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) announced today that the organization is the recipient of a 2017 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation award. The $450,000 grant will be used to launch a Current Issues Fund, which will provide project support for Latino filmmakers producing impactful media about social justice issues.
The grant is one of seven announced today by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, totaling $5.7 million that will support professional nonfiction media makers from diverse backgrounds. A total of $2.25 million will be re-granted directly to independent film projects over three years, with remaining funds providing support for fellowships, workshops, training programs, and professional development. Complete info on the announcement is here.
“We’re honored to be one of the media organizations selected this year by the MacArthur Foundation,” said Sandie Viquez Pedlow, Executive Director of Latino Public Broadcasting. “Now more than ever, the voices of Latino media makers are crucial to our national conversation; this grant will allow us to further our mission of amplifying these voices and assuring that Latino perspectives are heard.”
“We at LPB are so pleased to be part of this prestigious group of content creators,” said LPB Chairman of the Board Edward James Olmos. “Since LPB’s founding almost 20 years ago, we’ve strived to insure that Latino filmmakers have the opportunity to get their works produced and in front of a large and diverse audience. Now, with the media landscape becoming ever more fractured and divisive, LPB’s work has never been more urgent.”
With these new awards, MacArthur brings the total number of institutional partners to 15. Together they form a national network that will support more than one hundred filmmakers each year in a game-changing way. This is one expression of MacArthur’s enduring commitment to Journalism and Media at a time when the stories Americans record, report, and tell about ourselves and one another will help determine the course of our nation’s future.
About Latino Public Broadcasting
Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) is the leader in the development, production, acquisition and distribution of non-commercial educational and cultural media that is representative of Latino people, or addresses issues of particular interest to Latino Americans. These programs are produced for dissemination to public broadcasting stations and other public telecommunication entities. Latino Public Broadcasting provides a voice to the diverse Latino community throughout the United States and is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Latino Public Broadcasting produces the series VOCES, PBS’s signature Latino arts and culture documentary showcase and the only ongoing national television series devoted to exploring and celebrating the rich diversity of the Latino cultural experience. Between 2009 and 2016, LPB programs won over 85 awards, including the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award as well as two Emmys, two Imagen Awards and the Sundance Film Festival Award for Best Director, Documentary. In addition, LPB has been the recipient of the Norman Lear Legacy Award and the NCLR Alma Award for Special Achievement – Year in Documentaries. For further information, visit www.lpbp.org.
About the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
MacArthur supports creative people, effective institutions, and influential networks building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. MacArthur is placing a few big bets that truly significant progress is possible on some of the world’s most pressing social challenges, including over-incarceration, global climate change, nuclear risk, and significantly increasing financial capital for the social sector. In addition to the MacArthur Fellows Program, the Foundation continues its historic commitments to the role of journalism in a responsible and responsive democracy, as well as to the strength and vitality of our headquarters city, Chicago. More information is available at www.macfound.org.
