Media Impact

A Honduras First
PCI-Media Impact begins broadcasts of first environmental themed radio drama series

June 8, 2009 - The Honduran radio serial “Agua de Angel” (Angel Water) began broadcasting on Radio Nacional de Honduras (National Radio of Honduras) on Friday, May 22 at 4:00 p.m. The collaborative effort between PCI-Media Impact and The Red de Desarrollo Sostenible Honduras (Sustainable Development Network of Honduras) is the first entertainment education serial drama with an environmental focus to broadcast in Honduras.

The show’s entertaining and gripping storyline focuses on environmental conservation, especially issues related to water, affecting Valley of Angels, where the program orientates. At an altitude of 3,000 feet, and with a population of more than a million people, Valley of Angels is home to extensive rain forests, known locally as “cloud forests,” where hundreds of s pectacular waterfalls pour into raging rivers. Maintaining the pristine environment is a priority to local environmentalists and is critical to the livelihood of local farmers.

After each episode of “Agua de Angel (Angel Water)” airs, entertaining, engaging radio personalities, local experts and audience members deepen the discussion about the educational themes – usually environmental and water focused – contained in the serial drama as part of the radio magazine “Vamos a la Cuenca (Let’s Go to the River Basin!).” Local participants also plan to complement the broadcasts with local street theater, promotion, listener groups, competitions, and through other vehicles of audience engagement including text and call-in lines. << read more about the program by clicking here >>

"Toque Magico (Magic Touch)"
Ecuadorian Serial Drama on YouTube and Facebook

May 22, 2009 - The PCI-Media Impact produced radio drama, "Toque Magico (Magic Touch)", premieres as a weekly serial drama on both YouTube and Facebook starting on Wednesday, May 20, 2009. Follow the weekly updates by visiting PCI Media Impact's YouTube Channel or by joining our FB Causes page.

Magic Touch was first broadcast in Ecuador in partnership with PRODH, a community organization specializing in human rights in 2008. The show promotes youth awareness of gender equality and contribute to the formation of a culture based on the elimination of all forms of discrimination and the prevention of violence against women.

The story begins with the Spider and her helper, the Dictionary, telling the story of the “School of Magic and Wizardry.” The school is known to host the most distinguished sorcerers and witches in the universe, yet gender discrimination inhibits the witches from participating in certain activities such as, reading the great book of magic, taming beasts or hunting for ghosts. Micala, a young witch, is tired of being confined to flying her broom and cooking caldrons of food. With the help of her mother and her teacher, Sol, she fights for witches to have the same opportunities and rights as sorcerers.

On February 29, 2009, Ximena Gudiño, the show's local producer, was awarded the Journalism Mention of Honor in the category of Communication for Development by the National Union of Journalists of Ecuador (UNP). The award recognized the collaborated effort of PRODH, UNFPA and PCI-Media Impact for the production and broadcast of Magic Touch. << read more about the program by clicking here >>

May 15, 2009, New York City - PCI-Media Impact, as a member of Interaction, participated in the International Reporting and Media Summit in New York City on May 15, 2009. Executive Director, Michael Castlen, moderated a well attended afternoon session, on Entertainment Education. The interactive session brought Deborah Jones, Executive Producer, Common Ground Productions and Neil Ford, Chief, Media and Communications Branch, UNFPA into a discussion about the challenges and opportunities. << click here to view full press release >>

Our Voices - Media Impact leverages capacity in Latin America to aid community radio outlets in Bolivia

May 7, 2009, La Paz, Bolivia - PCI Media Impact, a non-profit organization specializing in the use of Entertainment Education methodology to promote social change, launched its new community media program, Our Voices. This three year program will help to rebuild the capacity of community radio in rural Bolivia and, in the process, reestablish vital bonds needed for civic participation and democratic institutions. The program strives to build the professionalism of Bolivian radio stations to produce and broadcast high-quality independent programming in native languages, strengthen networking among community radio stations and civil society organizations, increase access among indigenous Bolivian citizens to independent media, and build support for media freedom and civic participation. << click here to view full press release >>

March 26, 2009 - PCI Media Impact, a not-for-profit organization with over 25 years of experience inspiring global social change through storytelling

and broadcast media, has selected eight coalitions of grassroots organizations for the 2009 My Community program. Created by Media Impact in 2005, My Community consists of educational and entertainment radio broadcasts and local outreach initiatives across Latin America promoting awareness and socially responsible practices in the areas of reproductive health, human rights, and the environment.

During the past four years, My Community has impacted the lives of over 600 local community members through communication social change methodology training and the production of 36 radio dramas improving knowledge, attitude and behavior to an audience of over 17 million people. PCI Media Impact is proud to announce that the 2009 My Community program is releasing eight new radio broadcasts that will reach over 12 million listeners. << click here to see full press release >>

January 25, 2009 - The New York Times on Sunday examined a campaign aimed at providing women, messages about HIV awareness, safer sex and condom use through a series of soap opera episodes that can be viewed on a cell phone. Rachel Jones, assistant professor at Rutgers University's College of Nursing, developed the project after working as a nurse practitioner and interacting with young women who were aware of the risks of unprotected sex but still did not use condoms. (See the article by clicking here).

Quoted in the article, PCI-Media Impact's Executive Director, Michael Castlen, notes that "[p]ublic service announcements are very effective in getting people aware of an issue." However, "they are not intended to actually change behavior," he said.

The article was picked up and distributed in by additional outlets including KaiserNetworkDaily.com and AllAfrica.com.

Corporate Social Responsibility newswire spotlights
PCI-Media Impact

November 10, 2008 - PCI-Media Impact was spotlighted on the CSRwire website on November 6th, as part of the national Business for Social Responsibility Conference held in New York City. The conference brought together 1,300 leaders from 50 countries to the world’s largest and most influential corporate responsibility event. See the posting by visiting: http://www.csrwire.com

RESOURCE: Spanish Language Website Launched
New Resources Available for Spanish-speaking partners

October 15, 2008 - PCI-Media Impact announced today the launch of a new Spanish language website (es.mediaimpact.org). The new site facilitates the exchange of knowledge, ideas and experiences between our partners in Latin America. There are many resources available to professionals in English on how to use behavior change communications, but little is available in Spanish. Central to PCI-Media Impact's approach is the concept of cooperation and partnership. As strong strong believers in mutual support and shared learning, we developed this site as a resource tool for our local partners, and as a device to educate professionals in other Spanish-speaking countries about the effectiveness of our model.

The new website, featuring interactive applications such as forums, downloadable audios and resources, and a blog, provides users with valuable information and examples on how to use media as a tool for social change, and offers a space for organizations, media producers and broadcasters to share and exchange lessons learned. You can visit the site at http://es.mediaimpact.org/

To see the English translation of the website, visit the translation facilitated by Translate Google that can be seen here.

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