Mary Mathews – Pound Productions,LLC

Posted on 04. Oct, 2007 by David Cohn in Broadcast

Your work in networked/citizen/collaborative journalism.
I am an interactive media producer and video blogger. I produce several web series and pieces, from the plight of the single girl in New York City to the work of my neighborhood Christmas tree salesman to American Idol commentary. I am passionate about online video and the importance of people telling their own stories in their own voices.

What are your goals?

My goals are to build an original interactive programming production company, videoblog for a Presidential campaign and essentially, make a good living at producing original online video.

Notable achievements?

The ability to document my life and community online. Launched production company with partner, Liza Persky, development deal with Discovery Channel, featured in the Democratic You Tube debate in July 2007.

Lesson you’ve learned (including mistakes you’ve made)

A) Don’t give it away. Even if you are struggling, just because it’s online video doesn’t mean it should be grossly undercompensated. I am making original content for an innovative medium and should be compensated for that.

b) You don’t always have to be the face of a project just because it’s your project. For something to work, it has to be received in the right way, and you may not be the right way.

Are you getting revenue for this? How?

Not really. We’ve been approached for small distribution deals here and there, always from countries outside the U.S., but nothing that we’ve signed on for yet. We’ve done lots of work for very little money just to get a project rolling with the promise of better funding down the line. Still haven’t seen that better funding.

What’s next? What do you need to get to the next level?

We will continue to create original programming online. To not just throw ideas around but execute them, post them online, try them out. For the next level, we need to meet people who will pay us to create, try things out, take risks, be bold in a new place, in a new way.

Anyone you’d particularly like to talk with.

Andy Carvin – NPR
Ariana Huffington – HuffingtonPost
Fred Graver – VH1