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  Why Media Burn Matters: A video message from Tom and Sara

  Blog

  Dear Friend of Media Burn: We are writing to you today because we know you share our enthusiasm for preserving and distributing one of the most important collections of historical documentaries anywhere, and we need you to make a tax-deductible contribution now: http://mediaburn.org/donate/ In 2014, we will be celebrating ten years of mediaburn.org. Our online collection of freely-accessible documentary videos now exceeds 2500, which have been viewed more than 10 million times—a remarkable achievement! So as 2013 comes to a […]

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  “This is what makes documentary so great”

  Blog

  None of this would be possible without your support. Please donate today. This summer, many of you joined us at South Side Community Art Center, where we reunited documentary subject Michael Johnson with producer Tom Weinberg, 17 years after they first met at the United Center. It was an incredible opportunity to screen and discuss “The Other M.J.” (1999), produced with Skip Blumberg, a sensitive and insightful look at the difficult realities of getting by in America. Here’s what they […]

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  A stunning portrait of a lost community

  Blog

  This week, we’re continuing our series of videos that celebrate Media Burn’s upcoming ten year anniversary with another peek at the hard working people who make Media Burn possible. Video Cataloger/Digitizer Andrew Seeder reflects on his 18 month-long experience watching hundreds of hours of videos: “It was the everyday life of the community that came across during those hours, and that’s exactly the kind of thing we’re going to be most interested in 50 years, 60 years, 100 years from […]

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  Walt Bellamy (1939-2013)

  Blog

  Professional sports just ain’t what they used to be. Now, every player in the NBA is a millionaire, but back in the ‘60s and ‘70s, even the biggest stars didn’t make huge money. We were reminded about those realities last weekend with the death of Walt Bellamy, aged 74, a Hall of Fame NBA center and Olympic champion who played for 14 years as a pro in Chicago, Baltimore, and New York. In 1986, Bellamy played in the NBA Legends […]

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  Getting to Know Studs Through Media Burn Archive

  Blog, Recommended Videos

  For nearly ten years, you have been able to depend on Media Burn to give you free online access to Chicago’s history and people. By now, you know there’s no other way to watch larger-than-life figures like Studs Terkel, Vito Marzullo, Dan Rostenkowski, Bill Veeck, and Mike Royko. In fact, we now have more than 6000 videos produced outside of traditional television which we have saved for posterity, and each and every one of them will only become more valuable […]

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  Interview with architect Stanley Tigerman (1990)

  Blog

  Today, Chicago-based architect Stanley Tigerman is being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Institute of Architects Chicago for “his innovative design in over 175 built works for ‘all levels of society’” as well as the lasting influence of his critical and theoretical writings. Back in 1990, Tigerman was interviewed for an episode of The 90’s, where he espoused his own approach to architecture while levelling a few choice criticisms against the profession as a whole. The resulting […]

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  The Inner Workings of Congress, 1981

  Blog

  Ever wondered what really goes on behind closed doors in Congress? Cameras would never be permitted in closed door meetings today, but in 1981, we managed to shoot a rare peek at an orientation for newly elected House Democrats (including Harold Washington). In it, Majority Whip Dan Rostenkowski, with his typical tell-it-like-it-is attitude, explains to the freshmen how things are really done in D.C. It’s part of the excellent documentary Rostenkowski. This collection of raw footage was digitized through the […]

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  Gus Van Sant’s first film, from “Image Union,” 1982

  Blog

  Since its first broadcast in 1978, “Image Union” has been a place on Chicago public television to celebrate the potential of the next generation of actors, documentarians, animators, writers, and directors. If it is independently produced and it is interesting, it has a chance of being seen on the air. “Image Union” was the first stop in many celebrated artists’ careers. Take, for example, this short film called “The Discipline of DE,” based on a story by William S. Burroughs, […]