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  Remembering Barbara Walters (1929 – 2022)

  Blog

  Groundbreaking journalist, writer, and television personality, Barbara Walters, was the first woman to co-anchor a network evening program when she first hit the screen as the co-host of NBC’s The Today Show in 1961. She would later gain a reputation for uniquely and tactfully interviewing some of the highest profile political figures and icons while forging a new path for women in journalism.  In this clip from Skip Blumberg’s Interviews With Interviewers…About Interviewing, Barbara reflects on the craft of interviewing, her life, and her thoughts […]

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  An internet cat video from before the internet

  Blog

  Everyone knows the best thing about the internet is cat videos. Enjoy this New Year’s gift from Media Burn, a cat video that predates the internet! Meet Magnus, surely one of the world’s earliest video cats, found amongst the camera original footage from Julie Gustafson’s masterpiece The Politics of Intimacy.

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  FOUR ways to entertain yourself with Media Burn

  Blog

  Dear Media Burn friends, Have you missed us as much as we’ve missed you while our virtual event series has been on break for the past few weeks? We’re excited to announce a portion of our upcoming winter slate of events, starting on January 5th! Plus, other options for experiencing Media Burn stuff, whether you’re a movie buff, an art lover, or a book worm. If you have already donated to our end of year campaign, THANK YOU!!!If not, please […]

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  Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

  Blog

  On December 10th of 1948, fifty-six members of the United Nations unanimously voted to adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For the first time, a global standard against which to measure a nation’s treatment of its citizens would exist. For the first time, a country could be held accountable for the injustices enacted against its people. And for the first time, individuals were guaranteed certain rights simply because they were human.  This clip, from Chuck Olin’s Out of the Silence: […]

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  Our 20th anniversary Video Ball was a blast! 

  Blog

  We had such a fun time with you all at the Video Ball. Now, it’s time to plan all the fun stuff we can do together next year! With that in mind, on this Giving Tuesday, we hope that Media Burn is on your list. If you can, please donate here. Any amount helps! Because of your support, we will be able to expand the ways in which we use archival video to spark dialogue and create change. We are looking […]

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  Harold Washington 35th Anniversary

  Blog

  With the holidays just around the corner, the Media Burn family would like to share an early gift as a reminder of the legacy of Chicago’s 51st mayor, Harold Lee Washington (1922-1987). As Chicago’s first African-American mayor, Washington’s time in office would be no walk in the park– this, he knew. Despite the forces waged against him, Washington moved the needle of progress to support employment and economic development in the city. In this clip, a crowd of Chicagoans gathers […]

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  Toni Morrison on the founding of America, 1978

  Black, Blog, Julie Gustafson, Outside Agitators, Politics

  With voting day upon us, we’re besieged with campaign ads and news reports about the future of our local and national governments. With all this focus on the immediate future, it behooves us to also think about the past, about the path that led America to this point and the lessons that we can learn from our past mistakes. Few can teach us more than Toni Morrison about this country’s psyche and about its unspoken traumas that resonate across generations. […]

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  Golden Anniversary of Guerrilla Television!

  Blog, Politics, Roots of Video, TVTV

  Video art and video documentary began in the mid-1960s, but the first shots of the TV/Video revolution can be traced back to 1972. The summer of 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of TVTV and the Guerrilla Television movement. It was the start of a radical, exciting new form of documentary that critiqued and questioned mainstream television. Seen by a small number of viewers all over America, it invented new ways to make television and changed what television could look like. […]