National Video Resources, directed by Brian Newman, has changed its name to Renew Media. From the website: “The name was chosen to emphasize our focus on innovation in the media arts. Renew Media helps push the media arts field in new directions, via direct support of independent filmmakers, ongoing advocacy work and new initiatives to assist connect independent media artists and their works to a wider audience.”

In an effort to support Renew Media Fellows as they think and work outside the proverbial box, Yours Truly has been enlisted to edit the Re:Sources blog! I’ll be culling blogs, news sites and the minds of industry friends and colleagues for tidbits of relevance (yes, I’ve already gotten several of my dear readers on the hook for contributions…), and reaching out to RNM Fellows in hopes of engaging in dialogue, either by writing opinion pieces, submitting observations or commenting on posts.

One lesson I learned with the loss of AIVF and Film/Video Arts is that members of any professional service organization need to speak up about what they need. While those of us who work to support media arts think we have our finger on the pulse, or are even ahead of the trends, we frequently aren’t in the trenches - it’s too tough to do everything at once. If you want the organizations you pay dues to, or if they are free but you are receiving some benefits from, speak up if you find yourself wanting to unsubscribe, or in the case of Re:Sources, submit an article about something you want to talk about. It doesn’t have to be long or in-depth, it just has to speak to something of concern to you. What is it that they say, for every person that actually speaks up, there are 10 more that are thinking the same thing? In the inimitable words of Jerry Maguire, “Help me help you!”