SXSW 2014: Participant Media Celebrates Storytelling for Social Change

by Erica Schlaikjer on March 9, 2014 in Design

Hollywood changemaker Participant Media is here at SXSW to prove that storytelling can make money, drive social impact and be entertaining—all at the same time.

The award-winning entertainment company is best known for producing films like Lincoln, An Inconvenient Truth and Food, Inc. But over the past decade, it has grown its reputation as a multimedia powerhouse at the intersection of storytelling, technology and social change. Its digital division, TakePart.com, provides news, commentary and calls-to-action for social change, and its new millennial-minded TV network, Pivot, broadcasts shows focused on social advocacy.

Beyond the entertainment world, Participant Media also supports academia. Last week, it announced a new tool, The Participant Index (TPI), developed in collaboration with the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center’s Media Impact Project (MIP). The team will assess the social impact of a range of media, including film, television, online videos and branded entertainment, with the first wave of research rolling out the first quarter of this year.

As it commences a yearlong celebration of its 10th anniversary, Participant Media is hosting a six-part panel series at the SXSW Social Good Hub in Austin, Texas on Monday, March 10. The series, “Engage, Inspire, Ignite: Conversations About Unleashing Social Good,” reinforces Participant’s leadership role as a purveyor of meaningful media.