Join us in welcoming Joe Owens, the new chief operating officer at Open Media Foundation.

Joe comes to OMF after spending 23 years immersed in Chicago's digital design agency environment.

Joe prides himself on bringing both an analytic and a creative perspective to challenges, and is excited to use that balanced approach at OMF to help expand its reach and impact, while maintaining the spirit of community and openness that is its foundation.

Click here to read more about Joe and the rest of the staff at OMF.

Happy with our successes working with our longtime client, Shift Research Lab (a program of the Piton Foundation), OMF's Web team used a comprehensive stakeholder engagement process to develop the Early Care and Education Map Tool.

This process included a smattering of user-centered design activities and took place over the course of four meetings. To ensure that we were meeting our objectives, the OMF Web team facilitated user tests prior to launch in which the stakeholders had the opportunity to preview the tool and evaluate its execution. There were many stakeholders represented with a variety of viewpoints, needs and goals as to how the tool should serve the community. The OMF Team skillfully negotiated the wide range of needs to make a product that works for everyone.

Click here to learn more about Web Design services at Open Media Foundation.

	ReThink Media: Audit the Pentagon

Businesses, charities and individual taxpayers all must pass a financial audit. Even federal government agencies are required to open their books for scrutiny. And yet while the Pentagon - the single largest government bureaucracy - has often been cited for waste, fraud and abuse, it has never been audited. 

ReThink Media is a unique, nonprofit organization focused on building the communications capacity of nonprofit think tanks, experts, and advocacy groups working toward a more constructive U.S. foreign and national security policy, the protection of human and civil rights, and strengthening our democracy. The organization asked OMF to create a short video, featuring animated origami dollar bills - making the case for a Pentagon audit.

Click here to learn about other videos created by OMF's Video Services Department.

Advanced Field Production gives students the opportunity to collaborate and produce a video from beginning to end. This hands-on, project-based workshop takes place over four Thursdays, starting on February 9. Groups of students will plan, shoot and edit a promotional video for Denver Open Media.

Click here to register for this and other classes.

The top-rated show for the month of January is Blissfest333 talks with Ivan Pavletic, produced by Michael Bliss. Congratulations, Michael! For getting the top-rated show, he will receive $25 in DOM Bucks.

Don't forget to vote for your favorite show!

Congratulations to DOM member Maurice Washington, whose show, Executive Talk, was picked up by the Christian Television Network. The show, which is "about the heart and soul of your business," will air on Thursdays at 5:30 pm on channel 51 on Comcast and channel 55 on Dish.

"The amount of learning is the uniqueness that happens here at Denver Open Media," says Maurice. "The amount of opportunity is a unique value. I can't think of many places where you can just come on in and make a show. And to have a platform to bring what's going on in your heart and mind and produce it, is a wonderful thing."

Sick of reading from cue cards or having to memorize your lines? Denver Open Media now has field and studio teleprompters available for DOM members.

The ProLine 17 teleprompter is mounted to Camera 1 in Studio A and is free for DOM members to use. The package also includes Flip-Q Pro, a full-featured prompting software to manage your scripts. This package requires a laptop reservation.

The Flex 11 Teleprompter Kit is a small and lightweight solution that will get you up and prompting in the studio or the field. The kit is free for members when used in the DOM facilities, $50 per day charge for field use. This kit also requires a laptop reservation.

Want to get experience hosting a live TV show? Try hosting the Countdown Show.

The Open Music Sessions Countdown Show happens every First Friday at Denver Open Media prior to the Open Music Sessions. The 30-minute show is a great opportunity to learn the Livestream kit by taking the Intro to Livestream Studio Workshop. But it is also a great chance to try out being a show host.

Email John Aden ( johna@openmediafoundation.org) if you are interested. Also include your suggestions for guests and performers.