Next Generation Media Internship Program (NxGen Media)

More than 2.5 million individuals are impacted by mass incarceration in this country.  Annually, 600,000 formerly incarcerated individuals reintegrate to society across the U.S.  To prevent recidivism, post incarceration, requires resources such housing, employment, etc., How to access these pathways to independence are unfamiliar to many previously incarcerated men and women.

Issue 1: Identifying, sharing, and providing access to resources for family members and friends impacted by the collateral consequences of mass incarceration.  The collateral consequences of mass incarceration faced by loved ones, of an incarcerated individual, left-behind are further exacerbated by impediments such as lack of "know-how" re navigating the system, raising the children of incarcerated parent(s), and an overall fear of challenging "the system" specific to the rights of the incarcerated loved and the responsibilities of the system.

JB Promo Video

Solution A to Issue 1: BENEFIT TO THE PUBLIC

The Justice Beat Talk Show and Just-Us YOUth Talk Show serve as the catalyst by which each episode categorically addresses alternatives to incarceration, conditions of confinement, and reentry and sub-issues of each category by providing the viewing/listening audience with resources, tools, and tips to support their incarcerated/formerly incarcerated loved one. 

Furthermore, a Q&A segment is embedded, 45-minutes into the 60-minute show in which SME guest(s) answer questions yield from social media with offers of advise, next-steps, and/or guidance in real-time.  Q&A Example: https://youtu.be/JkyiWACliXo?l

Solution B to Issue 1: BENEFIT TO INTERNS

With having most recently completed season 6, of the Justice Beat Talk Show, the executive/creative producer/internship director was no longer centered as the primary host of the show responsible for interviewing guests.  

At the start of JB's season 6, a strategic decision was made to center production team interns (associate producers) as guest interviewer of the week based on their assigned episode.  Elevating associate producers to the role of guest interviewer offers a level of experiential learning that reinforces what was learned at the project-based stage by putting into practice, in real-time, the outlined run-of-show planned by the associate producer/guest interviewer during the pre-production phase. To view one of our associate producers in action, click this link https://fb.watch/kp1gtHXYV1/.

Issue 2:  Addressing the lack of knowledge and exposure to the collateral consequences of mass incarceration by undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral-level students at PWI, MSI, and HBCUs.  This need is vital to passing the torch to the next generation of justice reform activists to answer the call-to-action. 

Solution to Issue 2: BENFIT TO INTERNS

The Justice Beat Talk and Just-Us YOUth Talk Show is "powered" by its Next Generation Media Internship Program which provides remote internships where interns "learn while leading".  Having just completed season 6 of the JB Talk Show and season 1 of Just-Us YOUth Talk Show with Cohort 9, we will continue impact the next generation by providing direct project-based opportunities to identify SMEs, research relevant topics, and develop timely episodic justice reform content framed in humanity and digitally powered by NxGenMedia interns.

NxGen Promo Video/Testimonials

NxGen Promo Video 2 Cohort 4

Solution Description: (Product/Services) Knowledge Translation and Information Dissemination Leading to Action

Solution Mission: Justice Reform Focused with a Human-centered Approach to Project-based Experiential-learning Supported and Enhanced by AI-generated Workflow Automation for the Repurposing of Content to Address the Various Ways in Which Justice Impacted Stakeholders Comprehend and Receive Information.

Target Audiences (indirect/direct): Individuals Impacted by the Collateral Consequences of Mass Incarceration and Students Seeking to Become Actively Involved in Changing the Trajectory of Injustices Resulting from the Collateral Consequences of Mass Incarceration.

What is the solution?  NxGen Media Internship Program was created to offer academic credit for undergraduate and graduate students seeking justice reform placement sites as well as to contribute to the development and distribution of relevant and timely justice reform content

What does the solution do? NxGen Media Internship Program specializes in remote digital multimedia internships where interns "learn while leading".  NxGen Media Internship is a justice reform program primarily designed to apply a human-centered approach to project-based experiential learning in the production of weekly justice reform podcast episodes. 

Our production team members are comprised of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral level students who spend 6 months (24 weeks) in their social justice practicum with us in roles ranging from associate producers, social media coordinators, bloggers, NPR-styled audio bloggers, and many other roles.  

Towards the end of their placement with us, practicum students are required to produce a special project that aids in the sustainability of the program's signature project Justice Beat Talk Show and its' recently launched spin-off the Just-Us YOUth Talk Show.  Social Justice Sustainability special projects are designed for subsequent SJP cohorts to leverage and enhance where the previous cohort ended.

The infrastructure, programmatic design, and content focus are strategic to the short-term goal of positively impacting the lives of all affected by the collateral consequences of mass incarceration as well as the long-term mission of growing a network of self-proclaimed Justice Reform Community Ambassadors born out of the Next Generation Media Internship Program. 

COMING IN THE SUMMER OF 2023...

To supplement and enhance the exposure of interns to the latest tools and techniques leading in the technical production space.  The application of AI (artificial intelligence) will be introduced starting the summer of 2023 with a specific focus on workflow automation associated with post-production activities for the purpose of repurposing of live content across all social media platforms.  

WHEN HUMANITY and ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MEET:

Although educational/professional development of team members is a first-priority, we are mindful to maintain a human-first/human-centered approach in all that we do.

Summer exploration of trends in the AI space will include research with the intent of developing "AI Use Cases" for our products and services as follows:

• AI Production Team - Creation of Reels OPUS Clips and YT Shorts
• NFT Time Capsule 
• TEDx Talks
• JUST-ICE Merch & Art
• Creation of White Papers: Research Neural Frames, Opus Clips, Vidyo.ai, and AI Cooperative, Descript.com, socialstudio.ai, midjourney.com, 11labs, AI Encrypted Watermark (Use Case)
• Scheduling Tool: Metrocal (Use Case)

The system of mass incarceration particularly targets Black people, who are 13 percent of the U.S. population but are 38 percent of the people in jails and prisons.

Complicating matters is the fact that the U.S. doesn’t have one “criminal justice system;” instead, we have thousands of federal, state, local, and tribal systems. Together, these systems hold almost 2 million people in 1,566 state prisons, 98 federal prisons, 3,116 local jails, 1,323 juvenile correctional facilities, 181 immigration detention facilities, and 80 Indian country jails, as well as in military prisons, civil commitment centers, state psychiatric hospitals, and prisons in the U.S. territories.

Probation and Parole requirements are often the pathway to recidivism due to technical violations imposed upon the formerly incarcerated for failing to meet requirements for employment, housing, and a host of other systemic reasons.

In 2021, at least 128,000 people were incarcerated for non-criminal violations of probation or parole, often called “technical violations.” These supervision violations accounted for 27% of all admissions to state and federal prisons. Probation, in particular, leads to unnecessary incarceration; until it is reformed to support and reward success rather than detect mistakes, it is not a reliable “alternative.”

How will this solution address the needs?

Why the Justice Beat Talk Show is Your Most Reliable Source for Knowledge Translation and Information Dissemination

For the past 3 years and 6 seasons, the JB team has demonstrated a level of dedication and commitment to delivering substantive content, SMEs, and resources in spite of operating on a zero-sum budget.  In year 3, we leveraged the foundation laid in years 1 and 2 to launch a spin-off from the signature show, The Justice Beat Talk Show, referred to as The Just-Us YOUth Talk Show this past January 2023!   Efforts to date have been driven each person's desire to have a measurable impact in the justice reform space on behalf of those affected by the collateral consequences of Mass Incarceration.

Why are we the right team?  

Our teams are comprised of individuals who annually self-selected the Next Generation Media Internship Program as their 6-month placement site which is clearly indicative of individuals who have a clear interest in justice reform but more importantly are keenly aware of what they don't know and are willing to "learn while leading" in this space.

The make-up of our production teams have consisted of individuals from diverse communities, background, and identities inclusive of African American, Caucasian, Latina, South Africa, LGBTQIA+.  With this broad ranges of representations, our ability to bring content that meets the needs of the diverse populations currently incarcerated, soon-to-be-released, or formerly incarcerated.

Needs and Engagements?

Weekly episodes affords us the opportunity to engage our audience of listeners by responding to questions posed during the Q&A segment of each week's episodes.  These very questions off lead to additional topics for us to research and consider as future show topics to address the input of the listening audience.  In addition, we have organically built a community on FB called the Justice Beat Forum from whom we often solicit input from for future episodes.  Furthermore, not only are we in tune with needs through engaging via Q&A segments and via the community forum on FB, we also survey previous guests for feedback on future topics such as developing part two episodes, addressing policy/legislative as well as legal angles requiring further exploration for the benefit of our listening audiences.

https://fb.watch/kp6X2_ZGyD/

Why apply? Marketing and Promotional Guidance on Program Expansion Domestically and Internationally to Continent of Africa.

Transcontinental Intern Testimonial: Zenobia Van Heerden (South Africa)

My desire to gain international experiences led me to consider this internship. My role on the show was as an Associate Producer for the ‘Legal Hour’ as an intern. I assisted production staff in developing relevant stories for the online talk show and produced the “Legal Hour” segments which aim to provide listeners with advocacy and litigation strategies, and ideas for tackling social justice reform issues. 

As a law student completing my LLB at the time, the work I did was particularly useful in equipping me with more information around the US justice system. The legal hour exposed me to lawyers and judges working within the system and inspired me in the work I hope to do in the future. It provided a wonderful foundation for my criminal justice, juvenile justice, and criminal law classes I took at university and gave me a more global perspective.  As a result of this internship I decided to further studies in America and I have actually recently been accepted to do an LLM at both UC Berkeley and UCLA later this year.

The show’s dedication to equipping families impacted by incarceration with guidance on how advocating on behalf of an incarcerated family member as well as giving the audience a better understanding of the rights of incarcerated individua is inspiring.  The insight it provides into the responsibilities of people that oversee the administration and operation of prisons, as well as the intersectionality of issues around incarceration are admirable.  In South Africa, access to justice, as well as information, are vital in ensuring people may realize and have their rights protected and upheld, so an initiative like Justice Beat is inspiring.

Internship opportunities extended to Africa will have a global impact as it encourages different perspectives and insights coming together to tackle issues relevant to both USA and Africa. It also encourages new connections and networking as well as information exchange re difficulties faced on both continents, and coming together to try adopt new approaches and solutions to issues.  Additionally, it allows unique perspectives to come together. It also encourages expanding knowledge and enriching both continents in promoting studying international practices. Both theoretical and practical understanding of each continent’s practices can be developed. This would challenge everyone to tackle issues and provide solutions in ways that could be utilized by both continents as the experience gained is invaluable.

Offering internships to African students will encourage engagement in discussions and exchanging of ideas around issues concerning both of our continents. South Africa is a cauldron of conflicting interests and experiences and requires people to consider how to navigate differences, find solutions and move forward in a collaborative space where conflict is appreciated. South Africa has been coined the ‘rainbow nation’ due to our multicultural diversity and the focus on unification despite our differences. 

Zenobia (Cohort 7 - 2021; South Africa)

Example of questions from the annual Post Social Justice Practicum Internship Survey Questionnaire...

Q1: When selecting this internship program, why did you select and what were your expectations. Have those expectations been met and in what way?
Q2: Understanding you may have had little experience and/or concrete awareness of social/justice reform issues, what were deficit areas for you in this space? How has the internship impacted your deficit areas?
Q3: What new skills have you developed since joining the internship program?
Q4: What are your thoughts on the structure of the program and in what ways did the program structure benefit and/or not benefit you?
Q5: How did the leadership/management style of the internship supervisor impact your role on the production team and/or individually?
Q6: Would you recommend this internship program to others? If yes, why? If no, why not?
Q7: Did you find there were plenty of opportunities afforded for team engagement/collaboration? Example?
Q8: To date, which episode has had the most impact on you and why?
Q9: What have you learned in this space that you did know prior to joining the internship program?
Q10: At the conclusion of your time, what are some take-aways you would like to share?
Q11: Do you envision yourself being able to discuss more confidently with family, friends, and/or associates the myriad intersectionalities in this space?
Q12: Additional thoughts/comments, etc.

KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION DISSEMINATION IMPACT ON PUBLIC BENEFIT...

• Review of analytics produced across social media platforms
• Blog Post
• Audio Blogs
• Websites
• YouTube Channel

Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion:

Covenant Collaborative Consulting & Training, LLC (dba The Justice Beat Talk Show) operates with the understanding that within the social justice space, the "common ground" of marginalized groups experiencing injustices is similar to discriminatory experiences related to disregarding, dismantling, and the degrading of a person's dignity and humanity.  The Justice Beat Talk Show is not and has never been an advocate of disregarding, dismantling or degrading any person's dignity, humanity, identity, or civil rights.

What product and services are provided? Knowledge Translation and Information Dissemination along with Knowledge-based Call-to-Actions

LONG-TERM FUNDING GOALS:

As stated in the next question below, with a solid foundation laid, collaborative partnerships in place, and quality content being developed, our focus is shifting to include dedicated effort in the development and fundraising space.

Recently, within the last 2 weeks, a dedicated intern from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, completed a 3 week micro internship in the Next Generation Media Internship Program.  The task assigned to this intern involved researching and writing a briefing paper on the feasibility of pitching our content to streaming platforms such as ROKU, FIRESTIK, etc.  With the briefing paper in-hand, we are now ready to push forward with investigating the necessary start-up activities for elevating our content to streaming platforms.  Securing a placement on ROKU, FIRESTIK, etc. opportunities will be made available to offer our content via monthly subscription-based memberships. 

In addition, specific to distribution of organically created content, the plan is to target the offering of past and present seasons of both the Justice Beat and Just-Us YOUth Talk Shows, to colleges and universities for the purpose of offering/securing annual licensing agreements granting access to our content for direct on-demand viewing rights in classrooms across the country.

Furthermore, we will also seek to secure contracts and grants to provide stipends for interns as well as funding to provide permanent professional employment opportunities for positions currently occupied by volunteers.

Finally, an additional stream of revenue we plan to cement is that of show sponsorship of each episodes, commercial revenue, as well as sponsorship of the signature show's Legal Hour and Policy Hour. 

SHORT-TERM FUNDING GOALS

As stated above in the previous questions, since the launch of the program and its projects, efforts and focus have been on creating quality content, growing a base of organic follower, strengthening collaborative partnerships, and enhancing the internship program.  Thus, financial sustainability is now becoming a priority of ours after spending time laying a solid programmatic foundation inclusive of substantive content.