MUST SEE TV: The Jeffersonian VII
Sister Cities of Southern Oregon
Student-made media returns to Southern Oregon PBS on Monday, as the latest episode of The Jeffersonian debuts at 9pm, Sep. 14 on channel 8/8.1 in the Rogue Valley.
From the historic launch of Medford’s sister city partnership with Alba, Italy in 1960, to the geopolitical considerations around Grants Pass’s partnership with Rubtsovsk, Russia, this episode depicts the close personal relationships that have been fostered by sister city initiatives for decades.
The Jeffersonian VII also extensively documents Ashland’s sister city Guanajuato, Mexico, with original reporting in both communities generated by multimedia students from Southern Oregon University.
The episode launches even as firefighters from Guanajuato have joined the recovery effort as wildfires sweep across the region this week:
“Our student team did a great job capturing the history of these Sister City relationships, and why they continue to be so important to the communities of Medford, Ashland and Grants Pass,” said Digital Cinema faculty member Chris Lucas, the lead instructor for this episode.
Launched in 2013, The Jeffersonian is the product of a close partnership between SOPBS and SOU. Working with equipment and facilities available at the Southern Oregon Digital Media Center, students in SOU’s Communication and Digital Cinema majors do all of the research, production, editing and post-production required to bring a half-hour of programming to the public airwaves.
“This project was an excellent way to get the students off campus and out into the community,” Lucas said. “Not only did they practice professional media storytelling, they experienced a valuable lesson on civic engagement and citizen participation.”
The Jeffersonian VII is also available for streaming on YouTube:
