Archive:Media Assets Workgroup

This is a proposal for a workgroup and should not be relied upon in any way.

This is still being actively written, so you might wish to check back later.

Overview

The Media Assets Workgroup is Citizendium's "Media and Permissions Department". Staffed by both expert editors and author specialists, its mission is

To improve and safeguard Citizendium by serving its editors, authors, readers, media content-providers, and re-users.

While deferring to other content editors in nearly all cases, the Media Assets Workgroup also has editorial purvey over media within certain narrow limits. The Media Assets Workgroup is governed and organized as other workgroups, but with several "tweaks" to better facilitate its interactions with outside content-providers.

Purvey of

Definition of "media"

For the purposes of The Media Assets Workgroup, "media" is be defined as all image, audio, video, and related template materials on all Citizendium pages.

Activities

Obtaining content

While not in any way replacing the function of other contributors obtaining media content, The Media Assets Workgroup shall function as Citizendium's "go to" place for contributors who seek assistance with such. In cases where open content images are available, members of the Media Assets Workgroup can be enlisted to "do the work" to obtain images released anew under open content licenses, or for use by permission when open content substitutes are unavailable, not substantially equivilent, or impractical to obtain.

To carry out the above, The Media Assets Workgroup shall maintain lists of sources for images that contributors may access to obtain appropriate images for themselves. The Media Assets Workgroup shall also develop a help request system, and a system for obtaining individual permission releases and for documenting the same. It shall maintain an IMAP account or tagging account, media-assets@citizendium.org or permissions@citizendium.org to do this.

As well, the workgroup shall negotiate with content providers to obtain block permission for Citizendium editors to use their material.

Media policy and help pages

Members of the workgroup shall, in a non-exclusionary manner, be responsible for authoring media policy and help pages, and for seeking approval through due process for policy pages.

• *Arbitrate and issue decisions in difficult cases Media Assets Editors approve and disapprove fair use claims in difficult cases.
• Maintain a mailing list. The workgroup shall use this for general announcements.

Roles and responsibilities

• Editors - Editors and editorship shall be governed in accordance with current policies contained in the relevant sections of CZ:Policy Outline. It is anticipated that most editors shall be drawn in under the category specialty editorship.
• Project Leads - Project leads may be appointed through due process. These shall have responsibility to develop the Media Assets Workgroup along specific lines, such as negotiating block permission for use of archives, templates, etc.
• Workgroup Assistants - these are comparable to "authors". However, due to

Relationship of The Media Assets Workgroup with all other content workgroups

Editors of the Media Assets Workgroup shall:

• Work cooperatively with editors of all other workgroups. - All media contained in articles shall be considered under the purvey of the Media Assets Workgroup, within narrowly tailored limits, and articles containing media shall be tagged appropriately to facilitate work.
• Have power to recommend deletion of certain media content on Citizendium:

• The lead photo of an article is blurry or depicts a living subject in a non-ingratiating manner (e.g., showing a funny face).