Screen West Midlands announce first joint partnership with Channel 4 through 4iP
Screen West Midlands, the development agency for screen media in the West Midlands, today announced an investment in partnership with Channel 4 in Yoosk, a project based in Warwickshire. This is the first project to kick-start a wave of new investment in public service digital media through Channel 4’s 4iP initiative and Screen WM. Screen WM is pleased to announce that support for this project is the first to come through the agency’s new digital media project development process.
Yoosk is an interactive website which allows the public to put questions directly to politicians and other public figures and vote on which they would most like to see answered. Answers are posted onto the website and users can rate and comment on the answers. In the latest Yoosk project, users are receiving answers to their questions from the Prime Minister and other senior cabinet members on the dedicated Yoosk G20 London Summit website
The joint investment by Channel 4 and Screen WM will enable Yoosk to develop a number of ideas to help grow the feedback and rating elements of the platform, supporting the project so it can go forward to consideration to Screen WM’s Digital Media Fund.
Yoosk is the first project to receive development funding through the £1.3m support package Screen WM has secured from Regional Development Agency Advantage West Midlands Screen, Image and Sound Cluster. The investment of £1.3m also includes events, international markets and cross-sector activity. This is the first of several development projects, which Screen WM and Channel 4 hope to see benefit from full 4iP and DMF investment in the future.
Suzie Norton, CEO of Screen West Midlands said: We are delighted to be investing in Yoosk as our first joint investment with Channel 4’s 4iP initiative. Yoosk taps into our region’s strong history of civic and political engagement, bringing it online in an innovative new way.’
Mick Laverty, Chief Executive of Advantage West Midlands, said: “The West Midlands has a growing reputation based around the Serious Games Institute in Coventry, the Digital Laboratory, and the work of our universities and top New Media agencies. The fact Channel 4 chose to base their lead commissioning hub in Birmingham is testament to our strengths. 4iP is great news for the West Midlands economy and creativity and is a catalyst for further growth.”
Tom Loosemore, Head of 4iP said: “A key ambition of 4iP is to provide tools for the public to hold power to account and Yoosk is an innovative and effective way of doing this. We believe that Yoosk has the potential to change the way the public interacts with public figures, helping demystify the political process and making accountability a fact of life.”
Tim Hood, Founder of Yoosk.com, said: “We think we have some compelling ideas for how the Yoosk concept can be used to enhance democracy at every level of society. Channel 4 and Screen West Midland’s support will help us develop a world class platform to build on our successes so far. It is also a happy coincidence that this investment comes at a time when we are launching our first local version of Yoosk in Birmingham”
Yoosk’s vision is for elected leaders and other public figures to be available to the public for interviews and conversations online. A key motivation is to popularise participation, empowering the public to take a greater interest in the political process. By involving celebrities as well as politicians in the online interviews Yoosk hopes to reach out to the new internet generation that all too often does not identify with or trust politicians.