The pioneering media activist George Stoney has died at the age of 96. Stoney’s career spanned more than half a century, producing film and television that focused on issues of racial justice, social responsibility, community and freedom of speech. An early advocate of video as a tool for social change, Stoney founded public access programs throughout the United States and Canada. In a 2005 interview with Democracy Now!, Stoney discussed his legendary career. [Photo Courtesy of Philip Pocock / Artists Rights Society (ARS)]

George Stoney: “I started in the state of Georgia with a little educational program, and before long, I found I was making films for people who should be making them themselves, but at that time, as you know, it was film and it was much more complicated. Now, with this user-friendly equipment, there’s no reason why people should not make their own programs. And now we have an outlet with public access. We look on cable as a way of encouraging public action, not just access. Social change comes with a combination of use of media and people getting out on the streets or getting involved. And we find that if people make programs together and put them on the local channel, that gets them involved.”