Press for Democracy is a TV NewsMagazine featuring 1/2 hour shows on issues of importance to the community, state, nation, and world. It is produced by Gloria E.Garvin, PhD, and Conchita Thornton Marusich, hosted by Janice Markham, with research and writing by Janice Markham, Stevi Carroll, Conchita Thornton-Marusich and Gloria E. Garvin. Each show explores issues of pressing importance through interviews in the studio as well as the use of existing and original footage. In our Press for Democracy: Film Series we present interviews with progressive filmmakers and provide a format for airing their films.
Press for Democracy entered the independent media landscape in the summer of 2005 as part of the Media Reform committee of Pasadena MoveOn.
Pasadena MoveOn started as a MoveOn.org House Party after the devastating results of the fall 2004 election. The group was sufficiently energized to continue meeting on a monthly basis with the idea of building grassroots political power. One of the most dynamic aspects of Pasadena MoveOn was the Media Reform committee as it began production of a TV NewsMagazine, Pasadena MoveOn Looks at the Issues. As the show began dealing with more statewide and national issues, we decided to change the name to Press for Democracy.
Our shows have dealt with issues ranging from health care to impeachment, from militarism in our schools to electronic voting machines. A complete list of our shows is available here. |
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 Conchita Thornton-Marusich is the co-producer of Press for Democracy. An award winning producer, she has worked in different areas of television ranging from network shows, to PBS, to cable programs. Her credits include Coordinating Producer/Writer on The Carol Duvall Show (Home and Garden Channel), Staff Producer for several years at Disney Educational Productions, Director of Development at Marvel Productions, Associate Producer on India Speaks (PBS) and Helicopter (Discovery Channel), Production Coordinator for America's Funniest People (ABC), Research/Story Development for Real People (NBC), and Director on Mundo de Palabras. Her films have won numerous awards including the Golden Apple, the Cine Golden Eagle, the Blue Ribbon Award and First Place from the National Council on Family Relations. Her educational background includes a B.A. from Vassar College, a Masters degree from Occidental College and a Graduate Fellowship in Public Affairs from the CORO Foundation. She was one of the founders of Mothers in Film, a sub committee of Women in Film, and served on the Board of Directors of Women in Film as well as American Women in Radio and Television.
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 Gloria Garvin, PhD is the co-producer of Press for Democracy. She is an award-winning producer with film and television credits from UCLA Media Center, Psychology Today, Encyclopedia Britannica, Armand Hammer Films, PBS, and the Eric Sevareid Chronicles. Her MA and PhD degrees are in anthropology from UCLA . She has taught in the Anthropology Departments at UCLA and the University of Wisconsin , and is co-founder of Ethical Energy, LLC, an energy company devoted to expanding the crops, technology and governmental policy necessary to support renewable energies. |
 Janice Markham is a writer/researcher and host for Press for Democracy. She is Artistic Director of VOX BOX Arts Collective, a non-profit arts group that creates innovative theater, film, visual art, and educational outreach. Janice creates further art havoc with Somnambulist, which includes her husband, Gideon, and various angry artists in the neighborhood. Their performances combine electronic and live music, including electric violin, spoken word rants, baby toy percussion and tap dance. Janice is currently the theater advisor for the Renaissance Arts Academy – a public charter school dedicated to the arts. She is the recipient of the Clifton Webb Acting Award from the graduate acting department at UCLA , and the Ruth Cohen writing award from the masters writing program at USC. Janice lives in Eagle Rock, California , with Gideon and their two daughters, Raina and Czeska. |
 Stevi Carroll does research and writing for Press for Democracy. She holds a BA degree in English from San Francisco State University and an MA in Ethics and Policy Studies from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Prior to moving to Pasadena , she was active with Nevada Desert Experience, an anti-nuclear organization, and the Las Vegas Catholic Worker, where she served on the board of the Widow's Mite. She was on the founding board of Nevadans Against the Death Penalty. Ms Carroll was the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to study Gandhi at Duke University , a Nevada Endowment for the Humanities grant to study women and violence, and the Mediators of Southern Nevada, Inc. Peacemaker of the Year award. After being nominated by some of her students, she is in Who's Who Among America's Teachers. She has published numerous Op-Ed pieces and articles in local newspapers and newsletters. |
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