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YouTube and the Pulitzer Center Announce First Ever Winner of Project: Report(Marketwire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) SAN BRUNO, CA, January 12 / MARKET WIRE/ -- YouTube(TM), the leading online video community that allows people to discover, watch and share originally created videos, in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting today announced the winner of Project: Report (http://youtube.com/projectreport). Hundreds of people from around the world entered the first of its kind program that called on aspiring journalists to produce short, high quality video pieces focused on stories that are not typically covered by the traditional media. Project: Report was made possible by Sony VAIO and Intel. After three rounds of competition, the YouTube Community voted on the five finalists and, together with a panel of journalists from the Pulitzer Center, chose Arturo Perez, Jr. of San Francisco, California as the grand prize winner. Perez will receive a $10,000 grant to travel abroad and work with the Pulitzer Center on a story of global importance. Perez also received camera and video editing equipment from Sony & Intel throughout the program. "It's been an incredible experience to participate in Project: Report with such great journalists as competition. Winning this contest means so much," said Perez. "I definitely feel like we are a part of building the future of journalism: if you see a story, you now have the opportunity to report on it." Perez's winning video explores the lives of the residents of Camphill, California. Camphill is a community where adults with developmental disabilities live, learn and work together. Residents experience a range of disabilities including but not limited to Fragile X syndrome, autism spectrum disorders, epilepsy and Down's syndrome. Perez worked with Camphill residents to use the camera to document their own lives. "We couldn't be more thrilled with the results of our first ever journalism competition. Like thousands of others around the globe, these talented reporters are using new media to broadcast stories from their communities to the world," said Steve Grove, Head of News and Politics for YouTube. "They are the next generation of journalists." "We're impressed by the range of topics and the depth of the stories that our finalists produced for Project: Report," said Jon Sawyer, Executive Director of the Pulitzer Center. "We look forward to working with Arturo to produce a story from abroad on an issue that is underreported by the traditional media. That's what the Pulitzer Center is all about." The winning video as well as all of the final and semi-final submissions can be seen at www.youtube.com/projectreport. About Arturo Perez Jr. Arturo (Art) Perez, Jr. currently lives in San Francisco and is a freelancer for any sort of job he can get -- from an assistant to a driver. After graduating from the University of Texas-Austin, Art set out with two college friends toward San Francisco to find the "spirit of the sixties." The result was his first movie titled, "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" that compares the youth movement of today to the one from 40 years ago. With no funding to make the movie and no money from it, Art says what he learned while creating the movie will stick with him forever. About the Pulitzer Center The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting supports in-depth coverage of international affairs, focusing on topics that have been under-reported, misreported -- or not reported at all. The Center funds reporting on all media platforms and partners with both traditional and new-media news outlets. The Center's Global Gateway engages directly with high school and university students across the nation, building a constituency among younger audiences for quality global news coverage. To learn more visit www.pulitzercenter.org. About YouTube YouTube is the world's most popular online video community allowing millions of people to discover, watch and share originally created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small. YouTube, LLC is based in San Bruno, Calif., and is a subsidiary of Google Inc. Media Contact: Spencer Crooks YouTube [email protected] Copyright ? 2009 Marketwire |