New Year-Long Effort Will Include Special Programming on FUSION TV, Enterprise Reporting, and Special Events Around Gender, Environmental, Economic Justice and Civil Rights Issues
‘FUSION Fights’ for Gender Justice Kicks off with Panel Discussion at Davos and
Continues with Special Coverage of the Women’s March on Washington
JANUARY 18, 2017 – FUSION today announced the launch of ‘FUSION Fights,’ a new cross-platform content initiative that seeks to elevate conversations around social justice issues that impact young, diverse communities, and often don’t receive the media coverage these issues merit. The announcement was made at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos (details below).
The effort builds on FUSION’s commitment to covering social justice issues and will include the production of television, digital, and social content that amplifies the diverse voices in America and the issues that matter most to them. ‘FUSION Fights’ will also include specific calls to action driven by FUSION’s RiseUp social impact unit. ‘FUSION Fights’ will initially focus on the following social justice issues:
- FUSION Fights for Gender Justice: This election cycle underscores the need to ensure more women have a strong and equitable voice in shaping our public and private institutions. This cycle highlighted the threats, veiled and unveiled, to women’s health and to the fundamental right to control our own bodies, as well as important subjects like equal pay, paid family leave, and sexual harassment. FUSION fights for these rights, and for the rights of all individuals, regardless of gender identity or sexual preference, to live with dignity, and with the security that all can afford to care for their families.
- FUSION Fights for Economic Justice: Over the last few decades, the gap between the 1% and the rest of the country has grown exponentially. History has demonstrated again and again that nations with such great imbalance struggle to uphold their core democratic principles. As President Barack Obama said in his final address: “if every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hard-working white middle class and undeserving minorities, then workers of all shades will be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves.” FUSION fights for basic economic opportunity for all Americans.
- FUSION Fights for Civil Rights: The ‘millennial’ generation is the most diverse generation to come of age in our nation’s history and future generations will make the U.S. a majority-minority nation by 2044. FUSION will fight for those championing diversity and inclusivity with coverage around issues of race, immigrant rights, islamophobia, and LGBT rights as well as issues of access and representation like voting rights and redistricting.
- FUSION Fights for Environmental Justice: Quite simply, without a healthy earth, the rest of the fights will soon become irrelevant. Too often, though, traditional environmental movements and the media have overlooked the leadership and courage of young, multicultural Americans working to protect our basic, natural resources. FUSION fights for the voices who are working to protect our planet and shines a light on issues including water conservation and access to clean water, animal rights, protection of Native land and national parks, and climate change.
“With so much at stake as a transition of power happens in Washington, FUSION will continue its wide-ranging coverage of social justice issues by amplifying diverse voices and fighting for more substantive conversations on several core issues. We want to spark more dialogue and drive action that will help ensure we build a stronger democracy and more just society for our country’s diverse youth,” said FUSION Co-Presidents Daniel Eilemberg and Boris Gartner.
The ‘FUSION Fight’ for gender justice kicked off with a special panel on gender roles at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos and will continue this month with coverage of the Women’s March on Washington. Ongoing cross-platform coverage of gender justice will include:
EVENTS
- ‘Disrupting the Status Quo of Gender Roles’ / January 18 in Davos | FUSION TV and Univision will host a panel discussion, ‘Disrupting the Status Quo of Gender Roles,’ at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos. While gender roles are shifting, women still face many barriers to fulfilling their potential. How can we challenge stereotypes and institutional inertia to achieve gender parity within our lifetimes? Enrique Acevedo, Univision news anchor and FUSION TV Special Correspondent, will moderate a discussion with: Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); Isabel Saint Malo, Vice President of Panama; Cynthia Castro, Vice-President of Reinventing Business for All (RBA) in Costa Rica; Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, documentary filmmaker; and Robert E. Moritz, Global Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers International. The panel will be livestreamed on Facebook and FUSION.net.
- ‘What to Do When You’re Expecting the Worst’ / January 19 in Washington DC | FUSION TV, Jezebel and Fusion.net team up to host a discussion on how the incoming Trump Administration and the new Congress will impact women’s rights in America. ‘What to Do When You’re Expecting the Worst’ will bring together women and men from the political sector, nonprofit world, and journalism community.
- ‘The Return on Equality’ / January 19 in Davos | Enrique Acevedo, Univision news anchor and FUSION TV Special Correspondent, hosts a conversation ‘The Return on Equality’ featuring Michael Cole-Fontayn, Executive Vice President and Chairman of EMEA, BNY Mellon; Ambassador Elizabeth Cousens, Deputy CEO, UN Foundation; Vivian Riefberg, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company; and Angela Sun, Head of Strategy and Corporate Development, Bloomberg L.P.
FUSION TV
- The Naked Truth: Women’s March on D.C. | FUSION’s Cleo Stiller reports from the Women’s March on Washington for a special report. Airs Sunday, January 22 @ 8PM on FUSION TV.
- The Woman Card | FUSION’s Alicia Menendez takes a revealing, provocative look at the role gender played in the 2016 election and what takeaways will prove useful under the new Trump administration and Congress. Menendez talks to the women who will be shaping the conversation in the years ahead including Sen. Kamala Harris; Sen. Loretta Sanchez; Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY); and former Deputy Campaign Manager, Carly for President, Sarah Isgur Flores. Airs Sunday, January 22 @ 8:30PM on FUSION TV.
- O Girls | Oprah Winfrey has changed the lives of hundreds of young women through her Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. Ten years later, FUSION’s Kimberly Brooks documents the personal journey of five girls from the inaugural class as they graduate college and interviews Oprah about the power education can have to empower young women across the globe. Airs Sunday, January 22 @ 9:30 PM on FUSION TV.
- Black Mamas Matter (tentative title) | In a new investigative documentary, produced by the Oscar and Emmy award-winning duo Simon Chinn (‘Man on Wire,’ ‘Searching for Sugar Man’) and Jonathan Chinn (‘American High’), FUSION’s Nelufar Hedayat examines the shocking number of women of color who are dying during, or soon after, giving birth — all in what is supposed to be the most developed country in the world. Airdate TBA.
- No League of Their Own | The conversation surrounding transgender athletes has reached a fever pitch and FUSION seeks to explore the answer to the often asked question: do transgender athletes actually have a competitive advantage? Through professional voices and personal storytelling, the special report ‘No League of Their Own’ examines the debate through interviews with Caitlyn Jenner, 1976 Olympic Gold Medalist and Transgender Advocate; Chris Mosier, Team USA Duathlete; Chloe Anderson Division II Collegiate Volleyball Player; Katrina Karkazis, Senior Research Scholar at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics; among other experts. Airdate TBA.
- Sex Right Now: Bridging the Orgasm Gap | FUSION’s Cleo Stiller takes an informative and entertaining look at: the plight of the sexually voracious woman and what that means for men, as well as life in the burgeoning industry of sex toys made by and designed by women, and why it’s practically illegal to say the word ‘vagina.’ This special is part of an ongoing that explores sex, society and technology in the new America. Airdate TBA.
DIGITAL
- ‘Wired Women’ | A digital video series will put a spotlight on women and girls kicking-ass in tech, while making the world a little less messed up. The series will be featured across the digital properties of the Fusion Media Group including Fusion, Jezebel, and Gizmodo.
- Ongoing Enterprise Reporting | The editors and reporters from FUSION.net take a deep dive into into the impact of the incoming administration and the new Congress on women’s health.
Cross-platform content for the ‘FUSION Fights’’ for economic justice, environmental justice, and civil rights will be announced in the coming weeks.
Media Contact: David Ford david@fusion.net 305-925-8882
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