George Cashel Stoney (July 1, 1916 – July 12, 2012) was an American

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

maker, educator, and the "father of

public-access television Public-access television (sometimes called community-access television) is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is Narrowcasting, narrowcast through cable tele ...

." Among his films were '' Palmour Street, A Study of Family Life'' (1949), '' All My Babies'' (1953), ''How the Myth Was Made'' (1979) and ''The Uprising of '34'' (1995). ''All My Babies'' was entered into the

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...

in 2002. Stoney's life and work were the subject of a ''Festschrift'' volume of the journal ''Wide Angle'' in 1999.

Early life

George Cashel Stoney was born in 1916 in

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the fifth-most populous city in North Carolina and the 91st-most populous city in the Uni ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. He studied English and History at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

and graduated in 1937. Later studying at

Balliol College Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and ar ...

in Oxford, and received a Film in Education Certificate from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. He worked at the Henry Street Settlement House on the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

of NYC in 1938, as a field research assistant for

Gunnar Myrdal Karl Gunnar Myrdal ( ; ; 6 December 1898 – 17 May 1987) was a Swedish economist and sociologist. In 1974, he received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences along with Friedrich Hayek for "their pioneering work in the theory of money an ...

and

Ralph Bunche Ralph Johnson Bunche ( ; August 7, 1904 – December 9, 1971) was an American political scientist, diplomat, and leading actor in the mid-20th-century decolonization process and US civil rights movement, who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Priz ...

's on their publication '' An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy''. He was also a publicist for the

Farm Security Administration The Farm Security Administration (FSA) was a New Deal agency created in 1937 to combat rural poverty during the Great Depression in the United States. It succeeded the Resettlement Administration (1935–1937). The FSA is famous for its small but ...

covering the plight of tenant farmers until he was drafted in 1942. Throughout this time he also wrote freelance articles for many newspapers and magazines, including the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

'',

Raleigh News and Observer Raleigh ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte), the largest city in the Research Triangle area, and the 39th-most populous city in the U.S. Known as t ...

and the

Survey Graphic ''Survey Graphic'' (SG) was a United States magazine launched in 1921. From 1921 to 1932, it was published as a supplement to ''The Survey'' and became a separate publication in 1933. ''SG'' focused on sociological and political research and an ...

. He served as a photo intelligence officer in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Film career

In 1946, Stoney joined the Southern Educational Film Service, writing and directing government education films for their constituents. Shooting in North Carolina, he worked on ''Mr. Williams Wakes up'' in 1944, and ''Tar Heel Family'' in 1951 under the company. He went on to create films for the Association of Medical Colleges and the North Carolina Film Board. In 1953, Stoney worked with the Association of Medical Colleges to write, direct and produce '' All My Babies: A Midwife's Own Story''. The film follows Mary Francis Hill Coley an

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

midwife as she attends to her clients and work with doctors and nurses within the medical establishment to promote education and cooperation within the modern medical field. The film received numerous awards and was inducted into the

in 2002 by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

. Sylvia Cummins Betts served as the film's editor and frequent collaborator with Stoney on a number of his documentaries. In the late 1960s, Stoney founded his own production company, George C. Stoney Associates, and taught at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

(1965–67), and became a professor at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

in 1971. He was an emeritus professor at NYU until his death. He directed the

Challenge for Change Challenge for Change () was a participatory film and video project created by the National Film Board of Canada in 1967, the Canadian Centennial. Active until 1980, Challenge for Change used film and video production to illuminate the social conc ...

project, a socially active documentary production wing of the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

from 1968-70. After working with Red Burns on the Challenge for a Change, the pair founded the Alternate Media Center in 1972, which trained citizens in the tools of video production for a brand new medium,

Public-access television Public-access television (sometimes called community-access television) is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is Narrowcasting, narrowcast through cable tele ...

. An early advocate of democratic media, Stoney is often cited as being the "father of public-access television." With his work in public-access television, Stoney sought to democratize of voices recorded on an audiovisual medium by sharing authority through community engagement. In 1995, Stoney directed ''The Uprising of '34'' about the General Textile Strike in 1934''.'' For the film's production, over 300 hours of interviews from former mill workers, their children and grandchildren, labor organizers, mill owners, and others who experienced or were affected by the strikes.

Legacy and Death

Stoney was an active member of the Board of Directors for the

Manhattan Neighborhood Network Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN) is an American non-profit organization that broadcasts programming on five public-access television cable TV stations in Manhattan, New York City. MNN operates two community media centres – in midtown Manhat ...

(MNN) and the

Alliance for Community Media The Alliance for Community Media (ACM), is an educational, advocacy and lobbying organization in the United States which represents Public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable TV organizations and community media centers throughout the ...

(ACM). Each year, the ACM presents "The George Stoney Award" to an organization or individual who has made an outstanding contribution to championing the growth and experience of humanistic community communications. He died peacefully at the age of 96 at his home in New York City.Posting to the ACM (non-public) listserv by Sue Buske, long time friend of George.

Filmography

*''Mr. Williams Wakes Up'' (1944) Writer *''Feeling All Right!'' (1948) Writer * '' Palmour Street, A Study of Family Life'' (1949) Writer/Director/Producer * ''Tar Heel Family'' (1951) Writer/Director/Producer * ''Land and Life'' (1949) Writer/Director/Producer * ''A Concept of Maternal and Neonatal Care'' (1950) Director/Producer * ''Birthright'' (1951) Writer * ''The American Road'' (1953) Director * '' All My Babies: A Midwife's Own Story'' (1953) Writer/Director/Producer * ''Angels with Silver Wings'' (1953) Director/Producer * ''The Invader'' (1955) Director * ''The Secrets of the Heart'' (1955) * ''The Boy Who Saw Through'' (1956) Director * ''Proud Years'' (1956) Writer/Director * ''Second Chance'' (1956) * ''Hail The Hearty'' (1956) Producer * ''Cerebral Vascular Disease: The Challenge of Management'' (1959) * ''Booked for Safekeeping'' (1960) Writer/Director * ''The Cry for Help'' (1962) * ''The Mask'' (1963) * ''The Newcomers'' (1963) * ''Under Pressure'' (1964) * ''How to Live in a City'' (1964) * ''The Man in the Middle'' (1966) * ''

You Are on Indian Land ''You Are on Indian Land'' is a 1969 documentary film directed by Mike Kanentakeron Mitchell about the 1969 Akwesasne border crossing dispute. He covered the confrontation between police and Mohawk of the St. Regis Reservation on a bridge betwe ...

'' (1969) Producer * ''VTR St-Jacques'' (1969) Producer * ''Up Against the System'' (1969) Producer * ''These Are My People...'' (1969) Producer * ''The Prince Edward Island Development Plan, Part 1: Ten Days in September'' (1969) Producer * ''The Prince Edward Island Development Plan, Part 2: Four Days in March'' (1969) Producer * ''Mrs Case'' (1969) Producer * ''A Young Social Worker Speaks Her Mind'' (1969) Producer * ''Occupation'' (1970) Producer * ''Introduction to Labrador'' (1970) Producer * ''I Don't Think It's Meant for Us'' (1971) Producer * ''God Help the Man Who Would Part with His Land'' (1971) Director * ''When I Go. That's It!'' (1972) Director/Producer * ''Hudson Shad'' (1974) * ''Planning for Floods'' (1974) * ''The Shepherd of the Night Flock'' (1975) Director/Producer * ''How the Myth Was Made: A Study of Robert Flaherty's Man of Aran'' (1978) Director/Producer * ''Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine'' (1978) * ''In China Family Planning is No Private Matter'' (1978) * '' The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time'' (1981) Producer * ''Southern Voices: A Composer's Exploration with Sorrel Doris Hays'' (1985) Director *''How One Painter Sees'' (1988) * ''We Shall Overcome'' (1989) Producer * ''The Uprising of '34'' (1995) Director * ''Race or Reason: The Bellport Dilemma'' (2003) Producer *''Flesh in Ecstasy: Gaston Lachaise and the Woman He Loved'' (2009

Director w David Bagnall * ''What's Organic About Organic?'' (2010) Consulting Producer

References

External links