American Documentary

Overview

New York, N.Y. – June 22, 2022 – American Documentary, Inc., the award-winning nonprofit behind public media series 'POV,' 'POV Shorts,' and 'America ReFramed' co-produced with WORLD Channel, announced two promotions in its engagement and production and programming departments.

Robert Y. Chang was named Coordinating Producer for 'POV,' the longest-running independent showcase for bold nonfiction films on PBS. Chang moves to 'POV' from his Coordinating Producer role at sister series 'America ReFramed' where he has been since 2017. He joins the POV production and programming department led by long-time Executive Producer Chris White, and will work closely with Co-producer and Shorts Producer, Opal H. Bennett, Associate Producer Nicky Cook, and Media Coordinators Annick Laurent and Kerry LeVielle.

Robert Salyer was promoted to POV Engage's Manager of Outreach and Impact. The initiative goes beyond the broadcast, positioning documentaries to open minds and advance social justice through community programming and collaborations with impact producers, film teams, educators, librarians, and more. POV Engage is led by Asad Muhammad and the department includes Education Manager, Courtney Cook and Senior Associate for Programs and Engagement, Rachel Friedland.

"I'm happy to welcome AmDoc veterans Robert Chang and Robert Salyer to new roles within the organization” said Erika Dilday, executive director of American Documentary, “We are extremely fortunate to have their considerable experience and talents as American Documentary continues to evolve.”

Robert Y. Chang

Robert Y. Chang is an Emmy-nominated producer. He served for five seasons as the coordinating producer for 'America ReFramed' where he facilitated the national broadcast premieres of nearly seventy independent films. He has also served as juror for festival and industry awards including: the IDA Awards, RTDNA Murrow Awards, and the News & Documentary Emmys. Robert received his PhD in Cultural Anthropology at NYU with research on the intersection of religion and media. As an independent filmmaker, Robert's work has screened worldwide and is distributed by Documentary Educational Resources (DER). In 2020, DOC NYC awarded him a New Leader in Documentary. In addition to his new role at 'POV,' Robert is a member of the Producers Guild of America and NLGJA. He also serves as programmer, panelist, and reviewer for a range of film festivals, foundations, and funders of the arts.

Robert Salyer

Prior to his new role, Robert worked with the POV Engage team as Outreach Specialist, executing national outreach and partnership development for film-specific campaigns, educational resources and other organizational efforts, including leading the "Our America: Documentaries in Dialogue" project, an initiative that empowers PBS stations and local partners to champion civil, civic dialogue about issues that matter to their communities. A staff member at Appalshop, Inc. from 1998 to 2014, Robert’s work has screened extensively in the U.S. and abroad, and has been included in such exhibitions as MoMA’s Documentary Fortnight and the Film Festival Dokumenter in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. He has worked in the field for nearly 25 years as a sound recordist and cinematographer for productions by CNBC, Greenpeace, HBO, and Break Thru Films, among others. Recently, Robert was the Producer of Portraits and Dreams, a documentary that aired nationally via 'POV' as part of its 32nd season on PBS.

Stay up to date with news from American Documentary by subscribing to the monthly AmDoc Digest. For more information on job and internship opportunities, visit amdoc.org/careers.

About

About POV

Produced by American Documentary, POV is the longest-running independent documentary showcase on American television. Since 1988, POV has presented films on PBS that capture the full spectrum of the human experience, with a long commitment to centering women and people of color in front of, and behind, the camera. The series is known for introducing generations of viewers to groundbreaking works like Tongues Untied, American Promise and Minding The Gap and innovative filmmakers including Jonathan Demme, Laura Poitras and Nanfu Wang. In 2018, POV Shorts launched as one of the first PBS series dedicated to bold and timely short-form documentaries. All POV programs are available for streaming concurrent with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS Video app, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO. For more information about PBS Passport, visit the PBS Passport FAQ website.

POV goes “beyond the broadcast” to bring powerful nonfiction storytelling to viewers wherever they are. Free educational resources accompany every film and a community network of thousands of partners nationwide work with POV to spark dialogue around today’s most pressing issues. POV continues to explore the future of documentary through innovative productions with partners such as The New York Times and The National Film Board of Canada and on platforms including Snapchat and Instagram.

POV films and projects have won 45 Emmy Awards, 27 George Foster Peabody Awards, 15 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, three Academy Awards and the first-ever George Polk Documentary Film Award. Learn more at pbs.org/pov and follow @povdocs on social media.

About American Documentary, Inc.

American Documentary, Inc. (AmDoc) is a multimedia company dedicated to creating, identifying and presenting contemporary stories that express opinions and perspectives rarely featured in mainstream media outlets. AmDoc is a catalyst for public culture, developing collaborative strategic engagement activities around socially relevant content on television, online and in community settings. These activities are designed to trigger action, from dialogue and feedback to educational opportunities and community participation.

Major funding for POV is provided by PBS, the Open Society Foundations, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Wyncote Foundation, Reva & David Logan Foundation, Park Foundation, and Perspective Fund. Additional funding comes from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Sage Foundation, Chris and Nancy Plaut, Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee and public television viewers. POV is presented by a consortium of public television stations, including KQED San Francisco, WGBH Boston and THIRTEEN in association with WNET.ORG.