A Catalyst For Change
According to former CNN journalist Paula Zahn,
filmmaker and media activist Phil Cooke is rare - he's a working producer
in Hollywood with a Ph.D. in Theology. Christianity Today magazine calls
him a "media guru" and his blog at philcooke.com is considered one of the
most insightful resources on the web on issues of faith, culture, and
media. Through his company, Cooke Pictures, based in Santa Monica,
California, Phil advises many of the largest and most effective non-profit
and faith-based media organizations in the world, and speaks at workshops,
seminars, and conferences on a global basis.
Phil speaks to issues related to faith and the media, and has been interviewed extensively during the controversy surrounding subjects like the release of The Da Vinci Code, Christians who boycott Hollywood, the moral issues surrounding network TV programming, the place of values and meaning in media, and much more. He brings a new perspective to the issues of faith in the media and public square.
He’s appeared on MSNBC, CNBC, CNN, and his work has been profiled in the New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Many of his projects have been placed in the permanent archive on the History of Broadcasting at the Newhouse School of Communication at Syracuse University, representing landmark work in family and inspirational broadcasting.
His production and consulting company: “Cooke Pictures,” works specifically with non-profit and religious clients, and as a founding partner in the commercial production company “TWC Films,” he also produces national advertising for some of the largest companies in the country – giving him a unique perspective on both religious and secular media issues. TWC Films produced two TV commercials for Super Bowl 2008.
He is the author of the nationally known e-mail newsletter Ideas for the Change Revolution, a bi-monthly journal filled with media research, creative concepts, and production resources, available at philcooke.com/signup.
Phil believes the church/state separation issue, or the issue of religious freedom isn’t the most important cultural priority for people of faith today. What matters today is for people of faith to understand and embrace the power of the media, and how to use it more effectively to tell their story.
His online blog at philcooke.com features insight into issues of media and faith, and his upcoming book: Branding Faith: Why Some Churches and Non-Profits Impact the Culture and Others Don’t will change the way non-profit and religious organizations use the media to tell their story. His consulting clients have included Pastor Joel Osteen in Houston, Joyce Meyer in St. Louis, Ed Young Jr. in Dallas, Pastor Jack Graham in Dallas, Feed The Children in Oklahoma City, and many more – a virtual “who’s who” in the religious media world.
