The Paper Tiger Television Records (1968-2017) contain video recordings, paper materials, photographs, and born-digital materials documenting the organization's television productions, administrative activities, participation in events, publicity, financial management, political advocacy, and relationships with other independent media organizations.
This collection documents the day-to-day operations of Paper Tiger TV, including administrative files such as meeting minutes, training materials, lease agreements, and correspondence; financial documents such as grant applications, budget reports, receipts, invoices, and donor files; and photographs of office activities and collective members.
Paper Tiger TV's participation in events, such as exhibitions, conferences, workshops, screenings, and film festivals, is represented in this collection in ephemera, such as flyers, postcards, schedules, and posters; planning documentation, including correspondence, timelines, budgets, and floor plans; video recordings used in installations; and photographs and video recordings of event proceedings.
Publicity for Paper Tiger TV's programming and activities in this collection includes published articles and advertisements, as well as promotional materials such as ephemera, outreach materials, graphic design, outreach to viewers, and promotional videos.
The majority of this collection documents Paper Tiger TV's television productions from 1981-2014. Video recordings include broadcast and distribution masters of programs, as well as dubs, production elements, various edits of programs, and source material such as unedited footage of events and interviews. Production files, found in Series II.A, include correspondence and contracts with partner organizations, meeting minutes, budgets, project proposals, submissions, scripts, cue cards, research files, and viewer feedback on programs. The collection also includes objects used in production, such as props, banners, clothing, "crankees" (hand-painted scrolls used to display credits in videos), and backdrops.
