I recently discovered Pivot, a relatively new television network devoted to presenting entertainment that inspires and compels social change. Its message to its viewers: What you watch does make a difference.

Launched by Participant Media, the network and its digital sister site TakePart, target a millennial audience and conscious consumers.

Though not all kids will get behind all causes, the components of the network connect its audience with a wealth of opportunities to do good–to explore causes and to pledge, donate, and petition.  The site offers blogs, web recaps, study guides, support materials and thematic media-rich newsfeeds.  It will be welcome across disciplines.

The television network and its companion website feature movies, original programming, and series and absorbs content from its acquisitions–Documentary Channel and Halogen TV.  On-screen graphics present it’s your turn suggestions to take action relevant to issues raised by programming content, for instance: hunger in America, antibullying efforts, gender equity, environmental concerns, and human rights around the world.

Pivot’s own celebrities include Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who hosts the variety show,  HitRECord on TV!, and Meghan McCain, who hosts the talk show Raising McCain.  Fortitude, a new mystery about a small town in the Arctic Circle, is enhanced with science investigations on such topics as infectious diseases, environmental toxins, climate change and fossil discoveries.

High school, and perhaps some middle school teachers and librarians, will be particularly interested in using the full network resources to inspire class and extracurricular discussions and to explore new models of participation and measures of impact.

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