the repurposed journalist

Lee Schneider is headed back to Haiti.

And now Schneider, a documentary producer, is officially launching a campaign on Kickstarter.com to raise money for the return trip where he plans to continue shooting for an upcoming documentary focusing on architects and how good design helps the homeless and victims of disasters (like those recovering from the January, 2010 earthquake) in Haiti.

Here’s the link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/docuguy/shelter-return-to-haiti?ref=live

His production team is also researching stories in Detroit with the hope of filming there as well, after Haiti production is complete. This Re-purposed journalist is hoping to reach three target audiences: architects, community activists…

And you.

Lee is a former producer for the ABC News (Good Morning America) and NBC News (Today Show, Dateline) and National Geographic among others. Schneider has always been a passionate journalist who sought to observe and report, to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable and remain objective. But as a re-purposed journalist, Lee Schneider now wants his work to help move the ball down the field. In this case – he wants this documentary to actually help get something built.

When he arrives in Haiti, Schneider will focus on stories and profiles he has researched for the past year. When he moves on to production in Detroit, he says he’ll be looking for projects akin to those underway at The Alley Project (TAP) https://www.facebook.com/tapgallery, a collaborative community “design for good” project where architects and community activists donate their time to design and build neighborhood projects.

“When I worked at NBC I was working for GE. That’s what I stood for. When you work for Nat Geo, (owned by Fox) you stand for Rupert Murdoch.” Schneider, a veteran of NBC Dateline, Fox and ABC’s “Good Morning America” is now directing Shelter http://docucinema.com/shelter/,  His documentaries have aired on History Channel, Discovery Health Channel, The Learning Channel, Bravo, Food Network, Court TV, ReelzChannel and A&E http://www.linkedin.com/in/leejschneider.

Schneider also writes a blog for Huffington Post and does online strategies for businesses with a socially responsible mission. His production company http://www.docucinema.com/about/ creates “cause-driven” nonfiction films.

He’s been blogging since 2009. He started by writing a blog called, “500 Words on Thursday”. He averages 2-3 blogs a week. He blogs about once a month for the Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lee-schneider/participatory-design-in-d_b_1340633.html.

Sure, Lee Schneider admits it’d be nice if a show like NBC Today Show ended up doing a story about community renovation in Haiti as a result of the awareness he’s helping create, but he says, “The goal is to build something.”

Schneider’s hoping the Shelter doc will air next year.