Be The Media

May 15, 2005

Saturday Night Keynote Event

I got to the grand ballroom, where Saturday night's Keynote event was taking place, a little late. We had spent the last two hours at the "Media Democracy Showcase Meet and Greet." For being in a location so off the beaten conference path, we were never without someone to talk to at our table. Sure some of the folks who stopped by the table bent our ears too long, but it was good that people took the time to stop by the tables and see what folks were doing.

The ballroom was full and Al Franken was crankin', introducing Bob McChesney as I found a seat. Perhaps responding to subtle undercurrents of gripes about marginalization by the conference's focus on policy and reform, McChesney called for all of us concerned about media to work together. "It's the way we go forward," he said. Pointing the finger at corporations for corrupting our media, Bob called the idea that media reform is just a left wing movement "bogus". The only way they could win on this issue is by labeling people working on media issues "wacky liberals." But in fact, issues like local ownership, government propaganda, censorship, and "children's brains marinating in advertising" are important to conservatives too, he said.

Up next was FCC commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, who got a standing ovation just for walking on stage. He waxed nostalgic about Bill Moyer's keynote speech at the first media reform conference in Madison, WI. Adelstein gave what can honestly be called an impassioned plea to fight the most "pernicious" elements polluting our news media: video news releases, product placement, and all kinds of lack of disclosure for advertising. "VNRs masquerade as news," he said, "squeezing out local concerns." It is an issue uniting "right, left and middle." Referring to the Thursday's Senate hearing before the Commerce committee on the Truth in Broadcasting Act, Adelstein said that government propaganda is now getting the treatment it deserves. But citizens have to keep the corporate media accountable, he said, then called on people to record anything they see on TV that looks like a VNR and see if there was any disclosure that it was footage provided to the station. If not, it may be a violation of current regulations. Adelstein called on people to send formal complaints to the FCC, making sure that he gets a copy. "Because we'll get it to be investigated," he said. "You need to be doing the monitoring. We need to shut down this fraud being perpetrated on the American public. You need to do it."

FCC commissioner Michael Copps, also getting a standing ovation for walking on stage, said this is a "weekend America can be proud of." Copps vowed to work against piecemeal rule making by the FCC, heavily influenced by corporations and hidden from the public view, which would destroy media's ability to serve the people. Is media reform winnable? "Damn right" it is, he said. "If we roll up our sleeves, all of us, we can settle this issue of who controls the airwaves."

Franken returned to the stage, riffing on being an old disconnected white guy and not understanding what it is that Davey D does. Fortunately, it was a brief introduction, and Davey D took the mic.

"We can no longer afford to treat media as passive spectator sport. We have to be interactive," he said. "We need to hold the decision makers of broadcast media accountable."

"We have to inform creatively and intelligently others on this issue," he continued. Davey D ran through several local campaigns actively challenging broadcasters on their decision on what goes on the air. Because it is a 40- or 50-year-old guy making the decision that it is okay for announcers to use the "n-word" and the "b-word" and other "nonsense," he said. "Communicate with each other, network, use each other's resources and recognize each other's strengths," he said. "And by next year's conference, make sure things have changed for the better." Davey D. brought the house down, receiving enthusiastic applause.

Nichols got on stage and proclaimed that the 2500 people attending the conference - representing the 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico - were with "Davey D and your struggle." Then he actually brought a tear to my eye (because I'm easily moved by these types of things) when he listed all the cities that were hearing the program, being aired live by Pacifica.

Then, the entertainment part of the show, but to call Patti Smith an entertainer, does not do her justice. She's so much more. Her performance was great.

When Franken returned (again), he thanked the close captioner. This was the funniest routine of the night: an odd exchange between him and the woman typing what he was saying (adding her own comments, which he had to read on the big screen). Really, she got all the good laughs.

Jim Hightower, with his big white cowboy hat, followed Patti Smith. The man radiated humility and righteous indignation, delivered with smooth Texas charm and such coolly colorful and poetic phrases. But he spoke too swiftly for me to quite capture them. I did catch this: "Using the feather is erotic, but using the whole chicken is kinky." I'm sorry, though, because I did not get the context.

"My message to you tonight - I'm sure you're wondering - is that this is a big time for us," he said. "You are on the right path of challenging the great media combines. ... The majority of Americans are on your side. ... Not just the bean sprout eaters, but those snuff dippers too."

Al Franken returned once more to the stage and assured the audience that his fellow Minnesotan's have as many "color aphorism" as Texans, introducing NOW's Kim Grandy as a "real nice lady." Grandy talked about NOW's commitment to media reform and its importance. By now, my brain is tired and I'm having trouble picking out the important stuff. But she does make a joke that "women can't get equal pay and they can't even get equal payola," referring to the amount of money Armstrong Williams received from the Department of Education to Maggie Gallagher's payments from the Department of Health and Human Services. The lack of media diversity impacts everything we do, she said. "Put media diversity on your group's agenda [whatever it is]."

Grandy introduced California representative Diane Watson. There is a growing consensus that "media is the issue," she said. Watson represents Hollywood, located in the 33rd Congressional district, perhaps the most diverse district in the United States. American culture account for 40 percent of U.S. exports, she said. "Our nation's creative voices inform and shape our understanding of the world," she said. But they are "under siege" by consolidation, lack of consumer choices and exclusion from regulatory decisions.

Looking at George W. Bush's press conference two weeks ago, CBS initially decided to air "Survivor" instead of the press conference on its main channel, but would carry it on its digital TV network, radio network and over the internet, she said. After negotiations, CBS did agree to carry it on its main network channel, but only if the time was changed by a half hour. And the press conference coverage was cut short.

"The real questioned that must be asked: do Americans have a real choice in receiving the programs they desire?" How can voices free from commercial interests get to Americans? she asked. "If the president can't get full coverage on TV, how can [others] expect to be seen and heard so that the public can make an informed choice?" she asked.

I stepped out to edit the post thus far. When I come back in, Phil Donahue was introducing the "Big Media Hall of Shame" A pre-produced video presentation briefly profiled the nominees: Lowry Mays, Michael Powell, Rupert Murdoch, Ed Rendell, and Dave Smith. "And the winner is ... Rupert Murdoch." The announcement is followed by a full round of "booos." Amy Goodman accepts the award on behalf of Murdoch.

And then I left the hall to post this post. But low and behold, THERE IS NO WI-FI ON SATURDAY NIGHT. By now, a familiar problem. I look forward to the day of community wi-fi. May it be 1 hundred million times better than this "millennial" hotel.

Posted by Pollyanna at 11:37 AM | Comments (0)

May 14, 2005

Session: News, Information and Corporate Media - Naomi Klein

[Naomi Klein, as usual, cuts to the core of the issues with incisive, original language that encapsulates deep insights in easily understood language.]

Her first point is: The Issue of media reform in the U.S. is a global issue in the sense that what happens in the U.S. reverberates throughout the world. Yet our children learn about "geography through war" and "religion through torture".

Media is the "meta-issue", which pervades all other social justice issues. It's an "invisible concrete wall that blocks the sunlight from all our social movements".

We should not be reduced to pleading with the media, being content with letters to the editor, etc. We must "revolutionize" the media.

Primary point of her talk: We *must* root the media reform movement in resistance to the war. This because it hits both the administration and the media where they are the weakest.

There actually is a good deal of great low-level reporting going on. The amplification is what's missing.

What's not being amplified is Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, 9 million missing dollars.

Television networks exist to be outraged - it's just that they're outraged about extremely odd things. The judgment on when to scream and when to shrug is off.

"How do we make people care about torture?" - Abu Ghraib details are available in existing documents, but the information is not getting out. Helped by Kerry campaign. the message became "it's not that bad - you don't really have to care about this".

The media focuses on outrage, but not on topics like U.S. torture.

If we're all "outraged together", it's a scandal if we're "outraged alone" we're "crazy". Outrage needs company.

We need our own methods of amplification.

Example: The Afghanistan/Pakistan riots regarding the Koran desecration, also released U.S. prisoners in Afghanistan are talking about their experiences of abuse at the hands of the U.S. Instead, U.S. media coverage focusses on what *might* have happened with the Cessna airspace violation in DC if it had been terrorism.

Another example: The "ritualized mourning" and "controlled compassion release valves" of the Terry Schaivo story and the Pope's death. "spasms of compassion or moral outrage". But no coverage or compassion about U.S. soldiers coming home critically injured or dead.

A free press is a threat to war. It's "arguably incompatible" with war.

Example: During the April 2004 seige of Fallujah there was straight footage of the carnage at the main hospital on Middle-East channels like Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, including interviews with hospital staff who affirmed over 600 deaths. This lit a firestorm among the Iraqi public. But Rumsfeld said "What Al-Jazeera is doing is vicious, inaccurate and inexcusable". During the second seige of Fallujah, just after the election. Al-Jazeera was banned from Iraq. The single Al-Arabiya journlist present in Iraq was arrested. The first thing the military does is take over the hospital to prevent the release of information in the way it got out during the first seige.

Currently 9 iraqi journalists in detention and many are being harassed.

The reason this is happening is because the press is such a threat to war and occupation.

It should be the "central demand" of the media reform movement to demand coverage of the war. We should "use the media's jingoism against itself", pointing out the paradox of waving the flag, yet not showing what's actually going on with the soldiers, not covering their deaths.

"We can't bring the troops home if we can't see them".

The Media reform movement should join with the anti-war movement and make the simple demand "show us the war".

Posted by Randall at 03:13 AM | Comments (0)