[IMC-bristol] Media Democracy Day -- Indymedia participation

[alien8]

CALL FOR INDYMEDIA PARTICIPATION IN MEDIA DEMOCRACY DAY (MDD) - 18 OCTOBER =
2002

This is a discussion document for circulation around local IMC's.


MEDIA DEMOCRACY DAY: BACKGROUND AND VISION

Media Democracy Day is an occasion to push for and promote a media system t=
hat informs and empowers all members of society. It offers an opportunity t=
o create and link grassroots media and build alternatives to the present me=
dia monopolies. It will connect existing pockets of critical and creative m=
edia projects with broader social movements.

The rapid concentration of ownership in and commercialisation of the mass m=
edia is making them less and less a space to freely exchange information, a=
nd more a channel to distribute the news and views of political and economi=
c elites. The products and processes of print, broadcasting and mass online=
 media are addicted to advertising. Mainly owned by a handful of national a=
nd international corporations, they are unable to communicate the broad ran=
ge of perspectives in our communities. Instead, they are a crucial force fo=
r shaping people's perceptions of the world in accordance with the views of=
 society's elites.

Media Democracy Day may be called Media Freedom Day by some, Reclaim The Me=
dia Day by others, Media Action Day by others... The names are interchangea=
ble, the issues are the same all over the world. The day will focus on:

* Promotion - of alternative, independent and community media
* Education - how the corporate media shapes our world, and how it limits d=
emocracy and autonomy
* Protest - against a corporate media system based on commercialisation and=
 exclusiveness
* Change - for a more accountable, accessible and community-led media

It could include public events to promote grassroots alternative media, deb=
ates, workshops, conferences, film screenings, skill sharing, joint print p=
ublications, internet/fm radio, street theatre, subvertising, pickets, post=
er parties, media stunts, spoofs and pranks...

It could be a perfect occasion for grassroots media groups to gettogether, =
meet each other, plan longer-term campaigns, create strategies to promote n=
on-corporate media, and work on building a network to enable a collaborativ=
e response to the World Summit on the Information Society in 2003 (see www.=
itu.int/wsis/index.html and www.crisinfo.org).


INDYMEDIA PARTICIPATION

Media Democracy Day could mobilise....
local radio, pirate radio, art collectives, small newsletters, media monito=
ring groups, academic groups, the whole bunch of alternative media groups, =
journalist unions, protest and direct action groups, online campaign groups=
, community initiatives, etc etc
... and IMC'istas everywhere!

Indymedia is a global network with a large reach into different social move=
ments, campaigns and media projects.  By supporting Media Democracy Day Ind=
ymedia as a global network can have a huge impact on the spread of ideas an=
d debates around media issues on a worldwide level. As such, Indymedia is i=
deally placed to act to promote and network the idea of Media Democracy Day=
. In addition, Indymedia could benefit from the increased networking and co=
llaboration with other media initiatives around Media Democracy Day.

We would like to propose that Indymedia groups consider to..
- discuss Media Democracy Day within their groups
- promote the day on their sites (features, upcoming events list, etc.)
- plan actions for the day
- organise conferences and gatherings of alternative media


GLOBAL COLLABORATION

We propose to revive the global imc mediapolitics email list to discuss and=
 work on this project:
http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/public/mediapolitics

At present there is no website that is collecting information from around t=
he world about MDD (although there are a couple of small sites up now). Ind=
ymedia people may want to
- set up a non imc site to collect global info and call for participation =
=96 or feed their info into existing pages
- create a special Indymedia site just for this issue which would need to b=
e administered by a global working group
- create a separate section within Indymedia.org as a place to collect info=
 and updates, also to be adminsitered by a global team of imc people


For more background on the issues:
http://www.americanresurrection.com/Media.htm
http://www.mediatank.org
http://www.mediageek.org/
http://www.reclaimthemedia.org
http://www.mediawatch.ca
http://www.IMPACS.org
http://www.democraticmedia.org
http://www.mediachannel.org/news/indepth/fcc
http://www.fair.org/media-woes/policy.html
http://www.iwantmedia.com/consolidation.html


In solidarity,
a few people in IMC UK