[IndyMedia Bombay] Fw: Media Democracy Day - 18th October

[Sanjay Bhangar]

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