| May 27, 2005 Editor’s Desk by Aaron Selbig It’s been a revolutionary week here at Insurgent Headquarters. Insurgent49 hit an important milestone last week when staff writer Katy Parrish handed one of our business cards to Phil Donahue. That’s right ... Phil Donahue. Katy bumped into Phil at the 2nd National Media Reform Conference in St. Louis (you can read about her experiences at the conference here). Bill Moyers also got a card, which leads me to the conclusion that our work here is now complete. That’s right, insurgents, now that Phil Freaking Donahue and Bill Moyers are hip to I-49, we can happily retire. Kidding. We’re not going anywhere. Katy’s enthusiasm for media reform has stoked our fire and got us thinking again about media, corporate and otherwise, here in Alaska. Of course, Alaska gets force-fed all the same national news outlets as everyone else (CNN, FOX “News”, USA Today with their colorful charts and graphs, etc.) but, on the local front, we find ourselves asking, “What is the present state of news media here in the great 49th?” In our view, the report is good and bad. As far as print media goes, we’ve got the behemoth ADN (owned by the McClatchy Company) taking point for all the dailies. We may occasionally bitch about the domination of wire service articles at the ADN, but we read it (especially the op/ed page with its zany cast of regular letter writers). Then there’s the Anchorage Press, our beloved “alternative” weekly, which does an admirable job of cramming 46 pages of advertising into a 48-page paper. We read that, too. On the TV box, it seems to us there is little to get excited about other than ‘Anchorage Edition’ and Jackie Purcell’s new wave hairdo. And, of course, the local radio dial offers us 13 ClearChannel stations, an equal number of Howard Stern wannabes, and a college radio station that can only be picked up clearly in the parking lot of the college radio station. So where does that leave us, Alaska? Where can we turn for solid, local, and independent reporting on news that we care about? Fortunately, the journalistic void left by the big boys is beginning to be filled by a handful of passionate folks who are taking matters into their own hands. There’s the new monthly, Alaska Humanity News, which attempts to take a look at political and social issues from a non-partisan, Zen-like perspective. Also, rumor has it that Bean’s Cafe’ is considering joining the ‘street paper’ movement, employing homeless folks to distribute a new monthly newspaper. And finally, way over on the right hand side of the AM radio dial, KUDO 1060 has carved out a successful niche in the risky arena of Anchorage progressive talk radio. Oh yeah, and then there’s us. We’ve got Dr. Gillespie (when and if he gets out of prison, anyway). Katy Parrish tells us that the National Conference On Media Reform was more than just a forum for the celebrities of progressive journalism, it was a gathering point for all manner of small, grassroots media organizations who came to St. Louis to set up tables, disseminate information, and form contacts and alliances. That is truly what it takes to build and maintain a strong independent voice in the hurricane of corporate media and right-wing talk radio: unity and participation. If you’re as weary of mainstream Alaska news as we are, it’s important to remember that you’re not alone and there are outlets out there for you. Get involved. Write an article for us or for Alaska Humanity News. Call in to KUDO. Start your own show at KRUA. Write a blog or join a list serv. Print and distribute a homegrown zine. Engage in some guerrilla marketing using stickers or stencils (be careful). Most importantly, keep the faith. You wouldn't want to dissappoint Phil Donahue, now would you? Regards, Aaron Selbig Editor, Insurgent Media AK |
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| Copyright 2005
Insurgent Media.
All rights reserved. in-sur-gent (in sur'jent), n. 1. a member of a group which revolts against the policies of its leadership. |
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