| May 27, 2005 The Revolution Will Be Televised Dispatch From The 2nd National Media Reform Conference by Katy Parrish, insurgent49  Surrounded by
corporate giants like Anheuser
Busch and Monsanto, I found myself wandering the deserted streets of
St. Louis at sunset, filled with a renewed sense of urgency.
After witnessing Juan Gonzales, Amy Goodman, J.H. Snider, Phil Donahue,
Naomi Klein, Bill Moyers, and others at the 2nd National Media Reform
Conference held May 13th-15th, I walked away realizing I am
participating in an ongoing struggle with more at stake today than ever
before in our nation’s history.  Juan
Gonzales, one of the leaders in media
reform and an award-winning journalist with DemocracyNow and the New
York Times, reminded us that this struggle has a rich history that goes
back two hundred years. He recalled Reverend Everette C. Parker,
considered to be one of the fathers of the movement, who held Jackson,
Mississippi TV station WLLD accountable for failing to meet the needs
of the community by not broadcasting real news, which ultimately
resulted in their license not being renewed by the FCC. In 1979,
Parker also led the United Church of Christ in an effort to prevent the
FCC from deregulating the radio industry without disclosing to the
public the basis for its decision. I also learned, at the conference, how the NAACP launched a successful petition against the Amos and Andy show in 1929, leading 750,000 people to voice their opposition to negative racial content in the show. Naomi Klein, a Canadian journalist and activist, said, “This is not a question of reform, it is a question of revolutionizing!” Everyday we hear stories that could bring down the current administration, but amplification of these stories is missing. For example, how do we make people care about torture? Are we experiencing “compassion fatigue”? Norman Soloman, from the Institute for Public Accuracy, explained that corporate media today is the “retaining wall” holding back the debate on how to dismantle the war machine. During the run-up to the illegal invasion of Iraq, media from other countries were calling to hear the voices of those against the war. No major networks from the U.S. reported any dissention to this spin of our “war against terrorism”. Why hasn’t the press in America covered the secret maps of oil fields in Iraq that Dick Cheney laid out before the invasion, as reported by the Toronto Star? Why are we so hypnotized by “warnography”? Corporate media does the selling, not the telling. This corruption of language and marginalizing of critical information is directly resulting in an embracement of death. There has been a long history in our country to break the stranglehold of corporate media. Juan’s basic message: Know your media history. His closing warning was that we “should not underestimate the enormous power of the people we are confronting.” Independent media brings critical issues to a boil while the mainstream press inhales the steam. A massive public education campaign is imperative for the success of this revolution. Creating independent media is vital! We still have liars making news today, but we have new tools to fight them. Blogs, websites, action list servs, wireless networks, and digital recording have already proven their effectiveness in exposing these lies. Writing good old-fashioned op-ed pieces also remains a wonderful way for us to plant pregnant seeds of progressive thoughts throughout our communities. We have to look at how to tell stories for people who only have two minutes to listen or are stuck on a Playstation. Once we tell our stories, we need to amplify them. One facet of this revolution that was relatively new to me was how terrified corporate media is of us using wireless technology to amplify our message. J.H. Snider of the New American Foundation calls wireless, “the most valuable natural resource of the information age.” He has just published a very thorough book addressing the history and current trends with the spectrum entitled, Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick. The Center for Neighborhood Technology has created open source wireless communities in low income neighborhoods in Chicago using retired computers that youth have refurbished. Bravo to grassroots creativity and persistence. We have to remember that the spectrum belongs to us and we do not have to be held hostage by corporate interests. Others like Patti Smith and Jim Hightower had messages of inspiration. Patti sang: “Let the children be
Let the lamp flicker Awake little man Awake from your slumber Long live the revolution I will not give in.” One of my favorite quotes from Hightower was, “The first job of a citizen is to keep your mouth open!” But my absolute favorite is, “Battling the bastards is just about as much fun you can have with your clothes on!”  At the
closing plenary, I wasn’t too
shocked to hear Bill Moyers quote, “In Orwell’s 1984, the
character Syme, one of the writers of that totalitarian society’s
dictionary, explains to the protagonist Winston, “Don’t you
see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?
Has it ever occurred to you, Winston, that by the year 2050, at the
very latest, not a single human being will be alive who could
understand such a conversation as we are having now? The whole climate
of thought will be different. In fact there will be no thought, as we
understand it now. Orthodoxy means not thinking — not needing to
think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness.” Moyers goes on to
say, “An unconscious people, an indoctrinated people, a people
fed only on partisan information and opinion that confirm their own
bias, a people made morbidly obese in mind and spirit by the junk food
of propaganda, is less inclined to put up a fight, to ask questions and
be skeptical. That kind of orthodoxy can kill a democracy — or
worse.”Another battle raging behind the headlines is for the control of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Kenneth Tomlinson and his conservative pawns are doing whatever they can to shut down the airing of NOW, created by Moyers and his wife Judith Davidson Moyers. The success of NOW, which the Baton Rouge Advocate said,” draws on a wide range of viewpoints which transcend the typical labels of the political left or right,” has created a backlash in Washington. Moyers explained, “The more compelling our journalism, the angrier the radical right of the Republican Party became. That’s because the one thing they loathe more than liberals is the truth. And the quickest way to be damned by them as liberal is to tell the truth.” Moyers is so disgusted by the witch-hunt going on in DC today he says, “They might compel me out of the rocking chair back into the anchor chair!” (Read the transcript of his speech here: http://www.freepress.net/news/8120 .) The foundation of a true democracy is a free press. How will you contribute to this revolution? Will it be by holding media accountable, creating independent media, fighting to save our access to the spectrum, working with concerned youth, or contacting policy makers? There’s plenty to do and there’s plenty of hope, tools, and good people already winning battles. Don’t be afraid. Join us.
Katy Parrish is a freelance writer and media activist who can be reached at takebackthemedia@hotmail.com. |
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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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