Media Reform or Revolution?

In St. Louis, Missouri, May 12th through 15th, thousands of people gathered for the National Conference for Media Reform and a delightful party held at the City Museum on Thursday night in an amazing building which was more like a fantasy playground for young and old alike. The Conference drew members of the FCC, Congress, the “luminaries of the Left,” including Bill Moyers who has been attacked by the newly politicized Corporation for Public Broadcasting seized by right wing ideologues. (Moyers’ keynote is at http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0516-34.htm). The Conference informed those, who might not have been paying attention, that the new technologies which can revolutionize communications can also be colonized by the empire whose power rests upon lies, secrecy, military force, and the veil of legitimacy conferred by a compliant corporate press. Major policies are going to be determined in the next few years and they will either be made in back room deals between corrupt politicians and wealthy interests or, with enough public pressure, there is a chance that the public might have a say in our access to information, airwaves, and whether communications will serve corporate or community interests.
If anyone had any doubts about who the corporate media were serving, films were running continuously exposing media deceptions, and their power to shape public perception, opinion, and understanding of the world. While the rhetoric from the main plenaries was aspiring to serve the common good, inclusion of the voices whose lives hung in the balance, stressing the need for racial justice, social justice, world justice... there were definite parameters of acceptable thought that contained the main speeches, and the talks in the many workshops. The conference was for “reform,” not “revolution” and the radical “truth” was granted space in the hallways, caucus and “poster” sessions, indymedia.org, and “one on one dialogues” that were not broadcasted live on Pacifica.
Write a letter, send a fax, join an organization, give money, start a radio station were amongst the “Things you can do list.” to help the growing media reform movement. “Be the Media” was the more radical message, underlying the upcoming battle to rewrite the rules for the emerging possibilities that new technologies offer. Who will get to offer content, access, distribution? Will truth continued to be buried under the broad domination of the major media by corporate/government interests, as they are today? How many people rely more upon the internet for information than traditional newspapers, radio, and television?
The failure of the independent press to courageously tackle the foundation myth, the official version of 9-11, despite ample evidence that that particular lie has been the linchpin to passing the PATRIOT Act, creating Homeland Security, the false war on terror, the preemptive wars, a ballooning military budget, slashes in domestic spending, was never addressed or hinted at by the “chosen speakers.”
Those of us who feel that truth should be a critical part of the movement for peace, justice, and especially “free speech,” were able to talk to people, pass out flyers, thousands of Deception Dollars, hundreds of CDs and DVDs of David Ray Griffin’s latest speech in Madison on “9/11 and the American Empire: How Should Religious People Respond?” that aired on C-span. We also organized a “poster session” on 9-11- Overcoming Fear with Truth and Courage that drew 30 people for a very interactive, fruitful, discussion.
When social movements become large and significant, they are almost inevitably co-opted by reformers to some degree. A new cycle of social change begins when “the problem/failure” of a partial solution which does not address the root problem begins anew. All social movements build upon earlier accomplishments, but the backlash has become more sophisticated and extreme in an increasingly Orwellian World where those clinging to power, “frame the debate” “define reality for the “majority.”
We are in the midst of a clash of paradigms- there are the voices of authority saying “Trust us- do as we say.” There are the voices challenging the systems saying, “Think, question, find your voice, your power, join us, be a leader in this epic struggle for truth, peace, justice.” The current “world leaders” are few in number, but there are many, many rising up for their lives, for their children, for water, food, land, health, dignity, respect, freedom, peace, justice, and for a voice in creating a better world.
As I filled out the conference evaluation form, I suggested that smaller, more interactive, regional conferences might be more productive, and that they are likely to happen organically. An Allied Media Conference is scheduled for June 17th- 19th in Ohio for grassroots media activists. I was also inspired to become more involved in my local indymedia.org (instead of complaining about it- recognizing my ability and responsibility to make it better).