[iDC] live report on Media Reform, Memphis TN

[Megan Boler]

Report from Day One of the Media Reform conference in Memphis TN, Jan
12-14, organized by FreePress (Robert McChesney et al).  Many sessions
are being streamed by FreePress.net, so check it out.

3000 reported in attendance at this 3rd Media Reform conference (2200
attended in St. Louis 2005). Big energy!  People are psyched that this
represents a major social movement.  Last night kicked off with a Save
the Internet party in downtown Memphis.

Major energy for media reform; most panels are journalists or
activists.  Very few academics speaking or present.

Amy Goodman from Democracy now! a big presence here.  She is making
many appearances; and Pacifica is broadcasting many of the talks and
speakers.

Two Keynotes today--both Bill Moyers and Jesse Jackson "preached,"
energizing the packed auditorium of progressives and liberals from
across the U.S. (audience: mostly white, a small representation of
African Americans and other folks of color.  Women underrepresented on
panels and plenaries.)   Audience cheering and applauding the sermons
about the need to fight, the battle we face against corporations, etc.
"We have to tell the story ourselves" is the recurring theme.

Plenary with Reverend Jesse Jackson, in honor of MLKing, spoke of
King's struggles, need for economic justice in U.S., and MS media as
limiting our world and views.  Jackson drew attention to whiteness the
media reform movement, of 3000 in room.  Both Jackson and Moyers
invoked need for hope and sense of not feeling alone at the end of
their talks.

Bill Moyers' theme: media has a "plantation mentality"—press simply
reports officials in lockstep.  MSM reports what politicians say
rather than what they do. Moyers is working on a new video, "buying
the war" about press leadup to invasion of Iraq.  Towards beginning,
he quotes Michael Schudson to the point that "print media" is the only
press that really counts in the end (with which I strongly disagree).
Yet--in apparent contradiction--Moyer's concludes saying that digital
revolution is our hope (without many details). "Digital media makes
every citizen a Tom Paine," Moyers concludes. "Not a top down story
anymore."  Moyers said he almost didn't give a speech and instead was
tempted to read aloud the recent book Digital Destiny by Jeff Chester
which then immediately sold out at book fair.

Again, I note contradiction between the reform/policy approach to
challenging big rich media, as against the reality of grassroots,
local, pirate, tactical web-based interventions.  THERE IS NOT ENOUGH
ATTENTION TO what I call DIGITAL DISSENT in these analyses of media
reform.  And what about revolution anyway?  And histories of pirate
media?  The conception of democracy seems official and narrow...

An exception to above:  I am currently sitting in a packed session on
Saving the Internet (Tim Wu, Adam Green, Matt Stoller, Frannie
Wellings, Azlan White, Scott Goodstein) which is illustrating that
this major overturn of ATT/BellSouth merger legislation was due to
online viral organizing and activism.  "we're not going to let the
internet become like cable!  Our concession is that cable can be
private, but culture of control cannot attack internet."  What about
creative commons?  As my colleague John Willinsky asks, "what about
non-proprietary, non-market networked info economy?"  (Willinsky
commends Benkler's Wealth of Networks)  So far, in the Q&A, no one
asking about this.  Having heard ANYTHING about creative commons,
copyleft, opensource.  weird!!

(btw, Moyers strongly suggested calling it not Net Neutrality but
Equal Internet Access Provision (doublecheck his exact term). Tim Wu,
in Saving Internet panel, is justifying that things "just get picked
up…even if term "net neutrality" is not immediately clear as
soundbyte..now it works." In his original essay in which he coined the
term, he also used the term "broadband discrimination," but that
wasn't picked up.  I think I agree with Moyers and others that it
might be smart to re-brand it with a term that is crystal clear to
newcomers.

The other packed session today was called "Inside Corporate Media—Can
it Tell the Truth" with some good talks by working journalists
including Jeff Cohen, Juan Gonzales, and Laura Washington, moderated
by Phil Donahue.


"We are the ones we've been waiting for."

Gotta say, there's a nearly spiritual gospel element to the tone of
this media reform "movement" as it is represented here through diverse
voices today.

More to report tomorrow.

Reported by Megan Boler live from Memphis Jan 12 2007