Carale28 Seminar Papers
From digmovements
Contents |
[edit] Seminar Response Papers
[edit] Week Two- We The Media
We The Media: Grassroots Journalism By The People For The People presents extensive research, analysis, and theory regarding the field of open stream journalism and the growing phenomenon of public driven media coverage. Dan Gilmore stresses the importance of the blog users influence in Main Stream Media, particularly in sparking interest in an issue and influencing ‘big’ media to cover the story. A prime example of this is on page 44, when Trent Lott “recalled Thurmond’s presidential campaign in 1948, a race in which he called for the preservation of segregation. The nation would be better off if Thurmond had won, Lott said.” Main Stream Media tread lightly on his statement, ABC News mentioned it and than the incident was silenced. Webloggers and online journalists held interest in the story and sparked interest monumentally across the nation influencing major media to run the feature full throttle, President Bush was even pressured to react.
The internet creates a break in the barrier between individual news corporations and the public (one-to-many) to initiate an intellectual conversation between the writer and the readers/viewers (many-to-many). The internet enables any individual with information to share and better the environment in which we live. Gillmor states on page 25 that his main goal in writing We The Media is to show “what happens when people at the edges participate in the news-gathering and dissemination processes.” Something incredible happens, we all have the opportunity to share and critique what is a pressing concern to us as individuals and share what we know to those who may lack the information and resources to find out otherwise. Everyone in their own right has become a member of the press and can offer assistance to the professional journalists who may benefit from alternative perspectives and first hand accounts.
I personally believe it is necessary to look at all aspects of a story and to eliminate bias, one sided reporting. I feel that in Main Stream Media it is important to be aware of the corporate stance that the company upholds. A good journalist takes into account all sides of a story and often the internet is a great place to encounter alternative sources that offer a first hand account from all sides of the spectrum. As it is necessary to question the motives and values in MSM it is also important to question these things in personal blogs and forums. Professional Journalists on the internet are needed to fact check, compile, analyze and take into account all of the stories and sources influencing the publics perspective on a story.
I found the mention of a hierarchy on page 127 particularly interesting, the format on the page, web as well as news paper denotes the importance of an article to the editor. The higher a story the more the freelance writer was paid and more news worthy the article is seen to be. I suppose this may be common sense but I had given relatively little thought to this and it made me stop and say ah-ha, that makes sense.
The ICAN website mentioned on page 124 really put into perspective how influential the internet could be to the everyday citizen and acting for social change. The website focuses on activism at a local level, they provide ideas, list organizations and helpful links to resources. The significance of the ICAN website is that they show people what they are capable of, and make it easy. By acting local the individual experiences the results of their effort and is more inclined to continue to take action. This project is fabulous, I would be more inclined to get involved in my community with the resources and information to do so at my finger tips.
I enjoyed We The Media: Grass Roots Journalism By The People, For The People, I found it to be extremely informative and a great reading experience. The first few chapters were filled with new information on the web world and journalism that I found to be crucial in my understanding the individual’s effect on corporate media and the importance of big companies taking advantage of the internet and utilizing the blog. However, I did feel that there was too much information and emphasis on the blog itself. I felt my self saying, alright enough with the blog, lets look at another internet medium.
[edit] Week Three- Social Movements 1768-2004
Charles Tilly’s Social Movements, 1768-2004 is an informative read, packed with theory, history and definitions. I found each section and chapter to be of importance and worth the read, yet the language in the first chapter was over done and convoluted with unneeded words and difficult literary terms. I personally find this way to write pretentious and this takes away from the message to the reader.
Social Movements, I now know, are different interest groups coming together over a common claim usually involving the government in some form and consist of a combination of interest groups, public campaigns, performances and WUNC displays (worthiness, unity, numbers and commitment). Tilly believes that all factors must coexist to be considered a Social Movement and that by defining this it will become clear what groups must do to produce a successful campaign.
I am particularly interested in the barrier new technologies create within the sphere of social change, in Cyberactivism the last paragraph of the assigned chapter closed addressing the inequality the internet creates between the working class communities of color in America and those who have access to the web. Tilly expands on this in Social Movements stating that in 2000 only 6% of the world had internet access, as far as social activism is concerned, this demographic is most likely comprised of upper class Caucasians which makes the reach of the internet very selective and to a similar group of people with roughly the same goals and ideas as the group with access to the internet. On page 85 Tilly states the internet may “equalize relations among parties that already define themselves as equal, but it also offers opportunities for well-organized purveyors to dominate the circulation of information. Tilly predicts that the expansion of cell and internet users in wealthy countries will only continue to distance groups from each other and weaken the stream of information and action that could otherwise occur.
This concerns me, because as I am an advocate for the web as a vehicle for action groups and independent media we also must stop and think about how we could better involve those who are being left behind by the technological advances of our time. I can’t help but think those of us with internet access are indeed feeling closer to the world at large, with endless resources and articles at our finger tips about virtually anything, anywhere, yet we fail to notice that we are actually cutting off information from those who do not have the luxury to communicate back. Technological communication seems at times like a one sided conversation. I think we should stop and consider those we may be leaving behind, ultimately kicking down and help to pull them up.
There are of course advantages to our communications network, and although they are Lance Bennett’s finding and not Tilly’s he supplies them on page 106, they make loosely structured networks, weaken the identification of local activists, reduce ideology, diminish the creation of permanent campaigns, and combine face-to-face/ Real Life performances with virtual performances. I personally admire Tilly for his in depth analysis of Social Movement repertoire and his all encompassing research. His opinions are well documented and supported yet as we just saw, he supplies both sides of relevant issues letting the reader to decide what they believe to be correct.
[edit] Week Four- People's Movements, People's Press
People’s Movements People’s Press explores the idea that the success of a social movement can be followed and understood in context to the journals that were created to support and encourage the parties activism. Ostertag’s main thesis as stated on page 14 is that “The history of Social Movement journalism can be understood only in the context of the particular movements of which each journal was apart.” For this reason, Ostertag selected five separate movements to analyze both historically in context of the journal as well as in theory. I feel that his analysis is clear and well supported with research, I especially appreciated that his examples not only educated me about the press but painted a face on the movement as well.
A passage on page 25 sparked my attention and made me question the lasting effects of the written word versus spoken. Ostertag quotes a passage written by Clara Belwick Colby, a woman suffragist,
“The spoken word has its power for the day, but for building up a new line of thought in the popular heart there must be the written word…[W]hile the lecture amuses and interests for an hour or two…the paper read in quiet moments gradually makes conviction, and the reader instead of being transitorily influenced by the opinion of another, builds up opinions of his own.”
I feel this is of particular importance today, as our society evolves technologically, the written word is becoming employed as a means of transferring and relaying information via blog, forum, post, wiki, static web page, email and instant message. This allows for easy access to information and the education regarding injustices. I fear though, that because of the quick, instant nature of the internet, the written word will loose its luster. Will the user/reader take the time to validate their source and to check the facts for relevance against other articles? Does the change from an object within your hands to words on a screen cause the content to digest differently? Will discussion over such a vast amount of resources influence the same development of a personal opinion and evoke the same emotional response, or will it simply amuse the reader for a day or two and vanish with the ever changing and evolving world of cyberspace?
I would suggest that a group of activists take this into consideration when developing a publication, but today I don’t believe there is a choice. The internet will be and is becoming an essential source for the current generations access to news, information and resources. I believe that due to the ease at which American’s have adapted to the convenience of online communication (pg. 24 Ostertag states that more than 130 million personal computers are purchased by Americans each year) evading the internet would be a mistake on the part of any journalist, group or educator [looking not to make a profit (with exception of advertisements), but to inform a larger community about their cause] . In addition the internet offers a cost efficient format for activists to supply articles to the masses.
Throughout People’s Movements People’s Press there appears to be a trend of influence from movement to movement as well as between journals. As Ostertag noted in his discussion of the Woman Suffragist Movement on page 70, once a radical journal enters the movement press it clears the path for alternative journals to reign with their employment of techniques, after the issue is covered in MSM the movement’s press is considered less essential. I believe this trend is also relevant in terms of articles published by activist organizations and journals on the internet.
Charles Tilly made clear in Social Movements 1874-2004, that Social Movement tactics must always be evolving in context to the specific grievance and remain relevant to popular politics. He noted that it’s also imperative to hold onto past tactics that proved effective throughout history. I feel this is directly relevant to the movement press as well as the changes needed to occur in conjunction with the transformation of human thought due to the internet.
[edit] Week Five- Art of Protest Chapters 1-5
The Art of Protest made an interesting aspect of social movements clear to me, that public displays and organizing alone does not make community. That in fact, a cultural element significant and unique to the party is necessary in creating solidarity and in most cases extinguishing fear in those who intent to fight for their grievance to be heard. Sometimes the cultural aspect (poetry, painting, music, film, dance, mural, etc) was not obvious and often surprised me, my favorite chapter, Scenarios for Revolution: The Drama of the Black Panthers focused on theatrics of both ‘black power theater and black power as theater’. I had little to no knowledge that the Black Panther’s goal was not entirely about a black revolution, a separation from the white government but a performance made to benefit all oppressed, encouraging them to rise above through community-to-community communications vs. a hierarchy [white patriarchy] control house.
The problem with using theater as a means to reflect and encourage community was the limitations for outside activism to occur, the organization was very privatized and theater/acting required skills not possessed by the general populace. This offered The Panthers little chance for their numbers to grow, however the image and message relayed to the public still reflected that of a once oppressed powerful standing up against the oppressor and demanding injustices to end. The party aimed at turning self hatred and disgust away from the individual and target it towards the government to strengthen the fight for equality. The Panthers employment of their rights in their daily fight excited me, the first page of the chapter depicts a reoccurring scene, men and women dressed in leather and berets, carrying guns and marching into the legislative office followed by MSM, a man stops them at the door and asks “Where the hell are you going?” A party member responds, “I am going to exercise my constitutional right to see my government making laws, and my right under the second amendment to bare arms.”.
The Panthers were especially passionate about exposing the injustices that were occurring in the system by targeting and exposing the oppressors with similar means of action. An example of this was policing the police, the watchers were now the ones being watched, this shed light on the uncivil disobedience and brutality that occurred daily. Pg. 54 explains their stance as stated in an article “The Black Panther Party recognizes, as do all Marxist revolutionaries, that the only response to the violence of the ruling class is the revolutionary violence of the people.”
I believe this quote is essential in understanding the actions the party decided to take in order to not only be heard but to be empowered. Although the party’s hostility and violence got the best of them in the end [due to the medaling of 7,000 undercover agents internalizing the ‘drama’] their actions both in street theatrics as well as political theatrics [armed requests for change] were essential in their cause.
Will the initiation of internet aided revolutions, causes and movements loose the cultural aspect that binds justice seeking communities together, or will the internet ‘become’ the cultural aspect that supplies us with information, makes our voices heard and propels us with anonymity?
[edit] Week Six-Art of Protest Chapters 6-10
The Art of Protest Chapter 6-10 held my interest and intrigued me, however after seminar last week I did find myself pining after an idealistic form of visual representation. I am aware that as this is a novel and not a website [or] photography medium, so therefore did not expect to see an image of knife, fork and spoon over the continent of Africa nor did I expect to hear the ignorance of "Do they know it's Christmas" being sung as I flipped through the book, but I did however long to experience and become knowledgeable with these sensual stimulus. I especially felt this way towards chapter 7 Acting Up Against Aids- The [very] Graphic Arts in a Movement of Crisis, I appreciated hearing about the movement participants (more specifically Act Up) and their employment of theater, humor, and politics. Page 188 speaks of a protest broken up by police in yellow plastic gloves [scared of the AIDS virus] the activists began chanting "Your gloves don't match your shoes! You'll see it on the news!" In addition to these playful street tactics the use of graphics and symbols was mentioned several times, the motto Silence=Death, a slogan and image associated with the campaign was meant to make people question and I longed for an expansion on visual representation.
On page 182 T.V. Reed brings up an interesting point, that by creating and facilitating organizations to give support where the government fails, these organizations are not entirely good for the movement. They do not help the fight to challenge the government into giving them the rights and resources they are entitled to, instead they make the problem easy to ignore by filling in the gaps of incompetence. I had not thought much about this issue previously, but feel it to be of great importance. Most of us willing to help and volunteer these resources do so because we feel an immediate need within the community for these resources and a pull on our consciences. The only options seem to be: A. fight to make the injustices noticed while leaving those suffering to become vulnerable to the government, B. Help those in need and hope the government will become encouraged by your actions to facilitate their own support system. Or C. Develop organizations and provide support while rallying the government for funds etc. I am not entirely sure if this is a correct analysis because I am not an expert on the subject but it is my general interpretation of the matter.
Chapter 9: Will the Revolution be Cybercast? (New Media, The Battle of Seattle and Global Justice) was the most interesting to me out of chapters 6-9 simply because it hit closer to home both geographically, and in generational context. The idea of differing interest groups networking in real-life, as they may on the internet, to come together over one broad issue that embodied all causes excites me. Not only did all age groups, economic class standing, sexes, political parties and races come out to fight for justice in solidarity, they did so around the world. What amazed me most about the WTO protests was the ever present organizing, mobilizing and forms of action. When police brutality sky rocketed unexpectedly (and under surveillance of Indymedia via webcams, video camera, digital cameras, and radio streamed over the internet in minutes) groups formed in protest to their actions, city officials eventually asked police to only arrest individuals as protesters had originally expected.
The black bloc, took radical action, breaking windows and vandalizing the corporate stores known for their use of the sweatshop [Starbucks, Nordstrom, Addidas, Nike, The Gap, Banana Republic, Bank of America and Old Navy]. The media of course focused on this issue of 'destruction' as the cause of police brutality actions as well as the coining of the protester as a chemical terrorist opposed to a citizen practicing their rights as a member of what should be a healthy democratic society. The question that T.V. Reed asks, and I wonder as well is this, "were the acts of property destruction responsible for negative coverage in the main stream media or were they the only reason why the events got any coverage at all?" (pg. 269)
I believe this radical action to be a more effective [yet not always necessary] tactic to get an idea of the grievance celebrated and acknowledged nationally as well as internationally because of the mainstream coverage it may receive. This is not to say that the coverage will be relevant to the cause and expand on the grievance, they will probably be criminalized for their actions and the action itself will be portrayed as an act of irrational anger or rioting. The idea of a radical action as I perceive it is to get global attention and to make the people think, to ask why, to create the strategic ambiguity employed by the Silence=Death campaign. To do this, the radical action must directly speak of the cause at hand and be done in a manner that exposes a truth or shows an infringement with a plausible cause or rational. In my opinion everything done in radical action as well as grassroots must serve a purpose and directly correlate to the fight at hand.
