M For Media Malarkey - SchNEWS Alternative Media Gathering - Brighton - 11-13th May 2007
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Fight Truth Decay
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Home | M For Media Malarkey main page | Schedule | Programme PDF | Map | Those Attending | Intro Blurb | Updated 11th May 2007

Introductory blurb...
Food/Accommodation and other details

TALK IS CHEAP

AS THE ANARCHO LAPTOP MASSIVE HIT TOWN

This has been a long time coming for SchNEWS after years of meeting people at the Anarchist Bookfair, snatching five minute chats in the middle of the anti-capitalist throng, and wishing there were more opportunities to meet in person, for longer. And it’s not exactly the stuff of small talk to thrash out how you’re gonna replace capitalism with a sustainable future, or hold a vigorous examination of the state of play... So, while there are other national events, zine symposiums and bookfairs etc, it’s time for a get together for many of the people SchNEWS has worked alongside for years, both the ‘media activists’, and the er ‘activists’ – terms which blur together for many.

And while it’ll be great to see people, it’s not that we’re calling this simply for a back-patting session. It’s clear that despite the best efforts of the alternative/independent media - and in fact it’s probably as good as it’s ever been in Britain – the propaganda war is still being soundly lost. Could it be that a lot of this quality media is being confined to audiences within ‘activist’ circles and those in the know, and if so, how can we improve the situation? The obvious one is to improve the ways it moves outside these circles and reaches new people, those who are not yet aware of the types of news and info we take for granted. And it goes both ways – the more we are in contact with the broader community, the more we are likely to hear about localised struggles. Many stories which SchNEWS and others have covered over the years started out as entirely local concerns, and getting into ‘our’ media has been a great way to get national support and up the mainstream agenda.

Some key sessions are therefore about improving research methods – finding out what’s going in communities, as well as the dodgy dealings of councils, govts and corporations; promoting campaigns – hearing how local groups have generated public awareness and support through alternative, mainstream and their own media efforts; and mobilising communities – reaching out to those outside the bubble.

On the production side, there will be sessions aimed at helping all this stuff reach wider audiences, including workshops on preparing video for web, more effective flyers/leaflets/poster-making, improving websites and maximising web-traffic, and other print, web, video, photography and radio know-how.

And if that’s not enough there’ll be a packed schedule of screenings and presentations by video collectives from around England, as well as Scotland and Ireland – with many of the films being screened for the first-time.

Are You Too Open Minded?
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HACKED OFF?

Earlier this year when SchNEWS did our first issue from the Cowley Club (SchNEWS 573), we reflected on how things had changed, and how many of the issues we’d covered for years have gone from ‘minority’ rantings into mainstream debates – like climate change or GM foods. So what should we write about? These days the centre-left mainstream media do cover the big geo-political issues of the day, albeit using far greater resources than our own to do in-depth reports. But they are still skewed about some things and continue to only give fleeting coverage to movements in Britain and abroad tackling these issues, and the political ideas behind them. So we decided that, for SchNEWS, stories like direct action protests and social and environmental resistance – our home turf - still needs the coverage as ever, so it’s business as usual. And we don’t run an article about climate chaos alongside a half page ad for cheap flights to Malaga...

A common syndrome for some is to get obsessed with a struggle on the other side of the globe – however totally important and amazing – but at the expense of putting time into an issue closer to home, which they might more easily be able to do something about. This pattern transfers over to media, and we often see regional ‘local’ media – newsletters, magazines and websites alike – over-reliant on articles about Iraq, Palestine, the Zapatistas, etc. But it’s not just internationalism getting the better of them, it’s that people are making stuff with all the right intentions but perhaps aren’t that adept at doing types of research – cos they’re activists not journalists aren’t they – far easier to fill your pages by bunging in loads of stuff cut’n’pasted from Indymedia. Yer pot kettle black SchNEWS is not excluding itself from this criticism, but having said that people freely paste from us - and that’s fine – though all this own-tail-eating can lead to an ever-decreasing-circle of new information sources.

Primary source and first-hand material isn’t the total be-all and end-all, and let’s face it no volunteer-run media has a squad of full time reporters, let alone a travel budget to send someone over to Bolivia to cover that riot. But it does mean something to have the skills to find out what’s going on in your local area by going out into the community, or to research the dodgy financial dealings in your midst. It can be directly helpful to a campaign if your findings shine new light on the situation by digging the dirt. It’s not about publishing a ‘scoop’ for the sake of it, but offering a proper alternative news service.

So one aspect of the gathering is to improve research skills, with another focus on production and distribution skills, helping groups create media which is better geared toward those they are trying to reach. If you are doing a magazine aimed at your activist peers, an internal journal that assumes great prior knowledge in the reader, then great, but if you are trying to reach outside this bubble and into communities then give them something they might be likely to pick up, and get it to distribution points where they’ll find it. This applies to all media – print, web and video - and it’s about appraising who you are aiming it at – whether that be Europunk anarchists in three languages, or working class youths on your estate - and producing and distributing accordingly. For print this means pitching it in the right way (content, language, format and layout) and distro; for online video (beyond content and style obviously) it’s about maximising the quality and availability on the web. There are tricks to improving your website’s traffic, and you may as well exploit them. Again, we’re not smug at SchNEWS, because we can all fall into these traps.

Another obvious reason for hold this gathering is that there’s no substitute for meeting in person, and it’s a strange feature of the modern age that you can have daily contact with people you’ve never met. Also, in our broader alternative media community, all merrily cutting and pasting from one another, at least if you nick material from someone, you’re much more reassured of your source if you know the people, and can ring them up to cross-check. Much alternative media is anonymous, so it’s hard to know who wrote what at the best of times. Basically a gathering like this can’t go wrong as far as improving networking.

In the spirit of DIY, SchNEWS might have called this event, for reasons broadly outlined in this article – but it’s about everybody participating in the talks, and keeping them on the topics you really think need discussing (e.g. Easy on the 9-11!). On top of that if you can help things run smoothly – stepping in if someone is struggling with equipment you know about, or even the food or creche which is all being put on by volunteers, then please do...

IF YOU'RE NOT PISSED OFF - YOU'RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION

Food/Accommodation and other details...

VENUE

The Cowley Club is a collectively owned and volunteer run social centre in Brighton, with cafe and bookshop during the day, a private members bar during the evenings, and is a base for a variety of other projects. 12 London Road, Brighton BN1 4JA, Tel 01273 696104 For more see www.cowleyclub.org.uk

ACCOMMODATION

There will be limited accommodation at the Cowley Club itself, with other options in peoples' houses. If you need accommodation (and we hope you had already contacted us prior to arriving), please speak to us on Friday night, or when you arrive. If you live in Brighton and could put people up, please contact now as well.

FOOD

There will be hot food for lunch, and a buffet in the evening Saturday and Sunday. There will be breakfast each morning. All food served during the weekend will be vegan. All those actively participating in the gathering will be be given meal tickets, others will pay a small amount for food to cover costs.

CRECHE

There will be a creche downstairs in the back building, running Saturday 10am-6pm, Sunday 11am-5.30pm. There will be giant connect-4, and other great kids stuff.

TECH SUPPORT

If you are bringing a laptop for a workshop and need it put through a projector, please see us when you arrive so we can get it sorted. Just incase it all goes pear shaped, please bring your stuff also on CD. The SchNEWS office, with internet, burners etc, will be open for sorting out any computer hijinks.

DONATIONS

While this gathering is free to enter, it is being run by SchNEWS on a budget of zero. So when the hat is passed around, please give generously. Honest.

THIS IS DIY

This event is being cobbled together by (not that many!) volunteers - so if you see something needing doing - eg - putting people up, helping in the kitchen, computer problems, and can help, please step forward - in the spirit of DIY.

COPYLEFT - INFORMATION FOR ACTION
 


SchNEWS, c/o Community Base, 113 Queens Rd, Brighton, BN1 3XG, England
Phone +44 (0)1273 685913
email: schnews@brighton.co.uk

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