 |
 |
|
||||
Home | M For Media Malarkey main page | Schedule | Programme PDF | Map | Those Attending | Intro Blurb | Updated 11th May 2007 Introductory blurb... TALK IS CHEAPAS 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 its not exactly the stuff of small talk to thrash out how youre 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, its 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 itll be great to see people, its not that were calling this simply for a back-patting session. Its clear that despite the best efforts of the alternative/independent media - and in fact its probably as good as its 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 whats 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 thats not enough therell 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.
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 wed 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 its business as usual. And we dont 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 its not just internationalism getting the better of them, its that people are making stuff with all the right intentions but perhaps arent that adept at doing types of research cos theyre activists not journalists arent they far easier to fill your pages by bunging in loads of stuff cutnpasted from Indymedia. Yer pot kettle black SchNEWS is not excluding itself from this criticism, but having said that people freely paste from us - and thats fine though all this own-tail-eating can lead to an ever-decreasing-circle of new information sources. Primary source and first-hand material isnt the total be-all and end-all, and lets 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 whats 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. Its 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 theyll find it. This applies to all media print, web and video - and its 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) its about maximising the quality and availability on the web. There are tricks to improving your websites traffic, and you may as well exploit them. Again, were not smug at SchNEWS, because we can all fall into these traps. Another obvious reason for hold this gathering is that theres no substitute for meeting in person, and its a strange feature of the modern age that you can have daily contact with people youve 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, youre 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 its hard to know who wrote what at the best of times. Basically a gathering like this cant 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 its 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...
|
||||||
|
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
@nti copyright - information for action - copy and distribute!