Media Activists Begin Organizing Global Day of Action

PHILADELPHIA--Meeting in the basement of a West Philadelphia church, 16 activists decided January 12 to put out a call for a week of media activism later this fall culminating in a global day of action. Their hope is to catalyze a grassroots movement for far-reaching media reform.

"I think the spirit of mass activism of the anti-corporate power movement has given people a renewed faith," said Liza Dichter of Media Channel, a progressive website that has over 900 affiliates.

The Philadelphia gathering followed a November meeting in New York, in which 35 organizers from an array of media activist groups agreed to hold a day of action. Groups represented included the Center for Digital Democracy, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), the Independent Media Center, Media Alliance, Media Channel and the Prometheus Radio Project. The organizers had originally planned to hold the day of action in April, but have tentatively pushed it back to October 19 to allow more time for organizing. October 19 also coincides with a day of action that a group of Canadian media activists held for the first time last year. The activists plan to spread the word far and wide, starting with upcoming protests at the World Economic Forum in New York and the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

"There's a real problem with most progressive groups not seeing media democracy as a core issue," said Alec Meltzer of Media Tank, the Philadelphia-based group that organized the meeting. "I think it's a reason groups aren't as effective in the work they do. They focus too much on getting in the media as opposed to changing the media."

Organizers envision the day of action to be a culmination of a week of workshops and popular education. They seek both to celebrate independent media as well as to protest a corporate media system controlled by a handful of global conglomerates. The organizing is beginning on a grassroots level, emphasizing locally-based activities (such as Earth Day) with which existing community organizations can easily connect.

"This is exciting," media critic Robert McChesney told the Indypendent upon hearing the news. "We need to do the organizing work. We need to do the outreach. And, I think this week of action could be very effective." McChesney is the author of several books including "Rich Media, Poor Democracy: Communications Politics in Dubious Times".

A working group was also formed to explore the possibility of holding one or more large-scale mass actions in the United States. The Washington, D.C. headquarters of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which oversees TV and radio broadcasters, was a frequently mentioned target.

"Ultimately, we have to think nationally to take on the big guys," McChesney advised.

John Tarleton is an organizer for the Global Day of Media Action. He can be reached at jtarleton129 [at] hotmail.com.