Alternative Media Movement Assembly

The Alternative Media Movement Assembly was organized with the aim to bring together various peoples involved in “indie” media making and media organizations, in order to facilitate dialogue and strategizing towards efforts at collaboration, networking, and building common / shared projects that would go beyond supporting single media outlets, but instead do things to support indie media work as a whole.

Attendance / participation did include a diverse range of indie media makers and media organizations, but also some people with less background and experience in the field. It's also worth noting that some media organizations we had expected would be there as part of the assembly were not, and that is both a question we have as to why, and something we can follow up on with them.

In the process of organizing the assembly, with aid of online survey responses, we put together / articulated four main themes for the assembly, that speak to the challenges and opportunities that indie media face as a whole. We hope that people will still use these articulated themes as key areas to focus on in their continuing efforts to improve the work they are doing in the field. Read the full descriptions of themes here.

Colonization, Oppression and Media: Rethinking Inclusion and Exclusion in Alternative Media

Liberation and Media: Rethinking our Organizational Models

Media Justice and Journalism: Rethinking Reporting and Coverage

Mutual Aid and Alternative Media: Rethinking Funding and Capacity

The format of the assembly was aimed to focus on breakout group discussions on these four themes as well as any specific projects that were brought forward as 'pitches'.

There was only one 'pitch' outside of the four themed breakout discussions; this pitch was brought forward by CACTUS, the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations. CACTUS proposed and sought help and feedback to organize a national community media conference with the primary goal of designing an updated community media policy for Canada in the digital environment.  The goal would be to hold the conference within one year, as an input to the CRTC's planned review of both community radio and television policy. (This was successfully organized and the conference held in 2015).

The other breakout groups didn't come up with details of any plans to follow through on, but there were some ideas and proposals of things that could be done.

One area of that was about media outlets/organizations working together. Aspects of how that would be structured, and the necessity of having some principles of unity to come together around, were identified. Possible ideas of what things could be working in collaboration included the following: consolidating content and distribution efforts; creating general/shared promotional materials for alternative media; and creating a 'visibility network' for alternative media. Also identified were possibilities to collaborate around generating funding: a campaign for public funds towards alternative media; creating an alternative/community media fund; and running a shared crowdfunding campaign.

One possibility for a form that collaborative efforts could take would be to have local media assemblies, or less formal gatherings/get-togethers, of people involved in alt/community media coming together in person on the basis of 'place'. This could be complemented by conference calls or other ways of communicating across locations. Part of this process could be aimed at forming 'collective cognitive maps' that help with knowledge-sharing and deliberation around strategy for media-making, media-organizing, and collaboration – a vital component of this would be examining challenges and problems that individuals and collectives experience, and creating space both to learn from them and offer support in addressing them.

Also identified at the assembly was the need to support individual media-makers' work. Thoughts included media organizations/outlets working to create resources that support individual's work, including how-to guides, articulated visions of what indie media can be/do, and more.

The necessity of understanding independent media’s position in the overall media and social movement environment was also underlined. General possibilities of where indie media can contribute included creating new communities, helping forge synergies, reaching more people, and helping to shape society. Again, this highlights the importance of collaborating around 'collective cognitive maps' of indie media making, that we come to be more in tune with others visions of what we are doing in our work and how we can be more effective, both on our own and in working together with each other.

Documentation / resources from the assembly:

Notes from breakout groups (photos of flipchart notes):  Media & Justice Rethinking Funding & Capacity Liberation Media Community Media Centres / CRTC 

Video of full assembly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrD9YJSCA84

The Alternative Media Assembly, Saturday August 23, 2014.

Photo credit: Cherise Seucharan, originally posted on Peoples Social Forum official Facebook page.

Also: here are links to video of the assembly - raw footage in 3 segments, courtesy 99media.org:

Watch the opening (starts at 4min in): - welcome / acknowledgement / dismantling oppression statement - framing the assembly - overview / instructions of assembly process - break out group topics http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/51747557

Watch the check-ins with the break out groups (first 10min): http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/51749461

Watch the breakout group report-backs, and wrap up (starts at 17min in): http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/51750839

AND - the Media Assembly reportback to the overall PSF Closing Assembly (via rabble.ca):

(starts at 45m30s, it's ~3min long) http://www.livestream.com/rabbletv/video?clipId=pla_4af4f22d-360d-41aa-9551-c088769612e4

The Alternative Media Assembly takes place Saturday afternoon, at the Peoples Social Forum in Ottawa, and online via livestream. / L'Assemblée médias alternatifs aura lieu le samedi après-midi, lors du Forum social des peuples à Ottawa, et en ligne via livestream. Full details at / tous les détails à : psfaltmedia.tumblr.com We have prepared a publication to cover some of the issues related to the Assembly. It is available in print at the PSF, but also online: / Nous avons préparé une publication pour couvrir une partie des questions relatives à l'Assemblée. Il est disponible en version imprimée à la PSF, mais aussi en ligne : ENGLISH EDITION: 8-page publication in PDF format (8.5”x11”) ÉDITION FRANÇAISE: Publication de six pages au format PDF (8,5 "x 11") Included articles / articles inclus :

Feminist writers: Resisting the influences of sexism - At the Peoples Social Forum, and beyond / Les écrivaines féministes : résistant à l’influence de la sexisme - au Forum sociale des peuples, et d’ailleurs by/par Nora Loreto - click here to read / cliquez ici pour le lire

Community Media Centres: Hubs for Multimedia, Mutliplatform Digital Production to Support Alternative Voices / Centres des Médias Communautaires: vers la production et distribution numérique pour appuyer les voix marginales by/par Cathy Edwards and Laith Marouf - click here to read / cliquez ici pour le lire

Diversity and inclusions: a progressive media challenge / Diversité et inclusivité: un défi pour les médias progressifs by/par Meg Borthwick, Kim Elliot, and Steff Pinch - click here to read / cliquez ici pour le lire

The Problem of Whiteness in Media Organizations / Le problème avec la domination des organisations médiatiques par les blancs by/par Erin Seatter et Jahanzeb Hussain - click here to read / cliquez ici pour le lire

Thinking of Media Justice and Liberation by Sharmeen Khan - click here to read

Media Activist Research Group: Anti-Oppression and Activist Media by Sandra Jeppesen - click here to read

How Does Place Shape Media-related Organizing and Production? / Influence de la localisation des médias sur leur organisation et leur production by/par Scott Neigh - click here to read / cliquez ici pour le lire

Both Sides of the Coin - How equal time does not mean “balanced” / Les deux côtés de la médaille: comment donner le même temps ne veut pas dire être «équilibré» by/par Samer Beyhum - click here to read / cliquez ici pour le lire

Collaborative effort - How to get around capitalist imposed limitations / Effort collaboratif: comment contourner les limites imposées par le capitalisme by/par Samer Beyhum - click here to read / cliquez ici pour le lire

Never been a better time to get started in media / Se lancer dans la création d’une entreprise médiatique by/par Tony Patterson - click here to read / cliquez ici pour le lire

Continuing the process started here at the Alternative Media Assembly / Continuer le processus commencé ici à l’Assemblée des médias alternatifs by/par Greg Macdougall - click here to read / cliquez ici pour le lire

by Greg Macdougall, EquitableEducation.ca ~ le francais suit ~ traduction par Julie Delisle, 99%Média ~

Continuing the process started here at the Alternative Media Assembly Fostering connections, ongoing dialogue, and a plan for collective process

This Assembly could be looked at as having three main functions, so we should consider how each of them can move forward.

First, in order to nurture the informal connections between individuals that happen at the Assembly, we can provide specific time and instruction during the Assembly for people to exchange contact information with others they would like to stay in touch with.

Second, a key component of the Assembly are the ideas discussed in the breakout group on the four different themes, as well as on specific project or issue pitches.

The discussions will be of most benefit to those that are in them, but we aim to share the insight, ideas, approaches and strategies that are generated or shared during these discussions by publishing the notes online. Doing this on a static website would be a start, but having some sort of participatory online discussion forum might be a way to facilitate these conversations continuing in a public manner.

Lastly, the biggest of these three aspects to follow through on, is to facilitate the further collective collaboration and action.

Online communication infrastructure is a big part of this. In planning the Assembly, we've been using a discussion email listserv for the core planning, in addition to an email announcement list to communicate updates. We urge everyone – and their friends – to get on this announcement listserv in order to stay connected to the ongoing process, and those who wish to participate in the future planning on whatever comes out of the Assembly can be added to the discussion list.

As mentioned, an online forum could be a way that ideas are shared and refined, as well as plans being further developed and communicated. But we'd also like to foster offline connections: our Assembly planning has mainly been done through teleconference, and this could be one way for continuing the process.

We'd also like to see people getting together in person further. This could be at local, regional or national levels.

From something as small as informal self-organized get-togethers in different cities for people aligned with the Assembly's goals, to specific organized spaces at conferences or gatherings that are already taking place, and possibly planning/hosting regional or national gatherings that continue the work of this Assembly, but with more time and space than the three hours we've had here. There may also be opportunities to continue to include spaces for organizing around alternative media in whatever form(s) the overall Peoples Social Forum continues in.

Whether this is the beginning of a formal body bringing together media organizations and individual media makers, or more simply the makings of something of a network of connection and collaboration, key support for helping to ensure the viability of this process would be the provision of ongoing resources – dedication of human time, financial backing, and access to communication channels – from organizations that are aligned with the principles of this Assembly. We need not limit that to media organizations; also consider unions, NGOs, associations, grassroots groups, and others able to provide this support. Helping these institutions see the importance that developing media justice has in relation to their own work, and thus the value of their investing in this process as allies, is part of how we can best move forward.

Participants should reflect on the opportunities and potentials that this Assembly is helping to generate, and the ways in which we can individually and collectively contribute to making them happen.

~~ This article is part of the pre-Assembly publication for the Alternative Media Movement Assembly, which is taking place Saturday Aug 23, 1-4pm at the Peoples Social Forum in Ottawa - as well as via livestream/chat online. For the other articles and the full PDF version of the publication, click here. Get updates pre- and post-Assembly via the email announcement list. ~~ ——————

Continuer le processus commencé ici à l'Assemblée des médias alternatifs

Cette Assemblée pourrait être considérée comme ayant trois fonctions principales. Nous devrions donc considérer comment assurer la continuité de chacune d'elle.

D'abord, afin de nourrir les connections informelles entre les individu.e.s présent.e.s à l'Assemblée, nous pouvons fournir un temps et des instructions pendant celle-ci pour que les gens échangent leurs informations avec les personnes avec lesquelles ils et elles désirent rester en contact.

Ensuite, un élément clé de l'Assemblée est l'ensemble des idées discutées dans le groupe sur les quatre différents thèmes, ainsi que sur des idées de projets ou d'enjeux spécifiques.

Les discussions seront hautement bénéfiques à ceux et celles qui y participent, mais notre but est de partager les idées, approches et stratégies qui sont générées ou partagées durant ces discussions en publiant les notes en ligne. Le faire sur un site web statique serait un début, mais une sorte de forum de discussion ouvert à tou.te.s pourrait être un moyen de faciliter la continuité de ces conversations de façon publique.

Enfin, le plus important des trois aspects à poursuivre est de faciliter la continuité de l'action collective et collaborative.

L'infrastructure de communication en ligne est une composante majeure de cet aspect. En planifiant l'Assemblée, nous avons utilisé un listserv de discussion par courriel pour la planification centrale, en plus d'une liste de diffusion pour faire connaître les mises à jour. Nous recommandons fortement à tous et toutes, ainsi qu'à leurs ami.e.s, à se joindre à ce listserv afin de rester au courant du processus en cours. Ceux et celles qui désirent participer à la future planification de ce qui pourra sortir de l'Assembée peuvent être ajouté.e.s à la liste de discussion.

Tel que mentionné, un forum en ligne pourrait être une manière de partager et raffiner les idées, ainsi que déveloper et communiquer des plans. Mais nous aimerions aussi favoriser des connections hors ligne. Nous avons planifié l'Assemblée principalement par téléconférence, ce qui pourrait être une méthode pour continuer le processus.

Nous aimerions aussi voir les gens se retrouver en personne. Ça pourrait se faire aux niveaux local, régional ou national.

De quelque chose d'aussi petit que des rencontres informelles auto-gérées dans différentes villes, suivant les buts de l'Assemblée, jusqu'à des espaces spécifiques organisés à des conférences ou rassemblements faits par d'autres organisations, et possiblement planifier ou héberger des rencontres régionales ou nationales qui continueraient le travail de l'Assemblée, mais avec plus de temps et d'espace que les trois heures dont nous disposons ici. Il peut aussi y avoir des occasions pour continuer à inclure des espaces d'organisation autour des médias alternatifs dans la ou les formes que prendra le Forum social des peuples en général.

Que ce soit le début d'un groupe formel qui unirait les organisations médiatiques et les créateurs.trices individuel.le.s de médias, ou plus simplement la création d'une sorte de réseau de connection et de collaboration, un support clé pour s'assurer de la viabilité du processus serait la disposition de ressources continues (dédication de temps, support financier et accès à des canaux de communication) par des organisations qui sont alignées avec les principes de l'Assemblée. Nous n'avons pas à limiter cela à des organisations médiatiques: considérons aussi les syndicats, les ONG, les assocations, les groups «grassroots» et d'autres groupes capables de donner ce type de support. Aider ces institutions à voir l'importance de la justice médiatique par rapport à leur propre travail, et donc la valeur de s'investir dans ce processus en tant qu'alliées, fait partie de ce que nous devons faire pour mieux avancer.

Les participant.e.s devrait réfléchir aux occasions et au potentiel que cette Assemblée aide à générer, ainsi qu'aux façons de contribuer individuellement et collectivement à les faire se réaliser.

By Scott Neigh, Talking Radical & the Sudbury working-group of The Media Co-op ~ le francais suit ~ traduction par Evelyn Miranda ~

How Does Place Shape Media-related Organizing and Production?

I have participated in movements as well as produced alternative media in both urban southern Ontario and in Sudbury, a small city in the province's near north. One of my current projects allows me to do in-depth interviews on a weekly basis with activists from all parts of the country who are involved in many different movements. Another project is locally focused, and involves writing some journalistic articles as well as sharing editorial and organizing tasks with other members of a small grassroots media collective.

I’m still working to answer how place matters in this work, but this rane of experience has pushed me to ask the question in ways that activists who have never operated outside of metropolitan contexts seldom do. Political culture and political sensibility, as well as racial formation and class formation, are significantly different here compared to urban southern Ontario and to the other big-city environments where alternative media ventures are usually based, so the landscape for media-related organizing and production work is quite different. Moreover, the total number of people is smaller, so the possibility for generating enough support to maintain a project with a narrow political basis is much reduced.

To help alternative media thrive in this context can mean adopting a more expansive sense of what content and what organizational and production practices are suitable, and having a more politically expansive idea of who we want to work with and reach. It can mean experimenting with different approaches to introducing topics, voices, practices, and ideas that challenge some elements of that 'we' while still growing readership and writership. Finally, it has also had to mean getting past the metropolitan preconceptions that I arrived with, to see the radical and resistant things that are already happening here as they are already happening everywhere.

I am still fumbling my way towards answers, but I am keen to hear how others have been responding to place in how they do *their* work -- and to investigate whether maybe, just maybe, lessons learned in smaller centres might even be useful to folks in the big cities.

~~ This article is part of the pre-Assembly publication for the Alternative Media Movement Assembly, which is taking place Saturday Aug 23, 1-4pm at the Peoples Social Forum in Ottawa - as well as via livestream/chat online. For the other articles and the full PDF version of the publication, click here. Get updates pre- and post-Assembly via the email announcement list. ~~ ——————

Influence de la localisation des médias sur leur organisation et leur production

 J’ai participé à plusieurs mouvements et je me suis aussi investi dans des médias alternatifs autant dans les régions urbaines du sud de l’Ontario qu’à Sudbury, une petite ville du nord proche. Pour un de mes projets actuels, j’effectue des entrevues hebdomadaires en profondeur avec des activistes de partout au Canada, engagés dans différentes sortes de mouvements. Je contribue également aux projets d’un petit média communautaire, qui inclut l’écriture d’articles et le partage de tâches éditoriales et organisationnelles avec les autres membres.

Je tente encore de comprendre l’importance de la localisation dans ce type de travail et, de par mon expérience dans ce domaine, j’aborde cette question d’une manière différente de celle des activistes qui n’ont jamais travaillé hors des grandes villes. La culture et les sensibilités politiques, les formations des identités raciales et de classe dans les petites communautés sont significativement différentes de celles dans les grandes villes, dont les métropoles des régions urbaines du sud de l’Ontario, où les entreprises des médias alternatifs sont généralement situées, et, en conséquence, les environnements respectifs sont passablement différents, en ce qui concerne l’organisation médiatique et la diffusion des informations. De plus, la population des petites villes étant moins importante, la capacité de générer un soutien financier suffisant pour un projet ayant peu d’appui politique est limitée.

Stimuler le développement des médias alternatifs dans ce contexte peut, alors, impliquer une perception plus globale du contenu et des pratiques organisationnelles et productives, et une conception plus claire de ceux avec qui nous voulons travailler et du public ciblé. Cela peut également impliquer la mise en pratique de nouvelles formules pour le traitement des sujets, des voix différentes, des pratiques inédites et des idées innovatrices qui défient certaines structures du «nous» tout en permettant une augmentation du nombre de nos lecteurs et de nos journalistes. En dernier lieu, cela signifie aussi dépasser les préjugés métropolitains avec lesquels je suis arrivé, reconnaître les courants radicaux et les élans de résistance qui sont déjà en marche ici, comme ils sont déjà en marche partout ailleurs.

Je suis toujours à la recherche des réponses mais j’ai hâte d’écouter les autres raconter comment ont-ils traité la question de la localisation dans le cadre de *leur* travail; et de m’enquérir auprès de nos collègues provenant des grandes villes si, peut-être, je dis bien peut-être, les leçons apprises dans les petites communautés peuvent leur être utiles.

by Samer Beyhum, 99%Media ~ le francais suit ~ traduction par Julie Delisle, 99%Média

Collaborative effort - How to get around capitalist imposed limitations

We sadly live in a capitalist world that impose limitations on what we can achieve. Since 2011, 99%Media has existed as an independent media group for social justice with many achievements to our name. To remain independent we chose to take a difficult path; zero funding. Every member contributes what they have and are willing to offer in terms of time, equipment and expertise. Due to our success people have this impression about us that we are a big well oiled organization with significant financial capabilities and with full time staff to support and keep things running. Which goes to prove that one does not need money to be successful.

But we do sadly live in a capitalist world that impose limitations on what we can achieve. We are now presented with the dilemma of how to move on and sustain the growth of our group. We need to consider that there are bills to pay, people to remunerate, and the equipment we use is not cheap. We are at a point where we need funding. But how do we accomplish this without selling our souls to the proverbial devil and also without following in the footsteps of the main stream media paywalls when we believe that information should be free for all to access.

Social financing is a viable option, it frees us from the shackles of having to abide by the wishes of an advertiser or sponsor with an agenda. But for this method to work it has to be shared and promoted by as many people as possible.

Sometimes, in our alternative media world, we forget that we are not alone. We forget who it is we are competing with. Some media groups have the tendency to think, due to the impositions by the capitalist system's “business model”, that we are competing against each other. To collectively succeed we have to put such ideas behind us and collectively collaborate rather than compete with each other. This is a major platform that we are currently missing in our alternative media word; a network of  cooperation between alternative media groups where other media groups would help each other when needed with equipment loans, an open system of sharing of footage and other resources, and sharing each others works as far and wide as possible.

Individually we risk drowning in the sea of capitalism, but together we can stand in the way of the tide and maybe even change its course.

~~ This article is part of the pre-Assembly publication for the Alternative Media Movement Assembly, which is taking place Saturday Aug 23, 1-4pm at the Peoples Social Forum in Ottawa - as well as via livestream/chat online. For the other articles and the full PDF version of the publication, click here. Get updates pre- and post-Assembly via the email announcement list. ~~ ——————

Effort collaboratif: comment contourner les limites imposées par le capitalisme

Malgré les obstacles que peuvent poser les questions de financement et de rémunération, 99%Média a accompli beaucoup en tant que média indépendant pour la justice sociale, et ce depuis sa fondation à l’automne 2011. Dans l’optique de préserver notre indépendance, nous avons fait le choix de ne solliciter aucun financement.

Après deux long-métrages, des centaines de courts et moyen-métrages, une présence au Short Film Corner du festival de Cannes et des milliers d’heures de diffusion en direct, les gens ont souvent l’impression que nous sommes une organisation bien financée et dotée d’employé-e-s à temps plein. Nous prouvons que le succès ne dépend pas de considérations financières.

Nous vivons tout de même dans un monde capitaliste qui impose son lot de contraintes. Notre groupe est en croissance, nous avons des frais à couvrir, des créatrices et créateurs à rémunérer sans compter l’achat et l’entretien d’équipement. Nous sommes arrivés à un point où il est nécessaire de trouver du financement, sans pour autant « vendre notre âme » ni tomber dans le piège des « murs payants » souvent utilisés par les médias de masse, considérant que l’information devrait être libre, accessible à toutes et à tous.

Le financement populaire est une option valable, nous évitant de devoir nous soumettre aux dictats de publicitaires imposant leur propre agenda. Pour que cette méthode soit efficace, elle doit être partagée le plus massivement possible.

Dans le monde des médias alternatifs, il nous arrive d’oublier que nous ne sommes pas seul-e-s, que nous combattons pour les mêmes objectifs. Les groupes médias traditionnels ont tendance à se faire compétition entre eux dans le modèle d’affaires capitaliste. C’est en mettant ce genre de concept derrière nous et en collaborant collectivement que nous obtiendrons de véritables succès. C’est la plateforme qu’il manque dans l’univers médiatique alternatif : un réseau de coopération permettant aux divers médias indépendants de s’entre-aider, par exemple par le prêt d’équipement ou par un système de partage d’images et autres ressources, afin que le réseau puisse diffuser le contenu de chacun massivement et mondialement.

Individuellement, nous risquons d’être écrasés par le capitalisme.

Ensemble, nous pouvons lui bloquer le chemin.

by Samer Beyhum , 99%Media ~ Le francais suit ~ traduction par Julie Delisle, 99%Média ~

Both Sides of the Coin - How equal time does not mean “balanced”

Often, some of us have faced the accusation of being biased; of not showing both sides of the story.  Telling both sides of the story is important, however, both sides of the story does not mean we should give equal time to an un-credible source (like a climate denier) in face of real solid hard facts. When an entity with deep pockets, has an entire army of public relations spin-doctors, and the capacity to flood the public and private channels with their own one sided view, the voice of opposition lacking the resources or means to get their view across often end up being unheard or ignored due to the media bias that pretends to give equal time to supposedly equal opinions. 99%Media amplifies the voices of those with strong factually based information by letting them speak for themselves. As a rule, we do not underestimate the intelligence of our audience. We do not tell the audience how to think or how they should react. Our job is to inform the audience of those rarely heard of voices.

One example of the success of this method; “Sécurité publique ou contrôle politique?” was a report we made on the alleged abuse of power by Mr. Claude Benjamin, then Mayor of the town of Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville (Quebec), who was using the police force to kick people out  from council session when they posed questions he did not like. For three years the mayor painted the dissenting citizens of St-Bruno as delusional and irrelevant. Our video gave them a voice to counter that of the mayor’s in the local news outlet, which happened to be run by one of his buddies. The video created such a storm that it contributed partially to Mr. Benjamin’s stepping down from his party and not running again for the position of mayor. In the municipal election of 2013 the citizens of St-Bruno became the authors of their own destiny when they won against the established political elite of the town.

The work we do as media is significant. It is therefore important to never lose perspective of the responsibility that comes with such significance.

~~ This article is part of the pre-Assembly publication for the Alternative Media Movement Assembly, which is taking place Saturday Aug 23, 1-4pm at the Peoples Social Forum in Ottawa - as well as via livestream/chat online. For the other articles and the full PDF version of the publication, click here. Get updates pre- and post-Assembly via the email announcement list. ~~ —————— Les deux côtés de la médaille: comment donner le même temps ne veut pas dire être «équilibré»

Nos reportages ont souvent été critiqués. On leur reproche leur manque de neutralité parce que ils ne présentent pas toujours les deux côtés de la médaille. Rapporter ce qui se passe des deux côtés d’un conflit est important, mais lorsque les sources sont peu crédibles, elles ne méritent pas qu’on leur accorde une attention soutenue.

Lorsque les moyens de communication et d’information publics et privés sont contrôlés et monopolisés par les mêmes entités capables de se payer la crème de la crème des firmes de relations publiques et autres « spin-doctors », la voix de l’opposition est souvent absente ou ignorée, sans parler de son manque de ressources et de moyens pour se faire entendre.

99%Média amplifie cette voix et la laisse parler pour elle-même.

Il ne faut jamais sous-estimer l’intelligence de son public. Nous ne lui disons pas comment il se doit de penser, nous ne faisons que lui transmettre des témoignages honnêtes, sensés, sentis et factuels.

Un exemple du succès de cette approche est « Sécurité publique ou contrôle politique? », un reportage sur de supposés abus de pouvoir par le maire de Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville à l’époque, Claude Benjamin. Y est documenté la présence d’agent-e-s de police pour évincer des citoyen-ne-s des conseils municipaux lors de questionnements peu appréciés par le maire et son conseil. Dans ce cas particulier, les inquiétudes des citoyens et des citoyennes concernaient la destruction planifiée d’une forêt bicentenaire afin d’y construire des condominiums de luxe, un projet immobilier du sénateur libéral Paul J. Massicotte.

Durant trois ans, M. Benjamin a dépeint ses opposant-e-s comme lunatiques et insignifiant-e-s. Notre vidéo leur a donné un moyen d’opposer leur voir à celle du maire dans les médias locaux, dont un lié à un proche de celui-ci. La vidéo a créé un tel fracas qu’elle a contribué à la défaite de Claude Benjamin lors des élections municipales de 2013.

Le travail des médias alternatifs est aussi important que ses responsabilités.

by Tony Patterson, www.scansite.ca

~ Le francais suit ~ traduction par Evelyn Miranda ~ Never been a better time to get started in media: Low cost of entry with technology at your fingertips

U.S. author and journalist A.J. Liebling once said that the freedom of the press belongs to whoever owns one. This is encouraging for those with the initiative to strike out on their own.

There has traditionally been a form of entrepreneurism in journalism. Freelance is a basic form of self-employment. The freelancer owns her own time, but control of the underlying media asset, and therefore the revenue source, rests elsewhere. Starting and/or owning a media enterprise is fundamentally a different option. It means putting all one’s eggs in a single basket, not only in terms of providing content but also in terms of deriving revenue.

Julie Ireton, a CBC reporter and Carleton journalism prof, spent part of last year on a Michener fellowship researching the concept of startup journalism. Several of her former students are underemployed, “but they’re inspired by the new digital projects and publications they’re seeing online. A light bulb has gone off—they want to start their own startup. The problem is, while these smart, talented journalists have great ideas and solid news judgment, they weren’t taught much about the business side of journalism—more specifically how to get a business started.”

It has always been possible for one person, or a small group, to start a local paper or a small production company. But the hurdles were once high. Seldom would all the necessary talents reside in a single individual. The startup costs were significant. Then along came the computer, which brings everything within the capacity of the individual that once was only attainable by the corporation. For print media, word-processing, data storage and manipulation, web-based research, laserprint output, graphic design, page layout are all available for pennies. For A/V, Hi-8 and digital cameras and desktop video editing and music mixing programs are at anyone’s fingertips. Not all fingers can coax the same quality of result from these tools, but those who are talented and determined enough now have all the technology necessary to build a media enterprise. Not to mention the multi-diversification of distribution outlets, social media and rampaging devices for reception.

All media require the same two essentials, a topic or subject matter, and a market, both of which should be clearly defined and, as much as possible, sui generis. There are a number of resources that will reveal what already exists in the marketplace, after which it falls to the entrepreneur to explore the coincidence of the public interest with her own interest. As for the market, information on demographic (economic), psychographic (lifestyle) and geographic (location) characteristics of almost any population segment is available from a wide variety of public and private sources. It remains to determine the form of the entrepremedial output. Will it be paper, video, radio or internet, tablet or mobile, or some combination? Again the topic and the market will be primary considerations.

The industry’s in transition and the cost of entry is low. There has never been a better time than right now to get started.

~~ This article is part of the pre-Assembly publication for the Alternative Media Movement Assembly, which is taking place Saturday Aug 23, 1-4pm at the Peoples Social Forum in Ottawa - as well as via livestream/chat online. For the other articles and the full PDF version of the publication, click here. Get updates pre- and post-Assembly via the email announcement list. ~~ —————— Se lancer dans la création d’une entreprise médiatique

L’auteur et journaliste nord-américain A.J. Liebling a dit une fois que la liberté de la presse appartient à ceux qui possèdent celle-ci. Ce sont des mots très encourageants pour ceux qui décident de se lancer dans ce domaine.

Il existe une tradition d’entreprenariat en journalisme. Le travail à la pige est une forme basique de travail autonome. Le pigiste est maître de son temps mais la gestion du contenu multimédia qui sous-tend l’information et, donc, le contrôle des sources de revenu, restent hors de sa portée. Alors, lancer ou devenir propriétaire d’une entreprise médiatique est décidément une alternative totalement différente. Elle implique que l’on engage tous ses investissements dans une affaire, non seulement en termes de production du contenu mais également en termes des revenus générés.

Julie Ireton, reporter à CBC et professeure de journalisme à l’université Carleton s’est investie pendant une partie de l’année dernière dans l’étude des débuts professionnels en journalisme. Plusieurs de ses anciens étudiants sont sous-employés «mais les nouveaux projets numériques et les publications en ligne sont une source d’inspiration pour eux. De nouveaux concepts et idées fusent et, alors, ils veulent démarrer leur propre projet. Le problème est que, même si ces journalistes intelligents et talentueux ont de bonnes idées et un jugement sagace en ce qui concerne la diffusion des nouvelles, on ne leur a pas beaucoup enseigné sur l’aspect commercial du journalisme - et, notamment, sur comment se lancer en affaires.»

Il a toujours été possible pour une personne ou un groupe réduit de fonder un journal local ou une petite compagnie de production. Or, les obstacles étaient de taille. On trouvait rarement toutes les compétences nécessaires en une seule personne. Les coûts de démarrage étaient élevés. Puis, advint l’ordinateur qui permit à un seul individu de faire ce qu’auparavant n’était réalisable que par une corporation. Les médias imprimés, le traitement des textes, le stockage et la manipulation des données, la recherche par internet, les impressions laser, le graphisme et la mise en page sont devenus extrêmement accessibles. Les caméras audiovisuelles, Hi-8 et numériques, les logiciels de mixage de son et de traitement vidéo sont à la portée de tout un chacun. Même si les résultats sont inégaux, ceux qui ont assez de talent et de détermination peuvent se procurer toute la technologie nécessaire pour lancer une entreprise médiatique, sans parler de la diversification des points de distribution, des médias sociaux et des appareils de réception envahissants.

Tous les médias requièrent deux éléments fondamentaux, un sujet à traiter et un marché, qui doivent être clairement définis et, autant que possible, sui generis. En ce qui concerne le sujet, plusieurs ressources peuvent révéler ce qui est déjà offert à la population, suite à quoi l’entrepreneur va déterminer jusqu’à quel point les intérêts du public coïncident avec les siens. En ce qui concerne le marché, on peut trouver les informations sur les spécificités démographiques (niveau économique), psychographiques (style de vie) et géographiques (localisation) pour presque tous les segments de la population, à partir d’une grande variété de sources publiques et privées. Il reste à définir quel moyen l’on privilégiera pour diffuser les informations : le média imprimé, la vidéo, les tablettes, les mobiles ou diverses combinaisons? Encore une fois, il faudra d’abord prendre en considération le sujet et le marché.

L’industrie des médias est en transition et les coûts de démarrage sont accessibles. Il n’y a jamais eu de meilleure occasion pour se lancer dans la création d’une entreprise médiatique.

by Cathy Edwards & Laith Marouf, Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS)

~ Le francais suit ~

Community Media Centres: Hubs for Multimedia, Mutliplatform Digital Production to Support Alternative Voices

The Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) would like to lead a break-out session about our efforts to promote digital community media centres that would enable individuals, activists, journalists, not-for-profits, small businesses, and local government to create and distribute messages. The goal is to better profile what’s going on in our communities, as well as across the country. The vision is an update of the community radio, community TV model for the digital age, embodying all media and output platforms in a single interconnected network. In this model, access to training, equipment, and distribution platforms (whether TV-video, radio, online, or mobile platforms) could be made available all under one roof at a central location like a public library, or it could have a distributed structure in larger centres, where multiple groups or production facilities function as "hubs" feeding content to shared platforms.

We’d like to lead a break-out session with these purposes:

We’d like to share our vision with individuals, media-makers and groups with alternative messages (environmental, social justice, First Nations, etc.) that need help accessing the media

We’d like feedback on this vision and our approach to achieving it. We have focussed efforts toward getting the CRTC to redirect the significant funding currently earmarked for "community TV" (administered by cable companies) to multimedia community production centres administered by not-for-profits. We are also working with municipalities, bands, and libraries in Ontario under a Trillium Foundation grant to educate communities about how digital technologies can enhance local communications.

We have tended to approach the CRTC in a patient, data-based ‘assault’ over many hearings, but sometimes wonder whether OpenMedia’s more confrontational and crowd-sourced approach might be more effective.

We’ve been working primarily from the top down in efforts to restructure the policy and funding environment to enable community media to flourish, but perhaps we should be working more from the bottom up with alternative voices and groups that need media outlets (hence our participation in the PSF) to lend their voices to ours at hearings.

Would the best way forward be to organize a multi-stakeholder conference to update Canada’s community media policies in the digital age, bringing together print, radio, TV and new media, and users and practitioners as well as policy-makers? Who should host it? What's the best timing? Who do we need to make sure is there?

by Sharmeen Khan

“Removed and reassured again and again, the veil has been manipulated, transformed into a technique of camouflage, into a means of struggle.” – Franz Fanon: “This is the Voice of Algeria”

I grew up with white voices being the authority of knowledge, culture, and history. The mainstream media reminded me over and over again of my place and of the realities of colonial-settler power. Whether it was around body image or the invisibility of colonialism, my entry into alternative media was aimed at poking holes into these masks that hid the realities of domination and exploitation.

Activist media is not only defined by the content we write. It also resists adopting the same structures of power and exploitation about which it produces leftist content. If we want revolutionary change, we need to transform the media to be a tool for liberation, rather than merely the production of alternative stories. By critically examining our structures of alternative media – how we are organized, who occupies leadership positions, how labour is divided, who is included and excluded – we may find that we reproduce and maintain the same ol’ hierarchical, white, patriarchal relationships, which we hate corporate media for perpetuating.

When the question of whiteness comes up, many of us regularly turn to tactics of multiculturalism to slightly tweak the make up of our organizations. I know this because I am often asked as a “Pakistani-Canadian” to contribute to predominantly white spaces although I have very little (if any) power or leadership in those situations. I was often used to represent millions of people in predominantly white spaces. My role was to fill the woman of colour quota (which is typically set at one) on panels and workshops. Rather than critically looking at the relationships maintained with particular people or communities, these organizers often opted for shallow and tokenistic solutions.

Let’s be honest: the spaces of alternative media can suck for people of colour. And while we talk about how to resolve the make up of the room – to take stock of who is included and excluded – we have a lot of work to do before we actually move beyond tokenism and identity politics. We must talk about how media can be used as a tool of struggle against colonialism, racism, and exploitation. Let’s start to transform media into one that Fanon calls “a means of struggle.”

by Sandra Jeppesen, of the Media Action Research Group

The mandate of some grassroots media activism is to support and communicate the issues of radical social movements. We have seen some strong examples of networks trying to bridge different communities together and also experiment with different models of organization- for example the Media Co-op structure or the National Community Radio Association that bridges campus-community radio. Other media activist groups have different models with existing or developing infrastructure. Organizations such as CUTV, the Montreal livestream TV station (operating out of Concordia University), has had a Board of Directors model since the 1960s. Given the variety that different media organizations structure themselves, we wanted to offer one critique of alternative media activism, and two opportunities for organizing that might better support our work.

First a critique: we need to be more attentive to ways in which women, people of colour, queer/trans and indigenous people may be marginalized within media activist projects. There are some amazing projects initiated by people who do not feel that ‘alternative media’ spaces are open to them. Shameless magazine and Ste-Emilie Skillshare (in Montreal) are just two examples that we have heard about. Anti-oppression politics must be at the basis of alternative media projects in terms of content and organizing structure. While media activists are pretty good at non-hierarchical consensus decision-making, we have huge limitations when it comes to the deeper inclusivity that anti-oppression practices would entail, including an awareness of power dynamics and privilege, thinking critically about who is included and excluded in our organizations, offering child care, taking initiative to learn about gender, critical race, decolonizing and queer theory from the grassroots.

These contradictions within grassroots media are the reason that we formed the Media Action Research Group (MARG). We are hoping to offer spaces, training and help build networks to develop strategies with activist media groups. MARG is a pro-feminist anti-authoritarian collective with members in Orillia, Toronto and Montreal. We are organizing ‘radical media mixers’ across Canada to get in touch with media activists engaged in anti-oppression practices. We have held mixers in Vancouver, Victoria and Ottawa and in the future will be meeting with activists in Toronto, Montreal and Halifax. We are also hoping to organize a Media Activism Summer Camp in 2015. If any of these networking or training initiatives interest you, please get in touch!

We hope to link our work to the future work of this assembly. As media activists, we need more networking opportunities to break the isolation, make connections, share skills and resources, and build capacity.