Be The Media

Independent Media Strategy Summit: Truths in Santa Cruz! Jan 25-27

The purpose of the Independent Media Strategy Summit is to think through - in a participatory, concrete way - how progressives can build a national, independent news source.

The Summit will be a collaborative gathering of experienced media veterans, scholars, activists & whistleblowers to assess and deploy our most powerful tools and messages.

Bring your best ideas, an open mind, and an urgent desire for change.

We hope to discover in this moment of Constitutional crisis, ecological peril and widening war, if a roomful of top investigative journalists, whistleblowers and indy-media all-stars can transform the way Americans perceive and support their world.

Participants include:
Larisa Alexandrovna, Ed Asner, David Altheide, John Perry Barlow, Dennis Bernstein, Khalil Bendib, Kristina Borjesson, Carol Brouillet, David Cobb, Peter B Collins, Gabriel Day, Elizabeth de la Vega, Bill Densmore,  Katherine Dodds, Frank Dorrel, Ronnie Dugger, Bonnie Faulkner, Mike Ferner, Robert Fitrakis, Brad Friedman, Richard Greene, David Ray Griffin, Kyle Hence, Mickey Huff, Naomi Klein, David Kubiak, Kalle Lasn, David Lindorff, Eamon Martin, Janice Matthews, David Mathison, Jason McKain, Ray McGovern, Cynthia McKinney, Kelly Omeara, Peter Phillips, Marc Pilisuk, Coleen Rowley, Bryan Sacks, Danny Schechter, David Schimke, John Scott, Cindy Sheehan, Barbara Trent, Sarah Ruth van Gelder, Tracy Van Slyke, Aldo Vidali.

Check out the incredible schedule here, especially the "BE THE MEDIA" workshops on Friday on the following topics:

• Investigative Reporting
• Exploiting New Technologies
• Community and Regional Network Building
  

Start Time:	Friday, January 25, 2008 at 12:00 noon
End Time:	Sunday, January 27, 2008 at 5:00pm
Location:	University Inn & Conference Center - Santa Cruz, CA
Street:	611 Ocean Street
City/Town:	Santa Cruz, CA

The event is sponsored by:
Be The Media
Project Censored
911Truth

For more information or to register, visit TruthEmergency!

COMMUNITY INTERNET: Internet Access as a Public Utility

On December 14, Be The Media and Media Action Marin presented Part One of a two-part television program on Community Internet and Digital Inclusion, titled:

"Internet Access as a Public Utility"

Moderated by David Mathison, panelists included:

• Tim Redmond: Executive Editor, San Francisco Bay Guardian
• Eloise Lee: Project Director, Broadband Access, Media-Alliance.org
• Andrew Berman: Chairman, Marin Telecommunications Agency
• Peter Franck: Chairman, Media Action Marin

The second part of the show will explore various Community Internet solutions in use around the US. That show will be taped during Media-Alliance's Digital Inclusion Summit at Laney College Theater in Oakland on February 15, 2008.

To brush up on Community Internet and Digital Inclusion, check out Media-Alliance's free Digital Inclusion Advocacy Toolkit.

Learn how to create your own Community Internet
See chapter 19 of BE THE MEDIA:

David Letterman: In solidarity with the writers

Thanks to David Letterman and his independent production company, Worldwide Pants. Letterman agreed to all the deal terms - including new media revenue - that the writers are asking for. And well he should - It's a fair deal!

According to Nicole Belle of Crooks and Liars: "At one point in the broadcast, Letterman took questions about the strike from the audience, leading to his head writer interrupting:

"Thousands of writers still walk the picket line every day until their legs cramp and their backs ache, only to return to a home they can now barely afford because of the producers’ greed. So, to the arrogant media moguls who’ve gotten so fat off our sweat-soaked toil that they can no longer fit behind their oversized mahogany desks, I say to you: Stop spending all your money on cufflinks, cocktails and whores. Stick a crowbar in your wallet and start bargaining in good faith with the writers."

What's the strike about?

See Not The Daily Show, by Some Writer

Howard Kurz with guests Ray Richmond, Michael Medved, and Jennifer Pozner, who points out that the strike is a labor issue.

 

"There is Power In A Union" by Joe Hill, performed by Utah Philips

Would you have freedom from Wage slavery,
Then come join the grand Industrial band;
Would you from misery and hunger be free,
Then come, do your share, lend a hand.

A Few Words in Defense of Our Country

Thanks Nicole Belle at Crooks and Liars, and of course, Randy Newman.

Nicole reports that Rolling Stone Magazine named Newman’s song the 2nd Best Song of 2007.