Media Reform

What scares you more: the economy or the messages of big corporate media? Is it true that only economists can tell us what is really happening to our jobs, and only journalists are capable of reporting the news? Are classroom teachers teaching critical thinking skills for the 21st Century in your school?

When I was invited to accompany my liberal-minded filmmaker spouse to the National Conference on Media Reform (NMCR), I accepted, and from April 8 – 10th in Boston, there we were, walking from our hotel to the conference along the piers where all that great seafood comes in! I wanted to blend into the crowd, so I wondered what journalists would wear. The first image that came to mind was John Oliver and Aasif Mandvi of  “The Daily Show”. Katie Couric did not come to mind. None of those “real news” types did, not once, not all weekend. Clearly, I was not taking journalism seriously enough. But by the end of the first day of the NCMR my definition of a journalist, as well as my understanding of what events make the news and who produces the news, significantly deepened.

The NCMR (#NCMR11) started at 8:30am on Friday morning and ended at 2pm on Sunday. 12or 13 sessions ran simultaneously in hour and a half swaths throughout each day (http://conference.freepress.net/schedule). On Saturday I heard that there were 3,000 attendees. It was hard not to miss something good. Most of the sessions will be available online soon, but the difference in being there was for the networking, still a very worthwhile activity. These humans, they are full of experiences and knowledge and future plans! The theme was “Change the Media, Change the World”.

The presenters: (http://conference.freepress.net/presenters).

I came home with a few thoughts to share:

1)   We need to build our own media communities. Find one or contribute to some now. In creating and producing our own community news, we will understand each other better, as well as understand what else is being communicated to us and how to evaluate it.

2)   We need to teach our children, more than ever, how information is presented to the public, and how many ways there are to interpret a presentation of facts. Have the facts been checked? Is the message racist? Sexist? Biased in other ways? How is a message crafted? What other sources will inform your knowledge and understanding of events? Do we need Twitter? What technology can help us be better informed? What do we use our smart phone for? What is ethical and what is fair?

3)   We can educate each other as events unfold, we do not need to live in the dark or live in fear if we know our neighbors; locally and globally. We do not have to be controlled by the big corporate media broadcasts via television and radio or suggested to us via Hollywood films. We have the Internet!

4)   How long will we have this freedom on the Internet? Do you know what Net Neutrality is and are you aware that we could lose our freedom to communicate freely, very quickly and very soon?

What are your ideas? I welcome your comments.

About the Author

Maggie Rose

Maggie Rose lives in Princeton, NJ.  She works as a database systems analyst with a special interest in the effects of data visualization on emotional intelligence. She is also Webmaster for AllPrinceton.com.  She is a member of the Religious Society of Friends, loves to help artistic kids with math, cherishes wild creatures and plants, and worries constantly about the future of our planet.