No Picture

Toward Freedom: Where We’re Headed (1/01)

 

At its birth in Chicago almost 50 years ago, Toward Freedom was a modest three-page mimeographed newsletter. Yet, it took on a daunting task: to correct the distorted coverage of world affairs that focused virtually all discussion on Superpower rivalry and the East-West struggle for world rule. Clearly, it wasn’t the best of times. The first hydrogen bomb had just been detonated on a tiny Pacific atoll, and McCarthy hysteria was taking hold in the US. Yet founder/editor William B. Lloyd and others could see past crisis and colonialism. Inevitably, they believed, the world was moving “toward freedom.” read more

No Picture

Indy Media Rising

The October 2000 Vermont Independent Media Conference

The Independent Media Convergence Project (IMCP) was launched last summer not only to stage the October 2000 media conference but also to promote alternatives, create a network and/or coalition, and possibly launch a sustainable, new enterprise in New England. In the coming months, steps will be taken to create a more formal organization, with the support of Toward Freedom, and input from conference sponsors and others. We don’t know yet whether a follow up conference will be held. But obviously, other groups will be organizing. Plans are underway for a national gathering in San Francisco in April 2000, as well as a continental IMC meeting. read more

No Picture

Mainstream Media Dismisses Democracy (11/00)

By ignoring critical social issues mainstream corporate media dismisses democratic values in the United States.

Since the Fall of 1999 there have been four major political demonstrations in the United States. The cities of Seattle, Washington DC, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles each hosted either a major political party convention or global economic institution meetings where thousands of activists protested, engaged in non-violent civil disobedience, and in rare, often provoked cases, caused superficial damaged to public and private property. Corporate media has labeled the protesters as unorganized groups of radical environmentalists, single issues extremists, and directionless anarchists bent on disrupting  social order. The extensive involvement of unions and labor in Seattle has generally been explained as an one time aberration and the global trade issues focusing on NAFTA and the WTO have been mostly forgotten. read more

No Picture

The Convergence Era (9/00)

For Robert Manoff, more coverage of international conflicts isn’t enough: He wants a whole different brand. The former managing editor of Harper’s Magazine and editor of the Columbia Journalism Review thinks the news media should reevaluate their role in such battles, examining what they can do to resolve and perhaps even prevent them.

Some say this is too close to advocacy. But to Manoff, director of New York University’s Center for War, Peace, and the News Media, it’s really part of good journalism. "We’re trying to push the envelope here," says Manoff. "I’m really trying to put on the table the question of what the moral responsibility of journalists is, with respect to genocide – the limit case – or other forms of mass social violence. It’s a question of how to cover, where to cover, and what to cover that isn’t covered." read more

No Picture

Journalists & Conflict Resolution (9/00)

For Robert Manoff, more coverage of international conflicts isn’t enough: He wants a whole different brand. The former managing editor of Harper’s Magazine and editor of the Columbia Journalism Review thinks the news media should reevaluate their role in such battles, examining what they can do to resolve and perhaps even prevent them.

Some say this is too close to advocacy. But to Manoff, director of New York University’s Center for War, Peace, and the News Media, it’s really part of good journalism. "We’re trying to push the envelope here," says Manoff. "I’m really trying to put on the table the question of what the moral responsibility of journalists is, with respect to genocide – the limit case – or other forms of mass social violence. It’s a question of how to cover, where to cover, and what to cover that isn’t covered." read more

No Picture

Independent Media Conference (8/00)

A Call to Converge
Vermont, October 14, 2000 (date subject to change)

At the dawn of a new century, nine multi-media giants own most of the global broadcast stations, major newspapers, magazines, and recording, film, and publishing companies. Media merger madness is clearly upon us. At the same time, computers, the Internet, video, community radio, independent newspapers, and related new technologies offer opportunities for democratization and empowerment.

Plans are currently being made for a regional Independent Media Conference. The idea is that, on October 14 – just as the national elections are moving into overdrive — progressive media workers in northern New England gather to share experiences and attempt to develop a common agenda. We would look at the current environment, discuss the alternatives, and take new steps to build a movement for media democracy. Potential outcomes include the launching of a new publication or station, creation of a regional news network, and development of a set of principles and proposals to promote change and improve access to all media. read more