I had a great time today at Media Democracy Day. I didn’t get there until after lunch time, but I managed to catch a couple panels and live tweeted them.
First was:
Journalism in a time of Big Media Domination
In much of the traditional media, newsrooms are being squeezed, local coverage diminished, and serious journalism abandoned. What does this mean for journalists and journalism as a whole? What are the challenges and opportunities? Could this void be filled by independent reporters and innovative journalism projects? In a media system dominated by large corporate conglomerates, independently owned outlets provide important alternatives but rarely reach significant audiences. What have been independent media’s successes and challenges? How do independent outlets and journalists spread critical perspectives that the mainstream ignores? Panelists will discuss these issues and describe what they see as the possibilities of using new media and new models to do in-depth investigative projects, find untold stories, and engage new audiences. Whether relying on contributions from readers, new tools and technologies, or old-fashioned, shoe-leather reporting, could these projects counteract big media, and redefine journalism?
Panel Chair: Charlie Smith – Editor of the Georgia Straight
Panelists:
- David Beers – Editor of The Tyee, lecturer at the UBC School of Journalism
- Linda Solomon – Writer and editor-in-chief of The Vancouver Observer
- Deborah Campbell– Award winning Independent Journalist
- Sylvia Richardson – Host of Latin Waves, Airing 8pm Saturdays on CJSF 90.1 FM
Since I was just live Tweeting this the “old fashioned way” the tweets are in reverse order, but well here it is regardless (with some pics I took thrown in for fun):
Good question-why isn’t the left-wing more critical of itself? Why not challenge the NPD or others? Too many sacred cows? Lefty than thou? about 7 hours ago from web
It seems to me from several comments from the panel that the MSM has put a chill on criticism through law suits. about 7 hours ago from web
W00t! @LiveTwitting is following me just in time for @scales and @mtippet’s panel! about 7 hours ago from web
Comment that the CBC is undergoing a serious shift to the right. Campbell suggests that it is a fear of funding cuts. #mdd
Wait a moment here…flash of insight and opportunity. @bmann I’ll ping you. about 7 hours ago from web
Would it help to centralize independent media into something like an advertising consortium? #mdd about 7 hours ago from web
Independent media are little launching pads. The 100 mile diet came from the #thetyee first then spread. about 7 hours ago from web
Good feedback for Pete on the article. #thevancouverobserver and #thegeorgiastraight interested in info. about 7 hours ago from web
Pete’s question is how to get a particular niche/health issue in the news? Charlie Smith: Find the people who have a connection-niche. #mdd about 7 hours ago from web
Pete Quily at the mic. Pointing out that CanWest is SEO clueless. Hmm. #mdd about 7 hours ago from web
Richardson: Does Canada really have free speech? #mdd about 7 hours ago from web
Constructive criticism is to make sure there a hook. Something new to write about. Not that the MSM isn’t blocking them, but needs new #mdd about 7 hours ago from web
Why hasn’t the suit against a parody of the Vancouver Sun been covered by the MSM? #mdd about 7 hours ago from web
There are no exceptions in Canadian copyright laws for parody and satire? WTF! #mdd about 7 hours ago from web
Now I think the questions will begin. Any questions for the fighting the media behemoth? #mdd about 7 hours ago from web
Solomon: Be the media, be that change #mdd about 7 hours ago from web
And @mtippet is in the house with video! #mdd about 7 hours ago from web
@RobCottingham oh yes, that too… about 7 hours ago from web in reply to RobCottingham
Solomon: What happens when you bring Canadians together. When our values come together. What happens? #mdd about 7 hours ago from web
Linda Richardson: empowering yourself to tell your story #mdd. about 8 hours ago from web
Hmm #TheVancouverObserver tech section is rather empty http://www.thevancouverobse… Hmm. #mdd about 8 hours ago from web
@RobCottingham maybe so, but are embedded journos giving the whole story? about 8 hours ago from web in reply to RobCottingham
Solomon: when challenging the Sun about a suspicious editorial-very similar to hers-threatened with lawsuit. Plus never write for CanWest about 8 hours ago from web
Really odd to hear a Southern accent in Vancouver. Just sayin’. #mdd about 8 hours ago from web
Linda Solomon "Want to tell you up front, I’m American". Canadian in training, must apologize on behalf of all Americans. [me too] #mdd about 8 hours ago from web
Campbell: Support the Independent media to broaden perspective. #mdd about 8 hours ago from web
Campbell Cultivate an area of expertise, be flexible, be able to write about varied topics Writing human story to circumvent censorship #mdd about 8 hours ago from web
Campbell: Journalism students you have to take risks, don’t expect a lot of money-rates haven’t changed much since 70s. #mdd about 8 hours ago from web
@scales has arrived! about 8 hours ago from web in reply to scales
Campbell: Shrinking budgets are reducing the investigative journalism. No money for travel and time spent. about 8 hours ago from web
Campbell: Ask yourself when you watch the news. Was this story brought to you by PR companies? Press releases, press conferences. #mdd about 8 hours ago from web
Questions for this media domination panel at #mdd will come later. Questions for the panel? @ or DM me. about 8 hours ago from web
Deborah Campbell’s focus is Iraq and how the media is controlled – manipulated. about 8 hours ago from web
Really, really wish I could use @livetwittering for this. Would give a one page synopsis. Sigh. about 8 hours ago from web
David Beers pushed the use of Web 2.0 news to make Google see them as important sources. about 8 hours ago from web
Deborah Campbell is up now. about 8 hours ago from web
Beers: The demise of CanWest is troubling. What would fill the void? #mdd about 8 hours ago from web
Van indie news heavy weights all here #thetyee #georgiastraight #thevancouverobserver Deborah Campbell & Sylvia Richardson. about 8 hours ago from web
David Beers on Net Neutrality: a tiered non-neutral net could mean #thetyee & #georgiastraight needing to pay more to match #canwest about 8 hours ago from web
@pmharper thought arts funding would be a wedge issue. Policy=fail. about 8 hours ago from
web in reply to pmharper
David Beers of #thetyee is speaking atm. canwest global as analogue of econ collapse. Not sustainable biz model about 8 hours ago from web
Whew remembered my VPL PIN! Let the live tweeting of #mdd begin! about 8 hours ago from web
Next up was another great panel but this time I was able to use LiveTwitting to cover it which means that now the tweets are in the order you’d expect, start at the top, finish at the bottom.
The panel was a nice compliment to the one preceding…
The Battle for New Media and Open Communication
We stand at a crossroads in the history of communications technology, a moment when traditional media are in disarray, and a new form of communications and organizing — more grassroots and decentralized — is on the rise. The Internet is upsetting conventional wisdom about "mass media" and changing media power in ways never before imagined. But change also raises new threats. Will an open Internet succumb to the same companies that control traditional media? The new challenge for us is to organize around and develop new sets of policies, projects, and tools that will finally give us an advantage in the decades-long struggle against the gatekeepers.
Panelists will discuss the fight for an open Internet, prospects for online/social media, and future challenges.
Panel Chair: Kate Milberry – Media and Technology Commentator
Panelists:
-Leslie Regan Shade – Associate Professor Concordia University, editor of "For Sale to the Highest Bidder: Telecom Policy in Canada."
-Jeff Davis – Vancouver Open Network Initiative Cooperative (VONIC)
-Mike Tippet – Co-founder of NowPublic
-Robert Scales – CEO of Raincity Studios
@mtippet is at the mic. Free market research-asking who’s heard of @nowpublic. edit • delete
Technological, cultural, and economic forces aligned help. CanWest has lost $3.5 billion in market cap this year. #mdd edit • delete
MSM doesn’t have the money they used to. Not selling, craigslist, development ads … all tanking. edit • delete
CanWest might be the largest media presence in Canada, but puny online. edit • delete
The news media was in trouble a month ago, right now they are in REAL trouble. Ad revenue has dropped off the table edit • delete
"You won’t recognize the media landscape in three years" Michael Tippet edit • delete
Scales still "super editor" and "unofficial" China desk editor on NowPublic edit • deleteStreets of Torino, they couldn’t talk about the Olympics, IOC shut them down. Hmm. Guess you have to pay to cover, eh? Became cultural show edit • delete
@greggscott do you think the contributors need more oversight? edit • delete
I’ve heard that CreativeCommons protection isn’t worth a hill of beans. True? My pics are essentially non-comm, share and share alike. edit • delete
Leslie Ragan Shade on telecom policy. Maybe touch on net neutrality? edit • delete
Telecom policy is driven by markets and econ. But there should be more independent forces to help. Proceed to allow hands-off policy. edit • deleteDescribing Net neutrality in s few words that is a challenge for any speaker! Prof. Shade did a good job. Fast lane and slow lane on the Net edit • delete
Canada lacks any policy on national broadband strategy. Ouch! edit • delete
Jeff Davis talking about Community Wireless. I have one of them and need to hook it up here in Van. edit • delete
@greggscott I think there are certainly plans in the works to do that. But how would an editor balance the ethos that exists now w/in NP? edit • delete
FreeTheNet.ca is the local Vancouver group doing this. I can see how the current providers would have a HUGE prob. with it. edit • delete
Municipal wireless is still a dream in Vancouver. FreeTheNet is now Vancouver Open Network Initiative Cooperative (VONIC). edit • deleteAlthough I can share my net access for free, the infrastructure is still owned for profit. Another key part of net neutrality. edit • delete
Is there a way for communities to own their access to the Net instead of the telcos? That would be something I’d invest in. edit • delete
Okay question time here…Questions? Love to be able to say "A question from the Twitterverse.." edit • delete
QA: Question & Answer edit
First question speaks to @greggscott’s point about how does/can NowPublic moderate? Ans: There is some, but it is a huge volume. edit • delete
Is self regulation enough on NowPublic? Is the user level system working? Self correcting news. Faster than the MSM? edit • deleteQ: Why aren’t there web conferencing tool? Scales: The client tools are the issue. The questioner also slammed #drupal Web conferencing=hard edit • delete
Man this questioner is really going on a rant. Step away from the mic. edit • delete
Comment-question from public health nurse to reach out to marginalized groups. So how to reach VONIC?Could be a great public health resourc edit • delete
The revolution starts a home. Is enlightened self-interest enough to help? edit • delete
Q: does citizen journalism devalue journalism as a career? A: Michael hates term "citizen journalism" like ‘citizen dentist’ edit • deleteA truly free market is important. Telcos are monopolies regulating themselves. Net neutrality again is so important to us. #mdd edit • delete
Explaining the freethenet.ca wireless mesh. Oy, need a whiteboard here #mdd edit • delete
Q: Open source software…really catching on? A: Open source is still a wee geeky for most. #RCS uses OS because it is flexible #mdd edit • delete
Open source is gaining strength, but not there yet. #mdd edit • delete
Kate Milberry makes the key point is that this is all about sharing. Your net connection or news or software. #mdd edit • delete
non net neutrality analogy: If Ford owned the highways and limited how was a Chrysler could drive on it. #mdd edit • delete
That’s a wrap folks. edit • delete
Very thought provoking stuff. I couldn’t stay for the ending keynote on net neutrality, which was a pity, so I hope someone else covered it.
As for the rest of the pics, here is the Flickr slideshow:
The pictures were taken with a Nikon D300 using an 85mm f/1.8 at ISO 320 –1/3 EV and 70-200mm f/2.8 ISO 500 –1/3 EV.
Tris Hussey is a writer, teacher, blogger, and speaker on all facets of Internet life, WordPress, and social media. If you are interested in having Tris speak, teach, lead a workshop or consult for you, feel free to email tris [at] trishussey [dot] com.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for this and for the live tweeting. I think the coverage was great. Having liveblogged a number of events, I think you did a great job!
Raul´s last blog post..Events this weekend (Oct 24-25, 2008)
YW Raul.
Great set, Tris, and as I responded via Twitter, I thought the live-tweeting was really useful.
My question is still around how livetwitting (http://livetwitting.com/) works. I don’t see updates from you on Twitter tonight, but I’m guessing you’re at the debate/ meeting tonight? …Livetweeting or not? If you use Live Twitting and the tweets are shown in the “correct” chonological order (start to finish, vs Twitter-order, which is reverse chronological), do they show up as tweets in your stream, or do I have to go somewhere else to see them?
The reverse chronological order is a bit annoying, so if Live Twitting “fixes” that, great. Just not sure how it actually interfaces with Twitter, though…
Thanks Yule. Tonight I decided to skip the debate … When I use LiveTwitting the tweets show up in my twitter stream as normal, but the page they give you to look at later gives you the tweets in the right order.
The way it works is to follow livetwitting then start and stop with DMs. The instructions seem a wee hard, but really aren’t.
“…but the page they give you to look at later gives you the tweets in the right order.” Ah, thanks, Tris – that makes sense.
Hmm, sounds like a useful service. Maybe I’ll brave a try at it — although my mobile capabilities are *so* limited at this point, it might not make sense yet.
We were supposed to have an arts debate for mayoral candidates (entire CRD region, too), but it was canceled. Maybe the financial downturn is making everyone freak and say, “to hell with the arts”? Hope not!
Yule Heibel´s last blog post..DV2020 nails candidate questions
Well the arts are a niche issue after all
.
wow Tris, incredible way to bring the event to the collective stream on consciousness who weren’t in the room. your candid photos and real-time reaction adds a real immediacy to the coverage.
Thanks Dave! Yeah while I love using CoverItLive for live blogging, somehow the limitation of 140 characters and immediacy of Twitter makes this better.
Now, if CIL could do a combo so I could post to the post AND to twitter at the same time. Now that would be killer.