Uppity Wisconsin

I'll leave this conference with feelings of hope and helplessness. My hope comes from the fact that this conference is even happening. That people are spending time and money to connect with each other and figure out what the hell has happened in this county. The media is supposed to represent what's happening in this country. And it doesn't. It represents what sells. And therein lies my feelings of helplessness. If people didn't buy the crap, it'd stop selling. Right?

When I was in college, I went to a "student radio initiative" meeting. I realized once I got there that these meetings had been going on for years. And it was still just an initiative. I was at the first Conference on Media Reform and here I am again, years later. The sessions are different and there has been success. But ultimately. We're still fighting the same battle.

One of the sessions I attended this morning was, "Netroots: What's Next?" As it dealt with the future of the political blogosphere, I really wanted to check out what the panel had to say.

The fight for blogging legitimacy has been won (well, sort of). MOST have accepted blogging as a medium that not only offers quality writing, but gets it right more often. So...what next? What do we do now that everyone is listening? And what are the new battles we must be ready to fight? 

That was the focus of the panel. Gina Cooper, the head of "Netroots Nation", talked about the positive ramifications of a Democratic president (hopefully) come November. I couldn't help but disagree with what she was suggesting. I felt myself shaking my head "No" as she talked about how much easier bloggers (and all media) will have it once we don't have to fight the argument with people who "don't think dinosaurs existed." Those people aren't going away. And they'll only be working harder to attack our attempts at getting the truth out there and holding them accountable. Not only that, but the Democrats have their own set of problems, don't they? This certainly isn't going to be easy sailing if Obama gets elected.

Wow. That's all I can say about Bill Moyers. I've seen him speak before, but I'm once again reminded of what a dynamic force he is. If all journalists were just a little bit more like him, we'd be in a much better place.

I've got a confession to make. I was all set to watch "Blood and Oil" this morning. Then I realized I had the chance to meet Bill Moyers and get my book signed. After my heart stopped palpitating, I decided I really needed to stand in line for 45-minutes for just a few moments with Mr. Moyers. I've stood in line for about that long just to ride a roller-coaster so I was thinking it was worth it. While I was waiting, I met some interesting "Kucinich people" and because I was one of those "Dean people" back in the day, we had lots to talk about. I've always like Dennis Kucinich. I just wish he were a viable candidate. Wait. He IS a viable candidate. I just wish we had a campaign system where he was able to successfully run.

After the wait, I got my chance to talk with Bill Moyers. And what did I do? My cheeks turned pink, I muttered something about inspiration, and got my book signed. *sigh* Maybe I'll do better next time...

I'm in excellent company at the conference. I seriously can't recall the last time so many cool people have been in one awesome place. I'm not a shy person but all the same. I'm going it alone and wasn't sure if it'd be easy to connect with other people. Well. Yeah. That's one less thing to worry about. I've already made a ton of connections. Most of them probably won't remember my name tomorrow, but whatever.

The ballroom featuring all the exhibitors is kind of like a progressive carnival. Every booth has their wares for sale but instead of obnoxiously huge stuffed animals and goldfish in bags, you'll find t-shirts, books, buttons, and bumper stickers. It's overwhelming. Everyone is looking for donations and volunteers and names to add to their email lists. I had to stop maintaining eye contact after a little bit otherwise I never would've made it to the next session!

Some kid here on a road trip from Georgia asked to bounce a little super-ball off me. Apparently he and his friend have some kind of game going on, and bouncing one of the balls off a blogger was worth big points. How could I say no to someone who drove all the way from Georgia?!

Note to self: Do not wear high-heels tomorrow. And watch for that wind. Wow. It doesn't go well with dresses.

Whew. I just got back to Eau Claire after a full day at the conference. Wow. My mind's on overload! Where to start...

This afternoon I attended a session about media coverage during this political season. What an eye-opener for me. I'm a network news junkie. I admit it. I get caught up in watching the talking heads discuss completely superficial issues regarding our candidates for president. John Nichols reminded me that this is all supposed to be about INFORMATION. Not about the trivial crap like Hillary's pantsuits and Barack's choices in a church. We have completely lost sight of the issues. What ARE the issues? If someone asked me what Obama's stance on the environment was; could I really even answer? Of course I know the name of the Rev. at his former church. Which means absolutely nothing.

This isn't how it's supposed to go, and we've got to start rejecting it. That's why I love blogging so much. It's my way of rejecting mainstream media. I am becoming my own media. What an awesome responsibility we all have. What would happen if we all started doing this? It's only through change in ourselves that we can truly change the media.

is a lot like what's happened with eBay. Once upon a time, eBay was this place where you could go and actually get a deal on something like a macrame owl wall hanging from a nice old lady in Nebraska. There weren't eBay "sellers" or people who literally made a career off selling wholesale goods on the site. It was just regular people hosting the world's largest garage sale.

The Internet used to be like this too. There was less commercial regulation and more "stuff" just out there, posted by regular people who wanted to share what they knew with everyone else. What the hell happened? That's what I'm at this conference to ponder. Not find out. If I could do that, I need to be making a lot more money.

Like Josh Silver said, "The future of the media does not belong to Rupert Murdoch. It belongs to us." So, let's take it back people! I want to buy a macrame owl hanging for $2 again!

This press thing rocks! I'm here at the NCRM, registered as a blogger, so that's what I'll be doing. I have yet to really develop my blog on this website, so....that's what I'll be working on for the next few days. I'm surrounded by people bubbling with energy and excitement and it's starting to get to me. In a good way. I didn't have quite as much coffee as I normally would this morning, so I started off the day a bit cross. But it's hard to be cross when I'm sitting in the same room as Amy Goodman. Hello.

Josh Silver (he's very handsome in case you're wondering) kicked off the conference this morning, and while I was supposed to be listening to him (it was a great speech....really), my mind started drifting until the guy next to me asked for clarification on a quote. Crap. I don't know! I pledge to pay attention. Ah! I just realized my dress has pockets. PERFECT!

*side-note* This is not the place to be without my wedding ring. There's a lot of young single journalists out there. *hiding*