Uppity Wisconsin

So it's like this -- I've been talking to a lot of kindred spirits, journalists, fellow citizens, and all the other people Fox news is so upset about for five days now, and my head is reeling with ideas and enthusiasm.  Plus, I need to pile back in the car tomorrow to give a talk in Madison. So - I'm not going to say much more about the conference right now, since it would be a quickie job of pouring things out on to the page.

Instead, I'd like to do something different - a series on the Media Reform movement, why it matters, and some resources for you to learn more.  I'll intersperse this with pictures, video, and other information from the conference. I will try to make this a weekly feature for a while, and I hope you'll stay with it. The media in the US are failing us  miserably on many counts. The conference made it clear to me that there are many people who feel the same way and want to do something about it.  We have some plans, and we're really excited about them, particularly for bringing more coverage of what is going on in Wisconsin to your web browser.  

Also - please also go visit Kicktime - thank you for reminding me Borges - Read more about the convention there over the next couple weeks, and learn something about the Viroqua area and what is shaking there.

But at the moment I need to let the ideas and inspiration settle down. While you are waiting for me to get my act together, watch this spectacular presentation by Lawrence Lessig.

You may have "enjoyed" the Bill O'Reilly video yesterday about how terrible it was that Dan Rather was going to the NCMR conference, and speaking to the worst radical left-wing nuts in the US. Count me as being proud to be one of those people. O'Reilly has promised that his show tomorrow night (watch it - no really, I mean it - just not right before or after dinner) - He's going to expose us for the nutjobs and radicals he is sure we are. I'm looking forward to it. Compare his editing of this story with what you see below:

Fox was all over the convention with video crews. I'll have to say that I chatted with a couple of the video crew for a while, and they seemed like decent hard-working folks just doing their job.

But this is an example of what happens when they "interview" someone - I have no idea why someone would try to pull this in a convention full of people who have video recorders on them. There are a few more examples - they also accosted him on the street, but here are 2 different accounts of the backstage conversation, one from our friends at The Uptake, and one from On The Earth Productions' Karen Rybold Chin: - note the plug for Fighting Bob Fest - more on that in a few weeks:

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...

It's been a long day. I attended a forum on the presidential election.  I've been struck many times during the primary process at the trivial, sexist, racist, and just plain silly coverage of the election in the media. This was driven home to me last night when I turned on CNN and was greeted with interminable coverage of Hillary Clinton's house - well gee, we THOUGHT that Obama would come here to meet her.  Papparazi journalism at it's finest.  Only the celebrity photographers don't get any points for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Certainly CNN shouldn't.   One of the hopes of media reform is that media coverage can start talking about something more substantive than Hillary's clothes, cleavage, voice, etc.  Or Obama's minister, middle name, or whatever else some right-wing nut job came up with today.

More importantly though, I wish the media could realize that politics in the US is more than  who is winning the presidential race. There is a world of politics outside of the presidential arena, and  a world of presidential candidates who don't get heard. If just once boring policy decisions could get a tenth as much coverage as Paris Hilton's latest embarrassing behavior, our news would be changing in the right direction.

I also attended a workshop on local activism, and how to organize on a local level.  This didn't tell me anything earth shattering that I hadn't thought of - but it did produce some handy ground rules for organizing events, and demonstrated a number of successful media actions that the groups in the panel had run.  This was at least as much inspirational for what is possible as it was informative on how to get things done.

Oh - and this just in - Bill O'Reilly thinks I am one of the craziest, farthest-left people in America.  Me and Dan Rather.

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.

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*