The 2008 National Conference for Media Reform (NCMR), sponsored by the nonprofit media reform group Free Press, was held in Minneapolis June 6-8. The largest gathering of its kind in the country, the 2008 NCMR revealed many strengths of the Media Reform movement as well as some problems.

ʻO Robert McChesney ka mea nāna i hoʻokumu i ka Free Press, e kamaʻilio ana ma "Democracy Now!" i ka lā wehe o ka ʻaha kūkā, hoʻomanaʻo i ka poʻe hoʻolohe aia he "pilikia hohonu" i kā mākou ʻōnaehana media "a ʻike ʻia nā ʻAmelika ʻaʻole ʻae ʻia kēia." ʻOiai he ʻoiaʻiʻo kēia no nā makahiki he mau makahiki (a ʻoi aku paha), ua wehewehe ʻo McChesney "ua pahū ka neʻe ʻana o ka hoʻoponopono media i nā makahiki ʻelima i hala iho nei" ma muli o "ʻelua hanana koʻikoʻi."

"ʻO ka mea mua," i ʻōlelo ai ʻo McChesney, "he hoʻololi ʻenehana e hoʻololi maoli nei i ke ʻano o ka ʻoihana no nā ʻoihana media āpau. aia mākou i kahi kūlana i kēia manawa-hiki iā mākou ke hoʻololi i nā lula a me nā hoʻoponopono e hoʻomaikaʻi maikaʻi loa i kā mākou ʻōnaehana media a i ʻole, inā ʻaʻole mākou e hana i kekahi mea, e hana maikaʻi ka hui kaiaulu e hōʻoia i ko lākou makemake i ka mea. puka mai i ke au kikohoʻe.

"Secondly, we’re in a period in which journalism, as we know it, is in freefall. It’s disintegrating. And people are aware of this. It’s not just the content of journalism, the fluff that we talk about, but it’s the actual resources that the corporate community is devoting to journalism. I mean, there’s been a sharp drop-off in the number of working journalists who cover communities—in every community in this country. I mean, there are communities of decent size now that barely have any journalism covering them, so if you live in a town, you won’t know what’s going on there anymore. You also see this in terms of foreign coverage in the United States where, despite globalization, despite the U.S. role in the world, there are far fewer reporters covering the world for the United States than there were 25 years ago.

"He pilikia hohonu kēia a ʻike ka poʻe ʻAmelika ʻaʻole ʻae ʻia kēia. A ʻo ia ke kumu o kēia neʻe ʻana."

NCMR wehe ʻaha kūkā

ʻO kekahi mau hōʻike o ka "pahū" o ka neʻe ʻana ʻo ka ulu ʻana o ka NCMR ponoʻī. Ua ulu ka ʻaha kūkā mai 1,700 poʻe i komo i ka NCMR mua ma 2003 a ʻoi aku ma mua o 3,000 i ʻākoakoa i kēia makahiki e hele i nā papa hana ʻoi aku ma mua o 75, e hoʻolohe i nā haʻiʻōlelo plenary a me nā hana, a me ka hui pū me nā mea hana ʻē aʻe.

ʻO ka inoa pono'ī o kaʻaha kūkā e hoʻolaha nei e ho'oikaika ana "no ka ho'oponopono media," akā,'o ka ho'oikaika a me nā pahuhopu o ka po'e i hele mai a'u i kama'ilio pū ai, ua'oi aku ka pa'akikī, a pinepine i ka radical, ma mua o ka mana'o o ka hua'ōlelo "ho'oponopono", e hō'ike ana i ka pi'i'ana. ʻokoʻa o nā mea komo. ʻO ka nui o ka poʻe i hele mai aʻu i kamaʻilio ai me he mea lā he ʻekolu mau ʻāpana ʻokoʻa i loko o kahi neʻe nui. ʻO kēia mau ʻāpana—kapa ʻia lākou ʻo Media Reform, Media Democracy, a me Media Justice—ua hele mai mai ka NCMR mua a hui hou i kēia makahiki, e hopena i nā ʻano ʻokoʻa o ka hoʻopaʻapaʻa a me ka huhū i hōʻike ʻia ma nā ʻano he nui i loko o ka hālāwai kūkā.

Hoʻoponopono Media

ʻO ke koʻikoʻi o ka hoʻoponopono hou ʻana o ka media e pili ana i nā ʻōnaehana kānāwai a me nā hoʻoponopono e hoʻohālike i ke ʻano o kā mākou ʻōnaehana media. ʻO ka Luna Hoʻokele o Free Press ʻo Josh Silver, i kāna mau ʻōlelo hoʻomaka, ua haʻi ʻo ia i "nā lanakila i loaʻa iā mākou" mai ka ʻaha kūkā hope loa, e hōʻoia ana i ka lehulehu e:

• Ua loaʻa iā mākou ka ʻAmelika Hui Pū ʻIa e hōʻole loa i ka hoʻāʻo ʻino hou loa a FCC e ʻae iā Big Media e hoʻonui i ka nui.

• Ua kāpae mākou i ka Hale Paʻa a me ka ʻaha kūkā mai ka hoʻopau ʻana i ka neutrality net a me ka hoʻohuli ʻana i ka Pūnaewele i wahi pilikino no nā ʻoihana kelepona a me nā kelepona nui loa.
• Ke koi nei mākou i ka ʻAhaʻōlelo e hāʻawi i nā tausani o nā laikini lekiō haʻahaʻa haʻahaʻa FM hou i nā kūlanakauhale a me nā kūlanakauhale e makemake nui ana i nā leo kūʻokoʻa.
• Ke paʻakikī nei mākou i ka piʻi ʻana o ka uku leka uila e hoʻoweliweli ana e pani i nā puke kūʻokoʻa i ke koko ola o kā mākou demokala.
• Ua hana mākou i kahi neʻe o nā tausani o ka poʻe i kūpaʻa i ka hana ʻana i ka ʻōnaehana media a mākou e makemake nui ai
• No ka manawa mua loa, loaʻa iā mākou nā moho pelekikena e hoʻopaʻapaʻa ana i kahi pūnaewele wehe a me ka hoʻohui media

ʻO kekahi hōʻailona o ka "i loko o ka Beltway" ka manaʻo o ka hālāwai kūkā i ʻike ʻia ma ka "Action Flyer" i hiki ke hoʻoiho ʻia mai ka pūnaewele kūkā.  "Don’t let the energy from this weekend dissipate: Take the conference home to your community. Turn up the heat in Congress and help make this a summer of media reform." Attendees were urged to: "Demand Accountability in the Propaganda Pundits Scandal" to "Write Your Rep to Save the Internet" and to "Record Your Support for Low Power FM" by "send[ing] a message to Washington."

Kemokalaka Media

ʻO ka hoʻoponopono ʻana, aia kekahi waiwai nui aʻe e pono ke mālama ʻia, e mālama pono ʻoe iā ia e makemake e mālama, akā e ʻike ʻoe i nā wahi pilikia a makemake ʻoe e hoʻoponopono. ʻAʻole like koʻu manaʻo e pili ana i ka ʻoihana paʻi puke…" No ka mea kākau moʻolelo ʻo Aaminah Hernández, kākau ʻia ma kahi pou hou loa. Ua kamaʻilio ʻo ia e pili ana i ka paʻi ʻana, akā nui ka poʻe ma NCMR 2008 e ʻōlelo like i ka manaʻo o ka "hoʻoponopono. "ka media holoʻokoʻa.

He haʻawina no ka hana hip hop

Morgan State University professor Jared Ball told one workshop that, "A lot of folks in [African and Black American] communities have known for a very long time and taken for granted that we are not going to reform media, we are not going to democratize media in a decidedly undemocratic society. We are going to have to be producers of our own media, to create new communities, with whom we’ll create new forms of political struggle that will overthrow power. Then you’ll have new media. It doesn’t work the other way around."

ʻO ka noʻonoʻo ʻana e like me kēia ua alakaʻi i ka nui o ka poʻe i komo i ka ʻaha kūkā e hana i ka manaʻo e hana ʻoe iā ʻoe iho, ʻo "be the media" ʻano i kapa ʻia ʻo media democracy. Ua hōʻike ʻia ka māhele democracy media o ka neʻe ʻana i nā papa hana like ʻole, e like me:

• Hop Activism: Nā Kūlana Kūlanakauhale a me nā Hui Media

• Ma Ko makou Leo Ponoi: Youth Making Media

• Ma hea mākou e lawe ai: nā alakaʻi ʻōpio no ka wā e hiki mai ana o Media

• The Fighting Press: Ethnic Media Inehinei, I keia la, a me ka la apopo

• Nūhou no ka poʻe: Hiki i ka Lekiō ʻeleʻele ke hāʻawi i ka nūhou e pono ai mākou?

Ua hōʻike ʻia kēlā mau papa hana i nā leo o ka poʻe i hana lōʻihi i kā lākou pāpaho ponoʻī ma ka pae kaiāulu, ka paʻi ʻana i nā moʻolelo i haʻi ʻole ʻia i loko o ka hui lehulehu media. Eia naʻe, ʻoiai ua hōʻike ʻia kēia hana ma ka pae papa hana a ma nā alaloa, ʻaʻole i hōʻike maikaʻi ʻia ma ka pae plenary.

Lunakanawai Media

Ua hōʻuluʻulu ʻia ka manaʻo o ka hoʻoponopono media ma ka pūnaewele Media Justice Network: "Ua ʻōlelo ka Media Justice i ka pono e hele ma mua o ka hoʻokumu ʻana i ka ʻike nui aʻe i ka hoʻolālā media kahiko. i loko o hoʻokahi kaʻa cyber ma ke alaloa ʻike ʻoihana ʻo Media Justice e noʻonoʻo i ka mōʻaukala, ka moʻomeheu, ka pono, a me ka mana e koi i nā kulekele hou, nā ʻōnaehana hou e mālama i ko mākou mau ala ea a me ko mākou mau kaiāulu ma mua o nā mākeke."

ʻOiai e ʻae aku ka poʻe o ka ʻoihana hoʻoponopono media i kēlā mau manaʻo, ʻo ka huaʻōlelo media reform he pilikia no ka lehulehu a ʻoi aku ia ma mua o ka quibbling no ka ʻōlelo.

He pilikia ʻōlelo wale nō?

Ua ola nā ʻāʻī ma waena o ka hoʻoponopono media a me ka hoʻoponopono hou ʻana mai ka NCMR mua i ka makahiki 2003. ʻOiai ua ʻae ka poʻe a pau aʻu i kamaʻilio ai ua holomua kekahi, ua ʻae pū lākou he nui nā mea e hana ʻia inā e loaʻa iā mākou kahi neʻe ikaika a hui pū. ʻoi aku ma mua o ka hoʻoponopono ʻana i ka media i ka hoʻololi ʻana i ka media.

ʻO nā ʻōlelo i loko o ka ʻaha kūkā ma ke kakahiaka Pōʻalima a Adrienne Maree Brown, ka luna hoʻokele o ka Hui Ruckus, ua hāʻawi mai i kahi hōʻike o nā ʻāʻī e lohe ʻia a ʻike ʻia i ka hopena pule. Ma ke kamaʻilio ʻana ma ke ʻano he hui kaiaulu kaiaulu, ua kamaʻilio ʻo ia i ka poʻe hoʻoponopono media i ʻākoakoa ʻia, "Pono kākou e mahalo kekahi i kekahi. versa. A ʻo ia hoʻi, ʻaʻole hiki iā ʻoe ke noi wale iā mākou e hele mai i kāu hakakā kulekele media pono ʻoe e hele mai e hālāwai me mākou a kākoʻo iā mākou ma nā laina mua o kā mākou hui.

Ua kamaʻilio wau me Malkia Cyril, ka luna o ka Center for Media Justice ʻO Oakland a me ka mea hoʻokumu i ka Media Justice Network, a nīnau iā ia e pili ana i ka pilina ma waena o ka hoʻopono a me ka hoʻoponopono. Ua wehewehe ʻo ia: "ʻO ka hoʻoponopono media e pili ana i ka hana ʻana i nā ʻano hoʻololi, ma ke kahua o ke kulekele a ma ke kahua o ke kūkulu ʻana i kahi ʻōnaehana media ikaika a ikaika, e alakaʻi ai i nā hoʻololi ʻana e pili ana i ka hoʻoponopono lāhui, ka hoʻokele waiwai, a me ka hoʻoponopono kāne. 'E kamaʻilio e pili ana i ka hoʻololi 'ana i loko o ka media e alakaʻi i ka hoʻopono maoli e pili ana i ka hoʻoponopono ʻana o Media he ʻāpana ia o ka hoʻoponopono ʻana i ka nohona ʻO ka ʻokoʻa ʻo ka hoʻoponopono hou ʻana he mea ia o ka pono.

Ua nīnau au iā Brown lāua ʻo Cyril inā e holomua ana ka holomua i ka pani ʻana i ke āpau - ʻike ʻia a ʻoiaʻiʻo hoʻi - ma waena o ka hoʻoponopono hou ʻana i ka media a me nā pilikia o ka hoʻoponopono hoʻoponopono o ka neʻe. Pane maila ʻo Brown, "Ke manaʻo nei au e hiki mai ana. Hiki ke hiki koke aku. Manaʻolana nui au i kēia manawa no kēlā mau kaiaulu e hui pū ana."

Ua wehewehe ʻo Cyril, me ka ʻōlelo ʻana, "Ke manaʻoʻiʻo nei au ʻaʻole i kēia ʻaha kūkā wale nō, akā i nā makahiki ʻekolu i hala iho nei, ua hoʻonui ʻia ka hana like ʻana ma waena o nā ʻāpana hoʻoponopono media o kā mākou neʻe a me nā ʻāpana kaulike o ka media. ʻAʻole mākou he mau ʻano politika like ʻole i loko o ka neʻe hoʻokahi a ʻo kā mākou hui alakaʻi a me nā lālā he poʻe kākoʻo kūloko o ka ʻāina no laila aia nā wahi i kūkulu ʻia ai nā ʻoihana e lawe i ke ala a me nā neʻe hoʻoponopono i ka hui pū ʻana me nā poʻe kaulike.

ʻEheu ʻEheu ʻĀkau

Meanwhile, on what seems like another planet, the right wing saw none of these tensions and stresses. The day after the conference, Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly, on his show "The O’Reilly Factor," offered his audience a look at "what the lunatic left was up to this past weekend." O’Reilly claimed, "The hatred level at that conference, not just toward Fox News, but everything about America, traditional America, was just off the chart." This, says O’Reilly, tells the world that "obviously they’re unstable people." Still, despite their instability, O’Reilly considers media reformers to be "a threat" that "can do a lot of damage to America."

ʻO kahi hōʻailona o ke ʻano maoli o nā "fascists" nāna i hoʻonohonoho i ka ʻaha kūkā, wahi a O'Reilly, ʻo ia, ma ke ʻano he lālā o ka "radical left," ʻaʻole lākou "makemake i nā leo kūʻē. kēlā ʻaha kūkā… no ka mea inā ʻoe e hana, manaʻo ʻoe e hoʻoweliweli ʻia." Ua hoʻohui ʻo Fox News analyst Mary Katharine Ham i nā mea hoʻonohonoho o ka NCMR "hāʻawi i kēia mau ʻōlelo Orwellian e pili ana i ko lākou makemake e hoʻomaikaʻi i ka ʻokoʻa a me ka media. ʻAʻole lākou. Makemake lākou e pani. pili ana ia mea."

Speaking after the conference, Minneapolis organizer and media activist John Slade commented on these claims, saying, "While O’Reilly is repeating his tired ‘liberal fascist’ idea, claiming that the convention and movement were engaging in some kind of groupthink, the opposite was the case. From Naomi Klein, who warned us against complacency and putting all our hopes on one politician, to Van Jones, who went right up to tax-law land in his support of Obama, there were diverse voices. And that diversity existed with the willing complicity of the host organizations. This is the sign of a healthy movement. Movements are never monolithic; they’re different people with different opinions sharing a common goal."

Ua kamaʻilio ka nui o nā poʻe ʻaha kūkā e pili ana i nā mea pale i ka ʻokoʻa i loko o ka neʻe ʻana, ʻoiai no nā kumu ʻokoʻa loa ma mua o nā kumu a Ham lāua ʻo O'Reilly i koi ai. Ua haʻi aku ʻo Rosa Alicia Clemente, ka mea nāna i hoʻokumu i ka REAC Hip Hop Coalition, i ka lehulehu i loko o kahi papa hana, "He paio ka hoʻokomo ʻana i ka hip hop i loko o ka neʻe ʻana o ka hoʻoponopono media." Ma kahi papa hana ʻē aʻe, ua ʻōlelo ʻo Loris Ann Taylor, ka luna hoʻokele o Native Public Media, ʻaneʻane like nā huaʻōlelo e pili ana i ka pāpāho lāhui. Ua ʻōlelo kekahi mea hoʻonohonoho e hana pū me nā kaiāulu haʻahaʻa, ʻaʻole ʻo ia i haʻi i kona kaiāulu e pili ana i ka ʻaha kūkā no ka mea "ʻaʻole hiki iā lākou ke loaʻa." ʻO nā leo ʻē aʻe i nalowale ʻo ia ka hana i hoʻonohonoho ʻia, ʻaʻole i loaʻa i ka ʻaha kūkā-ʻoiaʻiʻo, ʻaʻole hiki ke loaʻa ka huaʻōlelo "labor" ma ka papahana. ʻAʻohe mea hōʻike, ʻaʻole paha, o nā kuleana kīnā a i ʻole nā ​​neʻe ʻana i nā pono malihini.

Eia nō naʻe, ua ikaika ka nui o ka poʻe i hele mai i ka hopena o ia mau mea. Ua hooki au i ka poʻe e puka mai ana i waho o ka hālāwai hoʻopau i ke ahiahi o ka Lāpule e nīnau iā lākou no ke aha lākou i hele mai ai i ka ʻaha kūkā a inā paha ua loaʻa iā lākou ka mea i hele mai ai. ʻOiai nā ʻano hoʻoikaika like ʻole no ka hele ʻana, ua ʻōlelo ka poʻe pane a pau ua loaʻa iā lākou ka mea i hele mai ai lākou, he hōʻike i ke ʻano o nā papa hana, nā ʻano, a me nā pilikia i hoʻoponopono ʻia.

ʻO kēlā me kēia mea i kapa ʻia ka neʻe ʻana i hōʻike ʻia ma ka 2008 National Conference for Media Reform, ua maopopo he neʻe ia. E like me kekahi neʻe, ke ulu nei nā ʻeha e pili ana i nā pilikia o ke alakaʻi, ka hoʻolālā, ka pono, a me ka ʻona. Lana ka manaʻolana, ʻo nā ʻāʻī a me nā hakakā i loko o ka neʻe ʻana o ka hoʻoponopono media e lilo i mea hoʻoikaika no ke kūkulu ʻana i kahi hoʻolaha hoʻohui mau a me ka ʻelele i loaʻa ka mana e hoʻololi i kā mākou ʻāina media.

---