P

eriodically,
we like to keep our readers informed about news from behind the
scenes at

Z Magazine

and the other projects that are part of Z Communications. We meet
every summer to evaluate the “state of Z” and to discuss
changes and possible new projects. 

Currently,
as many readers know, Z Communications consists of

Z Magazine

(started in 1988; now online as well), Z Media Institute (1994),
ZNet (1997), and Z Video Productions (1999). 

At
this summer’s “retreat” our mood was very much influenced
by the “state of the world”: continuing war in Iraq, the
expanding repressive USA PATRIOT Act, the “stolen” election
of 2004, and the fundamentalist right-wing grasp of government and
policy. Also depressing was the lack of a highly visible organized
left with strategies and goals that would move us forward while
allowing us to evaluate our successes, know where to increase our
efforts, and inform the creation of new campaigns, etc. 

On
the positive side, there is evidence of wide popular support for
a progressive agenda and for an end to so-called “preemptive
wars without end.” There is also a growing protest movement
among the military and military families.  

State
of Z 

A

s
to the “state of Z,” we are happy to report that

Z
Magazine

is still here after 18 years of continuous production
(we only missed one issue—in 1992 (combining May and June to
save money). Our readers still send rave comments, donations, and
helpful suggestions for new topics to cover; writers continue to
submit thoughtful, interesting articles on a regular basis.  

The
new projects we’ve started are still around, hopefully reaching
newer audiences. We’ve produced many new videos this year and
have also begun distributing them for other folks on a limited basis.
ZNet continues to thrive, providing daily commentaries, thousands
of new articles, as well as a huge archive section. 

Our
nine-day summer school, Z Media Institute, was attended this year
by 63 students. In addition to those from the U.S. and Canada, we
had many international participants—from Greece, Turkey, Italy,
Colombia, Japan, Dominican Republic, Wales, Scotland, South Africa,
and Germany. Over 20 faculty came to teach foreign policy, institutionalized
racism, women and revolution, starting a media project, radio and
video skills, mainstream media analysis, radical theory, participatory
economics, and many other courses on politics and media. While the
ZMI experience is an intense one (classes from 8:45 AM to 10:00
PM), the sun and sea in Woods Hole help make it a relaxing, informal
experience, with lots of humor through out.  

We’ve
also achieved a certain amount of financial stability—for the
next few years anyway. 

Plans
for 2006 

W

hile
the climate of war and repression makes it more and more difficult
to feel the effects of our media, this is not the time to retreat
or accept mainstream media’s consignment of our efforts to
the “loony left fringe.” Rather we plan to find new ways
to reach wider audiences. First, we will begin the process of setting
up Z Radio. Through the fall we plan on recording some sample shows.
From there we’ll decide what works best, given our time and
expertise. In early 2006, we’ll set our production schedule,
add a new staff member, and Z Radio should be ready by late Spring
2006. We’re thinking of offering three or four different types
of shows—beginning weekly, then more often. They will be available
for downloading to IPods or for use by local independent radio stations. 

We
are also planning on starting Z Books, a series of short booklets
focused on visions and strategies for participatory society, radical
theory, and democratic structure and process. They will provide
the basis for possible year-round small training sessions similar
to Z Media Institute (which is held every other year), but focused
on working with the material in the book series. 

Throughout
the next year we will also be discussing: 

• 
  Further participation
  in the World Social Forum movement 
• 
  Scheduling a
  series of Z Sessions, i.e., gatherings of 25 or so to discuss/debate
  presentations on vision, strategy, building new organizations,
  etc. 
• 
  Building a network
  of activist reporters, writers, and speakers 
• 
  Creating Z Players,
  a global network of actors, writers, and others who produce material
  for audio, video, and live performance 
• 
  Expanding our
  video collection to include discussions, interviews, and documentaries. 
• 
  Creating new
  features for ZNet, keeping up with new technologies 

Staff & Editorial 

C

urrently,
the paid staff consists of Michael Albert who works on ZNet and
ZMI, Andy Dunn who works on

Z
Magazine

, ZVideo Productions, and ZMI, Lydia Sargent who works
on

Z Magazine

, ZVP, and ZMI, and Eric Sargent who works on

Z Magazine

. Daniel Morduchowitz who was on the ZNet staff left
in April to return to California. By Spring 2006, Michael hopes
to move to part time at ZNet and concentrate on Z Books. Also by
late Spring, we hope to have one or two new staff members to work
on ZNet and Z Radio. 

There is some confusion among writers and readers about the difference
between

Z Magazine

and ZNet, i.e., many seem to feel they
have the exact same material. In fact, their editorial process is
different and the projects function autonomously. 

Z Magazine

receives over 75 articles (mostly by email) a
month, which the magazine staff review around the first of each
month. From those 75 we pick a subset of around 20 for publication.
We then proofread/copy edit these at least three times, then prepare
the magazine on our desktop publishing program. We also have a stockpile
of cartoons and graphics, which we pick from and scan into the magazine.
Each issue goes to the printer (on paper and as a PDF file) around
the 11th of each month, comes back to us for final copy and corrections,
and is then printed and shipped by the 25th. Meanwhile, the subscriber
list is updated and emailed to the printer around the 16th. We pay
for all our articles and graphics. 

ZNet receives an entirely different set of articles and puts up
as many as possible, focusing often on a more international selection
than the magazine. These articles are rarely edited and most writers
are not paid—as is the case with most Internet sites. While
the editorial process at the magazine is defined to a large degree
by space and time issues (we are a monthly), ZNet has unlimited
space and can update the site hourly and archive thousands of articles.
In addition to the free material on ZNet, it also offers a Sustainer
Program, which people can join. They pay a certain amount per month
or year and receive a Daily Commentary (the Commentary writers are
paid) and access to

Z Magazine

Online. It is safe to say
that the income from the 6,000 or so members of the Sustainer Program
has kept Z alive for the past four years. 

Thanks 

W

ith
our small staff we often don’t have the time to thank all those
who have supported us. So we’d like to thank them here. There
are people who have been subscribing since the first issue in 1988.
There are hundreds of people who, when they renew or buy a video,
always add a donation to their fee. There are the people who write
glowing comments when they mail in a subscription or a renewal—
these mean a lot to us. There are the people who support us through
ZNet’s Sustainer Program and the many volunteers who help update
ZNet and maintain many of the “Watch” sites. Finally,
there are the writers and cartoonists who have provided material
over the years—some since 1988. 

Why the Name Z? 

W

e
are often surprised when people ask what the name

Z

means and where it came from. The question reminds us of how far
we are from the 1960s/early 1970s when the movie

Z

, directed
by Costa Gavras appeared in movie theaters. It tells the story of
repression and resistance in Greece. The film opens with the chief
of the security police lecturing his cohorts on the “mildew
of the mind that menaces our ideological security.” He speaks
of the infiltration of malignant germs, which appear as “isms”
or “spots on the sun,” which he attributes to the advent
of “hippies” and “peaceniks” in the U.S. and
elsewhere. He urges those who work for “democracy” to
use antibodies to destroy this mildew. He calls on the police and
the military to “spray the young sprouts early in the schools,
saturate the young buds in the universities, factories, and farms
so that worthy people will recognize all those who have sworn to
destroy our faith in God and King.” 

By the end of the movie, Comrade Z (the leader of the opposition)
has been assassinated and his killers, including the chief of police,
indicted. Yet, instead of the expected positive outcome for the
country, the prosecutor dies mysteriously and a military junta takes
over. A list of the things banned by the junta scrolls across the
screen. They include: peace movements, long hair on men, Sophocles,
Aeschylus, Tolstoy, the Beatles, strikes, labor unions, Mark Twain,
Chekhov, the Bar Association, sociology, Beckett, the International
Encyclopedia, the free press, modern and popular music, the new
math, and the letter Z. 

One of the final images, after Comrade Z’s assassination, is
of a large red “Z” scrawled on the street as we hear sounds
of resistance in the background. We took the name for our magazine. 

We have tried, through the content of our media, to inform and inspire
people to resist and to take up the task of answering the question
often posed to the left: “We know what you’re against,
but what do you want?”  

We will continue to do so in whatever way we can.