Ears To Our World

Although a bit delayed, here is the website for the organization I talked about in my presentation.

There are many organizations out there that provide poor, rural areas of the world with basic opportunities that the developed world has been using for decades. Introducing radios into these countries is providing the people with the building blocks for creating public voice. It is a different perspective taken on the term "alternative media" and makes you think twice about the meaning of it all.

Ears To Our World

AZ=Nazi?

The “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act,” Arizona SB1070 was recently signed by Governor Jan Brewer. This Law allows police to investigate the residency status of anyone they suspect may be an illegal immigrant. This has caused uproar throughout the country. There have been many protests, like this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWXIDcS7Pvo

However, the form of protest that stuck out to me most was this one:

http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/Swastikas-painted-with-beans-found-on-Capitol-grounds-92091314.html

Although it's considered a hate crime or vandalism, it still sends a very powerful message.

Extra Credit Summary

John Nichols and Robert McChesney discussed the book they recently wrote together. They stressed that the United States have never lost so many journalists at such a rapid pace, which is frightening because a democracy cannot exist without journalism. Over 140 newspapers closed last year and on average 1000 newspaper employees have been laid off each month for the last two years. Thomas Jefferson once said that each generation has its own revolution and Nichols and McChesney believe that we’re losing a generation to journalism. Not only are we losing a generation to journalism, but they argue that there is an immense lack of content in journalism. For instance, the local news consists of weather, which is free and fills up time. They also focus on crime stories, which they claim is not a ‘real’ form of journalism. Consequently, McChesney and Nichols believe our country has a very dysfunctional source of journalism.

Nichols and McChesney believe there are solutions to this growing issue. They discussed how James Madison and Thomas Jefferson believed journalism to be one of the most important aspects of democracy. Thus, they incorporated journalism into their policies and allocated money toward the industry. Consequently, Nichols and McChesney believe the government should help subsidize journalism organizations. They also believe that this matter is as serious as a military attack on the United States.

Media Construction

On the topic of mass media influencing thought, the following focuses on the male gender and what comprises the ideas of masculinity.
Tough Guise.

I came across another video that I'll post up once I find the link, and complete the post...

More Advertisement Shenanigans

So, I was introduced to the video of the presentation given by Jean Kilbourn entitled "Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising's Image of Women." The link to the trailer may be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTlmho_RovY

While watching this, I was reminded of the Dove "Evolution" commercial we had discussed weeks ago (as it was in it), and the presentation brings up some relevant points on the nature of the way in which mass media influences everyday life, much of which we have already addressed. This is one person standing up against the messages that are being broadcast and forced upon society, and trying to spread the message to others. From this, her message spread only slightly, but with the advent of new technology and today's internet access, especially to sites like YouTube, the messages may be spread more rapidly, and has gotten her some attention; the filming of her presentations are all recorded under IMDB, a site which catalogs movie information (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0156707/).

The first presentation was given in 1979, and she has subsequentially released "Still Killing Us Softly," the 2nd lecture given in 1987. The 3rd presentation, "Killing Us Softly 3" was given and may be found below: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSXDCMSlv_I&feature=related

These films have inspired university courses, and gotten recognized otherwise in sites and blogs that look into advertising and messages constructed by the media (for example: http://www.cambridgedocumentaryfilms.org/beyond.html). I wonder how it would be if the DVDs were to be promoted through advertisements on TV...

Here's a link to YNIG, the Denver-based graffiti company Jenny mentioned.

Here's a video I produced last quarter subverting the War on Terror.

Food for thought:
How is this activist media? How does it challenge hegemony? Do you think it has an impact?


-Danielle

Exit Through the Gift Shop Trailer

PETA's Campaign

Hey guys! For my final project I am focusing on P.E.T.A and their ad campaigns. This video I found on youtube is the official PETA video and it is hard to watch. I wanted to it with you guys to show you why they launched their new campaign 'I rather go naked than wear fur'. Each year thousands of animals are tortured and killed for the purpose of their skin. Not only do they slaughter the animals, they poison the earth while doing so. PETA is the biggest voice right now in advocating for animal rights. I wanted to share it with you guys since animal cruelty is a large arising issue. Do you guys have any thoughts or ideas about how they can better communicate their message through advertising to reach the largest number of people?

-Erika

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTZQnQeAPJc

My Friend Is...

Happy Earth Day all! This PSA is in support of the academy award winning motion picture, "The Cove" . The cove documents the slaughter of more then 20,000 dolphins and porpoises off the coast of Japan every year. The film spawned a campaign for this cause and has been vastly successful. I thought this was a great PSA to get buzz about the campaign circulating. What are your thoughts?

-Kaelen

Extra Credit: Attend this talk by Bob McChesney and John Nichols

The University of Denver Department of Media, Film & Journalism Studies and the
Digital Media Studies program present

The Life and Death of American Journalism:
The Media Revolution That Will Begin the World Again

Join Robert McChesney and John Nichols, authors of The Life and Death of American Journalism: The Media Revolution That Will Begin the World Again, speak about their vision of the future of journalism and of public life.

Monday, April 26, 10:00 - 11:15 a.m.
University of Denver Campus, Ritchie Center Gottesfeld Room*

Robert McChesney is the author/editor of 16 books. He holds an endowed professorship in communication studies at the University of Illinois. John Nichols is a Washington correspondent for The Nation and is one of America’s leading progressive authors and political journalists. Both are founders of Free Press, the leading media reform organization and creators of the National Media Reform Conference.

This event is free and open to the public.
*The Ritchie Center is located Southwest of I-25 and University Blvd. Short-term parking is available around the building. The RTD Lightrail-University Blvd. station is across the street.

For additional information: visit http://www.du.edu/ahss/schools/mfjs/news/Future_of_Journalism.html

more before/after photoshop ads

Before and After shots...

this is really rather sick... and very sad.

http://www.hemmy.net/2007/05/25/celebrities-before-and-after-photoshop/


aa

Britney Spears UNTOUCHED Candie's ads

http://www.fitceleb.com/node/7598 <>Yesterday, the pictures of Britney Spears‘ new Candie’s ads debuted. I thought they looked great. It was met with criticism as people were saying that the polished pictures give girls an unrealistic goal to aspire to. So, to try and calm everyone’s nerves Candie’s released a pre-photoshopped picture of Britney (on the top) so everyone could see how much they didn’t really change the picture at all.

What changes do you see? I see her roots have been fixed up, she’s a bit more tanned, and the color is more vibrant. They didn’t have to do much work on her at all.

http://entertainment.oneindia.in/music/international/2010/britney-remain-untouched-140410.html

Britney Spears wants to remain untouched

New York (ANI): Pop princess

Britney Spears is said to have refused permission for her latest ad campaign to be airbrushed. Spears, 28, has insisted that none of her shots for US-based fashion firm Candie's should be digitally enhanced.

Buzz up!But she agreed for re-touched versions to be released simultaneously - highlighting the pressure on women to look perfect. In the "raw" pictures, bruises are visible on her calf, her thighs are larger and dimpled with cellulite, and dry skin is evident on her feet.

In the airbrushed images her waist is slimmer and her legs flawless. "Britney is proud of her body - imperfections and all," the New York Daily News quoted a source as saying

scary

The Westboro Baptist Church (the group who famously yelled "God Hates Fags" at Mathew Shepard's funeral and staged protests at military funerals) has planned protests in the Denver/Boulder area for this afternoon.

Several counter-protests and strategies are being organized using facebook and blogs. Here is a Westward post with more background and a listing of planned counter-protests.

Westboro's presence is in part prompted by controversy surrounding the decision by Boulder's Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School to not allow re-enrollment of the daughters of a lesbian couple. The Denver Post and The Daily Camera both reported that most Sacred Heart parents were outraged at the school's decision.

We'll learn about these issues in class today. Coincidentally our guest is Kate Burns, a powerful force in the gay rights movement and creator of, together with Prof. Sheila Schroeder, the documentary Sole Journey.

Update: Here is my favorite story on Thursday's protest. (Disclosure: my husband wrote it.)

Invisible Children Pt (1/6)

Hey guys! I am assuming a lot of you have either seen or heard of the "Invisible Children" documentary. However if you haven't, the film was created in 2003 by three USC film students. They went to Africa to create a documentary about the rebel war occurring in the Sudan. They wanted to draw attention to the child victims of the war who are being abducted from their homes and turned into child soldiers. Their goal of this film was to save those children. The film started a huge movement on campuses around the world through use of social media. This film and it's creators have gotten a lot of negative flack. Many say they were more focused on self-promotion then the actual cause. Many critics believe this documentary is too similar to a MTV reality show and thus loses it's activist message. I've attached the opening portion of this film. Tell me what you guys think. Is this activist media or not?
See you tomorrow!
-Kaelen

Long live the Ning

About the Ning
How the Ning relates to activism
The changes being made

This is a big deal. The ning is a free social networking platform that allows any user free of cost to create their own online community with profiles, blogs, forums and more. I know of the Ning because a lot of youtuber's use it as a pseudo fan/community site for their subscribers. The ning has been used by everyone from politicians, non profits, and everyone in between. There has been a shift in management and the new guy is going to start charging for their service thus eliminating so many communities and their base. What was a free platform for advocacy, communities, and outreach is now just another tool to make money.

If you read any of the comments to the CEOs blog post my sentiments are echoed among a lot of the users who have utilized the free services.

Political Activist Media

Here is the googledoc I presented during class. I think it's really fun and interesting to view Obama's website from 2004 till now; It provides a great context.

"...Because We're Winning"

On Tuesday, one of the discussion questions that was asked was: "Why is collective organizing important?"

I wanted to relate that question to another clip from This is What Democracy Looks Like. I think one of the most important aspects of the WTO protests (and something that is highlighted in the film) is that SO MANY people banded together in order to confront an organization they felt was committing global injustices. I am of the opinion that the protests in Seattle would not have been as big of a deal if the group was significantly smaller. As the one interviewee points out in the clip, "What they're telling us is that it's okay for you to protest if you're small in numbers and weak, but once you grow into a mass movement it's not okay to protest." While this quote obviously comments on the undemocratic viewpoint of the Seattle government and police (and the way they handled protesters), it also makes a comment on the "atmosphere" of the protests--they weren't carried out by stereotypical "liberal, activist, lefties," but by a wide variety of people in a very organized fashion. The protests were a true social movement.

I uploaded this clip from the movie to YouTube. Hopefully it doesn't get pulled because of copyright issues, but if that happens I'll find another way to upload the clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_9IdSxvi04

Do you guys (dis)agree that the Seattle protests would have caught as much national attention if the number of protesters was significantly lower (even if the same tactics of peaceful protest and civil disobedience were used)?

Katya - Penn and Teller's Bullsh!t (contains footage of Code Pink)

Hey Katya,

I found a YouTube video of that Penn & Teller episode of Bullsh!t. It has some good footage of Code Pink. I don't really agree with a lot of Penn and Teller's libertarian ideologies (some of their episodes really annoy me), but this episode has a very anti-Code Pink POV that would be appropriate for your project--I know you mentioned that you wanted to cover some of the opposition towards their group.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ID_8syE4Pc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AQN6FCOJXI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed4t8yC6uR0&feature=related

Socially conscious games...from the white house

Hey all, here is the link to one of the websites taking about how the Obama administration wants to commission microsoft to develop a game of some sort to educate/inform about the us budget. I apologize for the lack of length in the article, Im still on the hunt for any source that has more information.

Click here for article

Please post here if you find anymore information on this.

That's Why I Chose Yale

Hey Guys,

Above is a link to the Yale Independent Video I was talking about in class last week.

I decided to go in a different direction for my final project but I figured it would still be good to post this, if anything just for a good laugh.

Ali

Technology, social networking transforms giving.

Technology, social networking transforms giving.
Click here for article


This article details the text-messaging fund raising techniques utilized by the red cross during the Haiti earthquake crisis. The author does a good job of covering the pros and cons of being able to raise millions of dollars in a short period of time, but challenging and potentially redefining the way activists and non-profits raise money.

The questions that arose to me while reading this are:

1) the article argues that the immediacy of mobile donations is absolutely essential to success. I ask that if immediacy is directly related to raising funds, does texting then define those who partake as activists? If yes, then how does that change the definition of activism?
2) how does being able to contribute via mobile devices impact democracy in America?
3) where,if at all, does a line exist between social media and activist media?
4) do you feel that the campaign for text donations plays off of accessibility/immediacy, or guilt?

This is just food for thought, but i would love to know what you think.

Final Project Ideas - Ruben Figueroa

The organization I am looking at currently is Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (aka FAIR), a group who has been "Challenging Media Censorship and Bias Since 1986." Founded by Jeff Cohen in 1986, the group has been guided by him as executive director, then board member until 2002, when Cohen stepped down to take a position at MSNBC. FAIR works with not only with activist, but journalists as well, to provide "constructive critiques when called for" with regards to reporting news. Additionally, they encourage and work to enable the public to "become media activists rather than passive consumers of news." Among their efforts, FAIR publishes the magazine Extra!, produces the weekly radio program CounterSpin, and distributes Action Alerts to their international network of activists.

As for the media project, I currently am debating between doing fliers/posters focusing on headline misdirection, to fit alongside their multimedia approach which already includes the internet, radio, and magazine realms; my other option would be a brief video element to highlight the realm that they haven't as much foothold in, working to make a brief advertisement-type of promotion for questioning headline reports.

RESOURCES
Their website may be found at: http://www.fair.org/index.php

http://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/17/arts/tv-view-let-s-be-frank-about-fairness-and-accuracy.html

http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/fair.html

http://smearcasting.com/

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Media_Reform/HowDetect_BiasNewsMedia.html

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Fairness_%26_Accuracy_In_Reporting

http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7092

Also of note:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fairness-Accuracy-In-Reporting/12641323331

This is What Democracy Looks Like

Hey everyone,

I thought I'd post a link to download This is What Democracy Looks Like (the documentary about the WTO protests I presented last week).

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8N1M8A2M

Enjoy!

-Pete

Jon Stewart on Crossfire

Here is a link to Jon Steward on Crossfire - it might make you watch a 30sec ad before the video, but it looks like good quality!

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x10ehm_jon-stewart-gets-crossfire-canceled_fun

ENJOY!

-Danielle

TEDxDU

TEDxDU is coming to campus May 13th!

We talked a little in class today about TEDxDU, but to get the full effect you should visit both the TED web site and the TEDxDU web site. At the TEDxDU site you can see a list of confirmed speakers and get a little more of the flavor of what's going on, and at the TED web site you can see a few videos.

LINKS
www.TED.com
www.TEDxDU.com

Here's one of the videos rated Jaw-Dropping from TED - go to the web site to see even more!

Enjoy!

-Danielle

4/8 Discussion questions

Ch3: Alt Film, Video, TV

1.Why would television companies be seen as a politically and aesthetically conservative forms? Do they have the same activist potential as text or radio?

2. What were some of the challenges to the established order that made the late 60s and 70s revolutionary?

3.What was the difference between the avant-garde and ‘realist’ approaches to alternative film-making in the 60s and 70s?

4.What is the main goal of video or public access groups?

5. How do new technologies and networks solve some of the problems faced by alt. film, video, and tv producers?


Ch16: DIY Media Making Resources

1. What does it mean to say “What distinguishes alternative above most commercial media is that alternative producers seek to address their audiences not as consumers but as publics” (260).

2. Why is collective organizing important?

Quiz

What is the frame of this story and how is it achieved?


What is hegemony and what is counter-hegemony? Please give examples of each as they relate to media.

Please make up your own definition of activist media using some of the terms and ideas we’ve covered in class so far.

According to Downing and Gitlin, what does media have to do with democracy?