The Dominion - media

Allies in Media Justice

Tim McSorley — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:05:16 +0000

A report back from the Allied Media Conference

DETROIT, MICHIGAN—The Allied Media Conference's reputation is that it is one of the best conferences in the United States—period. After attending the 12th annual AMC in June, I think it’s fair to say that the conference outdoes its own reputation.

There are broad lessons for organizing conferences that can be taken away from the AMC, as well as specific insights linked to media organizing in the United States that could go a long way in rejuvenating media activism in Canada.

Stepping out of the hot and humid air into the lightly air conditioned building at Detroit's Wayne State University—which served as a hub for the conference—it was obvious this was different from typical media conferences.

Most of the volunteers and folks hanging out in the lobby were people of colour. The vibe was friendly and uninhibited: punks, queers, nerds, fashionistas and students milled around, chatting, sitting up on couches deep in discussion or leaning back, resting. Throughout the weekend there was a strong presence of students and activists from Detroit, an encouraging sign that the conference wasn’t just descending on the city but that it was learning from and contributing to local community projects.

“We are here at the Allied Media Conference this year, and every year there are more hearts, there are more souls, there are more stories, there are more connections, there’s more love, there’s more hope, there’s more happening, than anywhere I go in the year, and I mean that, seriously,” said Ron Scott from Detroit’s Coalition Against Police Brutality in the opening ceremony. This year about 400 people, mostly from the US, attended the AMC.

Organizers and participants made direct links between the need for alternative and radical media and broader social and economic issues including capitalism, police violence, prisons, environmental destruction, ableism, and gendered and racialized violence, to name a few. These links were made possible by a holistic approach to reclaiming media that went far beyond the idea of “media democracy” into the realm of “media justice.” To date, there is no equivalent to the AMC in Canada.

“If you hope to radically restructure the media you have to begin with the slow and deep work of allowing space for the oppressed to speak and have control over media,” Anthony Meza-Wilson, a Vancouver-based educator who attended the AMC told The Dominion. “It isn't enough to label yourself as ‘democratic media’ or ‘progressive media’ if the voices that are heard, the languages used, and the narratives spoken still all come from people of privilege, academics, and professional journalists.”

It’s clear that over the last 11 years, the founders and organizers of the AMC have been able to do that work that Meza-Wilson describes and create trusting spaces for media activists that are outside of the academic, professional world of media to come together and “create, connect, transform”—as the conference slogan goes.

One of the strengths of the AMC was that presenters were themselves media activists, journalists, mud stencilers, and Indigenous media makers, people with different abilities, women of colour who organize against violence, and ex-prisoners.

The AMC adheres to a series of network principles, which include emphasizing the power and legitimacy of participants, assuming agency not victimization, and working to highlight solutions coming through process, not at the end of a process. Perhaps most important is the last principle: “We begin by listening.”

Workshops were based around seven tracks, which included the Art and Practice of Disability Justice, Ecojustice Media Making for Sustainable Communities, Communication Strategies for Ending the Prison Industrial Complex and Indigenous Media and Technology.

The ambitious 84-page AMC schedule was filled with workshops, discussions, caucuses, panels and skill builders ranging from queer/trans people of colour zine-making to youth discussions on the movie Avatar. The definition of “media” was broad enough to include activities like mud stencils, coding drupal, political art and silkscreening.

Throughout the weekend, there were information tables set up, creating a book fair atmosphere and a space for people to talk at length about their projects. Downstairs, there was a live radio stream set up with DJs old and new sharing the mic with conference attendees. A table dedicated to building radio transmitters was busy all weekend, while people soldered, discussed and plotted.

AMC organizers have already put the word out for people to “save the date” for next year’s conference, to be held June 23-26 in Detroit. Anyone interested in media and justice would be well served by being there.

Dawn Paley is a journalist based in Vancouver. She made a presentation about the Vancouver Media Co-op during a packed session at the AMC in June.

Creating a print at the AMC

From H-Ville to G-Spot

Moira Peters — Fri, 21 May 2010 05:41:58 +0000

G8 host has little control over how Legacy Fund touches Huntsville

HUNTSVILLE—This June, the ritzy, resort-rich Muskokas will see the life, leisure and liberty of its residents change in preparation for the interplay between heads of state and their entourages, private security forces, temporary workers, the global media, protesters and police.

Huntsville, Ontario, and the Deerhurst Resort will take the world stage for a few days to play host to the "informal" and private working meeting of the world’s richest states.

“Prior to the announcement that the G8 was coming to Huntsville, there were no community consultations,” said Dan Powers, assistant to Huntsville Mayor Claude Doughty. “The G8 summit is a federal responsibility,” he said, administered and determined by the prime minister and his office.

“No, we (Huntsville) didn’t have an option,” said Kelly Haywood, General Manager for the Huntsville/Lake of Bays Chamber of Commerce, explaining that despite lack of initial community input regarding the G8 summit, “the idea was primarily embraced as an opportunity to benefit the business community.”

For many in Huntsville, the undemocratic nature of the G8, the lack of safe and clear forums for debate and dissenting voices, and the tremendous police presence and control over the area are still secondary concerns overwhelmed by the economic benefits that will come to the Muskokas through the G8.

The G8 will bring money and interest to the area—an area that Chaffey District Town Councillor John Davis says faces struggles in tough economic times. Huntsville, he said, is a “sort of weird community where there are people who are really rich and people who wait on tables and clean hotels for minimum wage.”

Operating in trying economic times and dealing with problems such as an aging population, youth out-migration and underemployment, Hunstville town council is debating tapping into its rainy-day reserves to finish funding G8-related projects to make up for the projected shortfall.

“There will be a debenture of almost $9 million that the township is going to have to somehow pay,” said Davis, whose constituents are worried about housing, the public library and road maintenance. He said not all the money coming to the area for the G8 is being spent wisely, but that “everything that goes on in a community, if there is money being spent, is beneficial.

“Is it solving poverty? No. Is is solving homelessness? No,” he said. “What does?”

For a town that Davis describes as having “not a lot of money” in the municipal coffers, the G8 summit brings with it a sudden and great opportunity for building local infrastructure and economy. “It is the cheapest, best advertisement we’re probably going to get.”

Jack Tynan, Managing Editor of local newspaper Huntsville Forester holds that “if someone is going to come and fix up your neighbourhood for you, you smile and thank them.”

Parry Sound and the Muskoka region will profit directly from hosting the G8, receiving a $50-million G8 Legacy Infrastructure Fund, to be distributed by Muskoka MP and Minister of Industry Tony Clement and The Federal Economic Development Initiative of Northern Ontario.

Projects benefitting from this money have been pulled directly from Community Municipal Master Plans, according to Haywood—plans she said were developed through community input and, where possible, have been contracted to local businesses. Bracebridge-based Fowler Construction, for instance, has been awarded a $3.9-million security contract.

The Legacy Projects include replacing asphalt sidewalks with concrete sidewalks in the village of Rosseau and new signs for Bracebridge. A Summit Centre, a University of Waterloo research centre and an icepad will be constructed in Huntsville, according to Municipal G8 Information Co-ordinator Lauren Parrot.

Parrot, a Federal Youth Intern, is clear that despite her professional title, she can offer minimal information about the G8 summit. Her job is to deliver inquiries to the Summit Management Office (SMO)* or to the Integrated Security Unit (ISU)**.

“Security is really run by the SMO—they plan and organize everything and we’re really sort of bystanders.” said Councillor Davis. The SMO briefs town council and staff, and conducts community meetings. To stay informed, Davis explained, the ISU (which has been in the community for over a year) has taken to frequenting local coffee shops and listening for rumours they might need to dispel.

The growing police presence in Huntsville will swell to thousands in the days leading to the summit, and will control movement in the city with security perimeters and flight, marine and traffic restrictions.

An ISU information pamphlet explains the G8 is “a private, working meeting between several working leaders” and that “the general public is discouraged from coming to observe the event.” The ISU has set up a toll-free number for townspeople to “report unlawful activity that could be related to the summit.”

The ISU has come under criticism in the recent past for selectively dismissing civil liberties during the Olympics.

Richard Cusson, who works at Deerhurst Resort, said what has recently changed is the notable presence of plain-clothed police integrating into town activities. “It’s not too hard to tell (that they are police officers) when you see two guns sticking out,” he said.

In a town thickening with police, rumour and suspicion, Cusson, for the most part, is choosing to keep his lips sealed. As an employee of the host resort, he is “not supposed to talk about it,” he said. “The least amount of info I get, the better for me.”

The ISU seems to be following the example set during the Olympics. It declared it will honour Charter rights to assembly, free speech, the press and other fundamental freedoms. Special note is made by the ISU G20/G8 website, regarding Breach of Peace, a designation that allows police to arrest people without laying charges, and thereby skipping scrutiny and accountability in the courts.

Police seem to be gathering information and allies in the community. People living within the interdiction zone have all been visited personally at their houses by the ISU, explained Councillor Davis, and people living in the summit area must register with police forces. “They must provide a name, date of birth and, of course, a background check is done,” said Powers.

He said only a small number of people will truly be affected by the police presence and that others, including those in the area who are opposed to the G8, need not worry about police involvement in their lives.

The Huntsville Forester has received and printed relatively few words from those opposed to the G8, said Tynan. Though he knows some locals may oppose the G8, Davis suggested that Huntsville “is a small town and those people still have to live in this town after.”

Local media are most inhabitants’ means of accessing information, and most of the information reported comes directly from the SMO or ISU.

Davis, critical of the Forester for delivering what he calls “cookie-cutter journalism” and acting as “a mouthpiece for the Mayor” said that when a small town of 20,000 receives the majority of its news from one paper that tends to print whatever the reigning political bodies offer, “it becomes an autocratic society; democracy is not served well.”

Rachelle Sauvé is a cook, gardener, educator, agitator and advocate working for over a decade at Food Sovereignty and Anti-Poverty Movements in Ontario.

* A federally administered project of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
** Overseen by Public Safety Canada and is a combined force of the RCMP, OPP, Canadian Forces and other security agencies.

Welcome to Huntsville 2

“This is Beyond Sports”

Moira Peters — Fri, 14 May 2010 05:16:00 +0000

Chuck D on the fight in Arizona

Chuck D. The Hard Rhymer. The man on the mic for the most politically explosive hip-hop group in history, Public Enemy. With albums like It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Fear of a Black Planet, and anthems like “Fight the Power” and “Bring the Noise” along with the breathtaking production of the Bomb Squad, PE created a standard of politics and art. Perhaps their most controversial track was “By the Time I Get to Arizona” (1991), about seeking revenge against Arizona political officials for refusing to recognize Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday. (Lyrics include "'Cause my money's spent on/The goddamn rent/Neither party is mine not the/Jackass or the elephant.") Today, in the wake of Arizona’s draconian anti-immigration Senate Bill 1070, “By the Time I Get to Arizona” has been remixed and revived by DJ Spooky. Chuck D also recorded his own track several months before the bill was passed called “Tear Down That Wall.” I spoke to Chuck about the music and the nexus between immigration politics and sports.

Dave Zirin: Why did you choose to record “Tear Down That Wall?”

Chuck D: I had done "Tear Down That Wall" four or five months ago because I heard a professor who works with my wife here on the West Coast speak in a speech about the multi-billion dollar dividing wall between the US and Mexico, so, therefore, I based "Tear Down That Wall" on the policy of the United States border patrol in the states of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas. I just wanted to put a twist of irony on it saying if Ronald Reagan back in 1988 had told Mr. Gorbachev to tear down that wall separating the world from countries of capitalism and communism, we have a billion dollar wall right here in our hemisphere that exists that needs to have a bunch of questions raised. Questions like: “What the hell?” I wrote the song about five months ago and I did it coincidentally, with all that’s brewing in the state of Arizona. Immigration laws and racial profiling is happening right here and I think the border situation, not only with the US and Mexico but the US and Canada, on both sides is just out of control. It's crazy.

You did "Tear Down That Wall," we have the DJ Spooky remix of "By the Time I Get to Arizona," and with your wife, Dr. Gaye Theresa Johnson, you wrote a syndicated column on SB 1070. What’s the response been to you being so out front on this issue?

Well the response is the usual, but I make it a habit not to look at any blogs, because I think the font of a computer gives as much credence to ignorance as it does to somebody who makes sense. So I try not to read those responses, because anybody can respond quickly. Back when people had to write letters it took an effort, especially if someone didn't have decent penmanship and handwriting. I try not to look at the responses. I try to do the right thing. I tell you this much, there is a rap contingent, a hip-hop contingent from Phoenix, who did a remake of "By the Time I Get to Arizona." I think that needs to be recognized because these are young people. The song is about eight minutes long. There's about 12 MCs on it, and they are putting it down. They are talking about how ridiculous this law is. They are speaking out against it and they are putting all the facts on the table, and they need to be acknowledged and highlighted. There is a stereotype about young people and young MCs [being apolitical]. They break it.

It’s remarkable how the original “By the Time I Get to Arizona” has been resurrected from the early 90s now that the struggle has picked up. Did you hear former NBA player Chris Webber before the Suns/Spurs game say, "Its like PE said, ‘By the Time I Get to Arizona.’”?

[laughs] My Dad told me about that. You know Chris Webber is the man. I wasn't tuned into TNT at that particular time.

He said more than that. He said, “Public Enemy said it a long time ago. ‘By the Time I Get to Arizona.’ I’m not surprised. They didn’t even want there to be a Martin Luther King Day when John McCain was in [office]. So if you follow history you know that this is part of Arizona politics.’” So he brought it all together with Public Enemy at the center of it.

Unfortunately when it comes to culture, the speed of technology and news today makes things out of sight, out of mind. While these situations [the MLK fight and the immigration fights] are different, the politics of both things stay around like a stain.... Once again Arizona has put themselves into this mix. I don't know what the hell was on Governor Jan Brewer’s mind or what contingent is behind her, but, you know, to make a decision like this and to be told to ignore the people who have been in this area on this earth the longest period of time. It just kind of resonates with me as being crazy.

Do you support an athletic or artistic boycott of Arizona until this gets settled?

Dave, you know I do. Artists and musicians can say we’re going to play Texas, El Paso, New Mexico, Albuquerque, and we gotta play LA. But we’ll skip Phoenix, Flagstaff, Tucson and the like. But you know what this is really a challenge for: that’s Major League Baseball. You’ve got nearly a third of the players who are Latino. If they don’t stand up to this bill, they will actually be validating the divide amongst Latinos [between documented and undocumented immigrants]. At the same time they’ll also be lining themselves right into the stereotype of what an athlete is if they don’t speak out: a high priced slave that doesn’t say anything. And to me it’s beyond just boycotting the All-Star game. What are those Latino players on the Diamondbacks going to do? What are the players going to say who go into Arizona to play against the Diamondbacks? What are they going to say and what are they going to do? Major League Baseball has to step up. The NBA has very few players of Latino descent and [the Suns] are saying something. But Major League Baseball, if they don’t say anything, it’s crazy. The owners, the team, the league, and especially the players, whether they come from the Dominican Republic, whether they come from Venezuela, whether they come from Puerto Rico, they better step up. If they don’t step up, the music industry, at least from my area, we’re going to clown them. For us to speak out against this law, and basketball stepping up, and Major League Baseball not stepping up at all?! Come on now, give me a break. And I know a lot of the cats they live in the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico or whatever, there’s like a trillion years difference between them and their high salaries and the average people living in the streets. They might build themselves a castle with a militia to protect them, but this is the time to unite yourself with the people and at least live in the legacy that [Major League Hall of Famer] Roberto Clemente said of uniting people just to protect against the nonsense that the other side can come up with. They need to know that it’s going to spread if they don’t come up and say something about it.

Any final thoughts? Perhaps about Major League Baseball pulling the All-Star Game out of Phoenix?

At the end of the day man, sports is really not that important compared to people living their everyday lives. Say you have a Major League player, and he happens to play for another team, or he happens to play for the Diamondbacks and he gets pulled over because people think he’s an illegal immigrant. Then all of a sudden that’s when the “ish” finally hits the fan? Come on. This is beyond sports. We want athletes to speak up because they have advantages. They have everyday coverage. They’re covered by a person that has a mic and a camera in their face, and this is the time to step up. Major League Baseball pulling the All-Star Game out of Arizona should be the least of it.

Originally published by Edge of Sports. Dave Zirin is the author of the forthcoming Bad Sports: How Owners are Ruining the Games we Love (Scribner). Receive his column every week by emailing dave@edgeofsports.com. Contact him at edgeofsports@gmail.com.

Chuck D

Reading La Prensa in Honduras

dawn — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:50:16 +0000

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Since I've been in Honduras, I've been hearing a constant refrain about the "medios golpistas," which is to say the pro-coup media. I avoided the papers for a while, preferring to listen to the radio, read online, and talk to Hondurans about the situation in the country (I generally do the same at home anyways).

That said, I caved and bought the paper today, and even though I was planning to spend the day transcribing, I feel compelled to write a post about flipping through La Prensa this morning over coffee.

"Government proposes break with ALBA" screams the headline on A1, with another story below on the assassination of the daughter of a pro-coup journalist.

The next three pages of the paper are dedicated to "The Keys of 2009," an ongoing series of unsigned opinion pieces presented as factual, objective reporting on the events that defined 2009.

Second of today's 12 "Keys" is a blurb titled "External aid pulled, commerce closed because of political crisis." I'm going to translate part of it here in an effort to get across the editorial perspective (again, masquerading as fact) in the paper.

The substitution of José Manuel Zelaya Rosales was like a bucket of icy water for the depressed national economy... The Internaional Monetary Fund - with who Zelaya had broken relations and had negated to sign a new memorandum of understanding with, was one of the first to distance itself from Honduras after June 28.

Not only is this a Non Sequitur, it's not true.

Oliver Stone: New Movie on Hugo Chavez

Geordie — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:28:33 +0000

A trailer for Oliver Stone's new movie, South of the Border.

Montreal: Alternative Media Open House

dawn — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:09:42 +0000

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Media makers in Montréal, take note... The first session of the Alternative Media Open House launched successfully last night at Nelson Mandela Park.

There are two more sessions, one on Friday and the next on Sunday.

"We are hoping to make connections with people in the communities we are doing the open houses in and to recruit a few new volunteers who may not have otherwise known these opportunities were open to them," says Courtney Kirkby, a radio producer at CKUT who's helping to organize the events.

The events offer free food, and are really about people getting to know each other.

"This is a unique chance to actually meet a wide range of media-makers in the city and find out what goes into a story and how independent, alternative journalism and news collectives can work," says Kirkby.

Event details are below... Enjoy!

--français ci-dessous--

Interested in community journalism?

CKUT 90.3FM & the Dominion present ALTERNATIVE MEDIA OPEN HOUSE in Côte-des-Neiges, Point St. Charles and the Plateau
***********************************************************
LOCATION: Saint Columba House
(2365, Grand Trunk @ rue Ropery)
TIME: 3:30pm-7:00pm
DATE: FRIDAY, July 24th
*Free food provided by Midnight Kitchen
***********************************************************
LOCATION: Maison de l'Amitié
(120 avenue Duluth Est, @ ave. Coloniale)
TIME: 1:30pm-4:00pm
DATE: SUNDAY, July 26th
***********************************************************

A chance to meet alternative, independent journalist, producers and editors. Find out how to get involved and how to gain media-making skills.

Contact: Courtney Kirkby, news@ckut.ca or 514.448.4041x6788

Le journalisme communautaire vous interesses?

Tune in!: Online radio show on media battles in Honduras

Sandra — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:42:55 +0000

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LISTEN ONLINE TO THE SHOW!

Political upheaval continues in Honduras, after liberal leader Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a military coup in late June. It is a battle that has played out not only in the streets of Honduras, but also on television screens and over radio waves across the world.

Some, including U.S. President Barack Obama and the Organization of American States, have condemned the ouster of the democratically-elected president, saying it was unconstitutional, illegal and a threat to democracy.

Others point out that Zelaya was pushing ahead with a referendum on term limits that Honduras’ Supreme Court had ruled unconstitutional, and consider his removal the result of healthy checks and balances.

The Honduran military has clamped down on pro-Zelaya channels in the country and blocked the signal of Telesur, a left-leaning television network based in Venezuela. Other state-run media across Latin America have broadcast programs in support of Zelaya.

Worldfocus.org’s weekly radio show on explored the coup in Honduras and how Latin America’s media industry — from state-run stations to independent websites — has become a political battleground.

Worldfocus anchor Martin Savidge hosts the following panel of guests:

Sandra Cuffe is an independent journalist and photographer from Montréal, Canada. Sandra has reported from Latin America for several years and is the Honduras correspondent for UpsideDownWorld.org.

The Dominion - Halifax Media Co-op

Van Ferrier — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:56:10 +0000

In February 2009, editors of the Dominion newspaper established Canada's first democratically-run news media co-operative in Halifax, Nova Scotia. New chapters will be sprouting up across the country to offer a progressive and community-based alternative to the corporate news model.

K'Naan interviewed about Somali Pirates

Stuart Neatby — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 23:49:29 +0000

"Whenever Somalis get together and talk about pirates, the pirate scenario, we talk about them as if they're coast guards of the country."

A media in crisis

hillarybain — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:44:01 +0000

The CBC's board of directors have approved a budget that will result in deep cuts.

"[CBC/Radio-Canada president Hubert Lacroix] has said that selling assets, increasing advertising and cutting jobs and programs could help bridge part of the budget shortfall. Media reports circulating this week indicated the broadcaster was looking at 600 to 1,200 job cuts, although this has not been confirmed."

and...

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer - the 12th most read newspaper in the US - printed its last newspaper.

"The crisis in the US newspaper industry has accelerated in the past few weeks. The collapse in advertising revenue, along with the longer-term problem of declining readership, is the major reason."

New York Times Safe; Canwest Still Sinking

Geordie — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 01:20:39 +0000

As previously reported, both the New York Times and CanWest Global have been facing steep economic challenges recently.

The Times has been thrown a lifeline by Carlos Slim Helu, the Mexican Communications Billionaire who's loaning them $250 million to help them cope with the $l.1 billion in debts they already have.

Things however, seem to have gotten a whole lot worse for CanWest. David Beers, editor-in-chief at the Tyee, managed to get an internal memo from CanWest about 'cost containment'.

It's seems everything is being cut at the chain including:

A freeze on all hiring,
A freeze on salaries,
A freeze on meals, catering and entertainment expenses,
Ceasing engagements with external consultants,
A freeze on conference/seminar attendance,
Equipment expense and capital purchase delays,
Limiting the use of mobile devices by 20-25%,
Reducing energy usage.

Canada Post and Telus Censoring Youtube

Geordie — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 01:05:59 +0000

According to the Tyee, both Canada Post and Telus have been censoring Youtube.

The story claims that video's by angry union members have been at the centre of attempts by both censor the free video uploader.

Telus 'cleansed' 23 video's in 2007, while Canada Post took a strong exception to CEO Moya Greene being portrayed as The Greench Who Stole Xmas" in late 2008.

Guess she never saw this video.

What's surprising is that these massive employers seem to be using a well-known loophole to remove the material:

"The case highlights a common occurrence under U.S. law, which allows copyright owners to file complaints with web hosts such as YouTube if they believe that the site is hosting infringing content. Under the law, the web host avoids liability if it immediately removes the content. No court or independent third party reviews the infringement claim since nothing more than a complaint that meets certain criteria is needed."

Israel Broke Ceasefire First

Geordie — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 05:03:24 +0000

Also reported here in the Guardian on November 5th:

A four-month ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza was in jeopardy today after Israeli troops killed six Hamas gunmen in a raid into the territory.

Hamas responded by firing a wave of rockets into southern Israel, although no one was injured. The violence represented the most serious break in a ceasefire agreed in mid-June, yet both sides suggested they wanted to return to atmosphere of calm.

New York Times & Canwest Almost Bankrupt

Geordie — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:56:20 +0000

It seems the New York Times could no longer be in circulation as soon as May. According to The Atlantic:

Earnings reports released by the New York Times Company in October indicate that drastic measures will have to be taken over the next five months or the paper will default on some $400 million in debt. With more than $1billion in debt already on the books, only $46million in cash reserves as of October, and no clear way to tap into the capital markets (the company’s debt was recently reduced to junk status), the paper’s future doesn’t look good.

Things are not much better for Canwest, which Jen & Fitz report has a:

High debt load of $3.6 billion, falling ad revenues for Canadian newspapers and broadcasters, and precipitously falling value of Australian TV stations it might try to sell to raise cash.

Could be ripe timing for some other kind of alternative media giant to emerge...

Breaking the Propaganda Model: Colombia, Venezuela and Canada

dawn — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 22:29:47 +0000

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A couple of new pieces up recently by the North American Congress on Latin America shine a necessary light on political happenings in Colombia and Venezuela.

Colombia and Venezuela: Testing the Propaganda Model looks at the two countries vis-a-vis coverage in the NY Times and Washington Post, and effectively advances the hypothesis put forth by Chomsky and Herman in their classic Manufacturing Consent.

In Free Trade, the Good Cop, and Other Myths, Pablo Vivanco examines the Canada - Colombia Free Trade Agreement through a critical lens.

Finally, NACLA has published the full text of an excellent open letter to Human Rights Watch criticizing HRW's recent report on Venezuela. "By publishing such a grossly flawed report, and acknowledging a political motivation in doing so, [Jose Miguel Vivanco, the lead author of the report] has undermined the credibility of an important human rights organization," reads the letter.

Image: "Parodia de propaganda militar en la novela de ficción 1984" by Jaume d'Urgell.