Articles about Video and Media Activism

"Video Vigilantes" article in Portland Tribune (OR)
"Activists adopt a tool long used by police - the camera - to keep an eye on authority"

Article about Video Activism's Resurgence by Rachel Rinaldo in Lip Magazine

Article on Video Activism by Paul O'Connor of undercurrents

Video Activist's Journal from the WTO protests of Seattle '99 - video footage by VAN & IMC members

The ABC of Tactical Media by David Garcia and Geert Lovink
"Tactical Media are what happens when the cheap 'do it yourself' media, made possible by the revolution in consumer electronics and expanded forms of distribution (from public access cable to the internet) are exploited by groups and individuals who feel aggrieved by, or excluded from, the wider culture. Tactical Media do not just report events; as they are never impartial, they always participate and it is this that more than anything separates them from mainstream media."

Modern Day Muckrakers by Theta Pavis in UCS Annenberg - Online Journalism Review
"The Rise of the Independent Media Center (IMC) Movement"

Third Cinema was a manifesto by "Third World" filmmakers that tried to link film production with the collective struggles for self-determination in the "Third World". Fernando Birri, one of the founding figures of the New Latin American Cinema movement that, since its inception in the mid-'50s, has been influencing social change across the Americas.

Much of our news is increasingly produced by big Public Relations (PR) firms who produce stories solely to protect and serve their well paying corporate clients. We have all read about the mega-mergers of the media conglomorants - such as the recent merger of Time-Warner and America Online. Journalism schools are now emphasizing "communication skills" over journalistic integrity and investigative zeal. In this climate, the Video Activist can really add a lot to the social dialogue by producing content that is typically ignored or heavily spun by the corporate press. The links below will help to explain why we need grassroots involvement in media production and why we should turn off the major channels and look to alternatives for unfiltered information.

* The 6 Corporations that own most of the Media

* The Media Ownership Chart (Printable)

* The Project on Media Ownership

* 100 Biggest Media Companies according to Adage.com

* Columbia Journalism Review's Media Ownership Study

* MediaTransparency.org

* Media Watch

* 1st Ammendment Studies

* PBS's Frontline Map of Corporate Media The past decade's wave of media mergers has produced a complex web of business relationships that now defines America's media and popular culture. These relationships offer a massive opportunity for cross promotion and selling of talent and products among different companies owned by the same powerful parent corporation.

* In The More You Watch, The Less You Know, seasoned journalist Danny Schechter examines the civic failure of modern media, asserts our right to something better and proposes a strategy for transformation. He offers an insider's tale of how the media really works, and why it doesn't work the way it should.

* The War on Truth an interview with John Stauber on Media Island International. This site also features an extensive listing of Alternative Media Sources and a page on Resources for Media Analysis

* The Liberal Media Strike Again "Media ownership [is] rapidly being consolidated and increasingly driven by explicitly pro-business, if not actually "conservative," aims..."

* Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting FAIR's Media Activist Kit explains how to detect media bias and goes on to list all kinds of tips, recommended readings and many links on the subject.

* Noam Chomsky on Corporate Media Z Magazine's archives on Noam Chomsky, a potent critic of the corporate media.

* Another well updated Chomsky archive

* Handbook on Mass Media by media consultant Peter Wirth, including a "how-to" on dealing with the mainstream media in general.

* Marshal Mcluhan's thoughts on Media Theory

* International Forum for Independent Media with links to a People's Communications Charter, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Zapatista's 2nd Declaration of La Realidad from the First Encuentro for Humanity and Against Neoliberalism in Chiapas calling for the creation of a network of independent media, a network of information. "We need this network not only as a tool for our social movements, but for our lives: this is a project of life, of humanity, humanity which has a right to critical and truthful information."

* Alternet.org's Media Culture Page Good links to daily news about the media. "We live in a media-driven, commercial culture, where it's hard to escape the ever-increasing waves of advertising and infotainment. Meanwhile, our public spaces are eroding, and what were once safe havens – schools, museums, libraries, parks – are now awash in commercials."

Some Media Columnists
Eric Alterman
Cynthia Cotts
Mark Jurkowitz
Howard Kurtz
Robert McChesney
David Podvin
Gregory Palast
Jim Romenesko (Media News)
Ruth Shalit
Norman Solomon
Matt Welch
Michael Wolff
Antonia Zerbisias

Related Videos

Is the Press Really Free? - Produced by Off the Couch Films for Project Censored

Fear and Favor in the Newsroom - Produced by Northwest Passage Productions

Guerrilla Video Primer - Produced by The Cascadia Media Collective
From camera basics, to interviews,  filming in the middle of a street battle,
editing and distribution - the film explains how the Cascadia Media Collective
has learned to make the quality movies that it does.  Guerrilla Video Primer
contains never before seen footage from the FTAA protests in Quebec City
and the World Economic Forum protests in New York City, as well as footage
from the streets of Palestine.

Witness.org has two useful on-line videos: Introduction to Camera Work and
some more advanced Strategies for using video for social change. Also
available on tape.