Case Study: Media Democracy Movement Comm 130F San Jose State U Dr. T.M. Coopman Okay for non-commercial use with attribution This Case Study This case study is a brief overview of a specific social movement and is designed to familiarize students with major large scale social movements. Media Democracy The Media Democracy Movement is not quite as significant as other movements we have examined, but it is important because it has grown along side and as a part of movements. Movements always create or try to influence or utilize the media. Media Democracy recognizes the pivotal role of media in the political process and recognizes that a commercial or state run media system will always side with incumbent power. Media democracy has two broad areas of focus (1) to reform and regulate existing media and (2) create viable alternative media. Media Democracy An central tenant of Media Democracy American mainstream media has an is corporate ownership and commercial investment in the status quo and tends demands influence media content, to vilify, mock, or ignore people and limiting the range of news, opinions, and organizations that fall outside its entertainment. definitions of what is legitimate. Jim Kuyper’s argues that most media The media is comprised of individuals operates with a narrow “liberal” and organizations that are self- comfort zone that cuts out discourse interested - the primary goal is most on the left and right. often profit - not fostering democracy. It is also notorious blind to this self- Advocates agitate for a more equal interest. distribution of economic, social, cultural, and information capital. The For example, it tends to ignore goal is foster an informed citizenry and legislation that would favor it - such as hopefully a more enlightened and the Telecommunications Act on 1996. representative political discourse. This was the most significant revision of media law since the 1930s. There was almost no mention of it in the electronic press. Media Democracy Another concern of media democracy is the The increase in the commercialization of news concentration of media ownership. In recent and information has led to a hollowing out of decades, a few corporations and conglomerates the news media’s ability to conduct investigative have lobbied to eliminate limits the number and reporting and act as the public watchdog. types of media outlets one entity can own resulting in a media systems that is Prior to the 1980s, TV news divisions were concentrated into a handful of corporations. considered “prestige” projects that while not making money, conveyed status on the parent Since 1995, the number of companies owning network via awards and quality coverage. Once commercial TV stations declined by more than new became an opportunity to make money 40 percent. with the advent of CNN its focus narrowed to one which prioritizes infotainment and Three media giants own all of the cable news celebrity news over informative discourse. networks. Comcast and Time Warner serve about 35 percent of cable households. Cable TV A diverse range of information providers is rates have jumped by more than 90 percent necessary so that viewers, readers and listeners since the Telecom Act of 1996. receive a broad spectrum of information from varying sources that is not tightly controlled, The entertainment industry – television, biased and filtered. This is critical as individuals motion picture companies, music – has put must be in a position to decide and act $283.5 million into federal elections since autonomously for there to be a functioning 1990; in just the past three years (2008-10) the democracy. industry has spent roughly that much again on lobbying. A presidential election will generate over 1 billion dollars in direct ad revenue for US TV stations and networks. Media Democracy Time Warner Viacom STAR World Infinity Broadcasting Home Box Office (HBO) Paramount Pictures Times Higher Education Supplement Simon & Schuster (Pocket Books, Time Inc. Paramount Home Entertainment Magazine Scribner) Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Black Entertainment Television (BET) Times Literary Supplement Magazine Westwood One Radio Network Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Comedy Central Times of London CW Network (partial ownership) Country Music Television (CMT) 20th Century Fox Home NBC Universal TMZ Logo Entertainment Bravo New Line Cinema MTV 20th Century Fox International CNBC Time Warner Cable MTV Canada 20th Century Fox Studios NBC News Cinemax MTV2 20th Century Fox Television MSNBC Cartoon Network Nick Magazine BSkyB NBC Sports TBS Nick at Nite DIRECTV NBC Television Network TNT Nick Jr. The Wall Street Journal Oxygen America Online Nickelodeon Fox Broadcasting Company SciFi Magazine MapQuest Noggin Fox Interactive Media Syfy (Sci Fi Channel) Moviefone Spike TV FOXTEL Telemundo Castle Rock The Movie Channel HarperCollins Publishers USA Network Sports Illustrated TV Land The National Geographic Channel Weather Channel Fortune VH1 National Rugby League Focus Features Marie Claire News Interactive NBC Universal Television People Magazine News Corporation News Outdoor Distribution Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Radio Veronica NBC Universal Television Studio Walt Disney Fox Television Stations ReganBooks Paxson Communications (partial ABC Television Network The New York Post Sky Italia ownership) Disney Publishing Fox Searchlight Pictures Sky Radio Denmark Trio ESPN Inc. Beliefnet Sky Radio Germany Universal Parks & Resorts Disney Channel Fox Business Network Sky Radio Netherlands Universal Pictures SOAPnet Fox Kids Europe STAR Universal Studio Home Video A&E Fox News Channel Zondervan Lifetime Fox Sports Net Buena Vista Home Entertainment Fox Television Network CBS Corporation Buena Vista Theatrical Productions FX CBS News Buena Vista Records My Network TV CBS Sports Disney Records MySpace CBS Television Network Hollywood Records News Limited News CNET Miramax Films Phoenix InfoNews Channel Showtime Touchstone Pictures Phoenix Movies Channel TV.com Walt Disney Pictures Sky PerfecTV CBS Radio Inc. (130 stations) Pixar Animation Studios Speed Channel CBS Consumer Products Buena Vista Games STAR TV India CBS Outdoor Hyperion Books STAR TV Taiwan CW Network (50% ownership) Media Democracy The media democracy movement has been able to do little to stop media consolidation. However, in 2003 the FCC was preparing to loosen rules on how many and what type of media outlets could be owned in specific markets. There are limits on cross-media ownership. For example, one company owning TV, radio, and newspapers in one market. Two liberal members of the FCC held public hearings around the country. In a massive and unexpected public backlash, 3 million people contacted the FCC to protest. The new ownership rules were scrapped. Free Press, a media advocacy organization, used the incident helped to spearhead a a media reform movement including several national conferences to bring different groups together to work for media reform. Another aspect of media democracy, as exemplified by the micro radio movement we read about this week and last, is the drive to build alternative media systems. Indymedia The first IMC was created in 1999 in Consistent with social movement Seattle to cover the World Trade formation characteristics on Organization (WTO) protests. organizational and interpersonal levels, Indymedia arose in response to the the first IMC was a collaborative effort shortcomings of mainstream media of pre-existing alternative media sources, and more specifically, how organizations and movements. social movements and the left were The emerging model for Independent portrayed in the press. Media Centers was predicated on Initially a side project, the web strategy specific mass mobilizations. Battle of paid off as IMC audio and video made Seattle media veterans traveled to its way onto CNN, Reuters, America other locales to help set up IMCs. Online, Yahoo!, and BBC Online and hits to the site topped one million.The Internet’s role in planning and executing the WTO protests also provided a proof of concept for the increased use of digital networks for activists. Indymedia In February 2000, a media center was Demand soon exceeded any need for established in Boston to cover the mobilization protest support. By Biodevastation Conference. In April November 2001, just two years after another IMC was formed in the first Indymedia opened, there were Washington D.C. to report on a series 60 IMC sites on 4 continents and 10 of protests against meetings of the countries. By 2002, the IMCN had World Bank and the International grown to 83 sites. In April 2005, Monetary Fund. The open source code Indymedia comprised a network of 150 for the original IMC site allowed for sites, and in early summer of 2006 it relatively easy replication. In one year, had expanded to 159 sites spanning over 24 new IMCs emerged around the over 50 countries across 6 continents. world often in conjunction with large Currently, there are over 175 sites global justice protests against neoliberal across the globe. institutions including the IMF, World Bank, or the G8. Indymedia Aside from creating an alternative Hard lessons learned by dissidents at media outlet, Indymedia was grounded the hands of state security and the in a new form of journalism based on mainstream media led to more loosely open publishing - a process of creating connected and networked based social news transparent to readers and movement organizations, thus resisting blurring the lines between consumers leadership or resource decapitation and producers. Anyone can upload through cooptation, disruption, or text, audio, video, or photography from discredit. While relational networks any networked computer. This have always been at the core of social exemplifies the IMCN’s openness movements and are key to the social where access and participation is key to reinforcement required for sustained the process of news making. participation, such networks are limited by time and space constraints. The IMCN’s novel organizational structure, autonomy of local The birth of Indymedia in 1999 arose collectives, and lack of standardization from the confluence of social is the antithesis of most commercial movement networks and digital mainstream media.