Copyright by Matthew Allen Tedrow 2015 The Dissertation Committee for Matthew Allen Tedrow certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Black Sails on the Mediascape: Towards an Anarchist Theory of News Media and Media-Movement Interactions Committee: Russell Todd, Supervisor Mercedes de Uriarte, Co-Supervisor Mary Bock Gene Burd Robert Jensen Michael Young Black Sails on the Mediascape: Towards an Anarchist Theory of News Media and Media-Movement Interactions by Matthew Allen Tedrow, B.A.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin December 2015 Dedication For Breanna. Acknowledgements Dozens of people deserve thanks for helping me finish this dissertation. Foremost among these are the UT-Austin faculty members who served on my dissertation committee. As a confidant, mentor, and advocate, Mercedes de Uriarte guided me through the process from start to finish. She gave me expert, critical feedback on every chapter, and although I did not incorporate all of her suggested edits, this work bears her imprint. Gene Burd, who chaired my committee until retiring in 2014, impressed upon me the significance of “messy,” qualitative methods and heterodox research interests. I have spent hundreds of hours in conversation with Mercedes and Gene, who have shaped my views on academic integrity, the power of news media, the history of U.S. radicalism, and the political economy of journalism research and education. I owe them an enormous intellectual debt, and am grateful for their generosity and friendship. When Dr. Burd retired, Rusty Todd took over as my official dissertation chair. He went to bat for me in my hour of need, allowing me to work without interruption. My conversations with Bob Jensen led me to clarify some of the issues and questions this study centers on. Mary Bock pointed me to the software I used to transcribe interviews, helped me work with UT’s IRB, and gave me valuable feedback on the entire draft. Michael Young introduced me to social movement theories in the field of sociology and overwhelmed me with his infectious enthusiasm, humor, and impressive knowledge of theory and U.S. social movements. I am grateful for the support and patience of these six scholars and educators. My Master’s thesis adviser, Dustin Harp, also deserves thanks, as does Harry Cleaver, whose autonomist outlook informs my overall perspective. Bryan McCann gave me early feedback on some of the arguments I make in Chapter 3. My friend and v comrade Michael Billeaux was especially helpful in clarifying theoretical concepts and arguments presented in Chapter 5. J-School office staffers Lisa Jaskolka, Sylvia Edwards, and Janice Henderson made life much easier for me as a graduate student. Wanda Cash and Bill Minutaglio have always been in my corner. Hundreds of undergraduates put up with my eccentricities. Before I moved to Austin, my mentor Don Berkich trained me to write as only a philosopher can. Sandra Campos and my late friend Robert Garcia have often discussed anarchism’s ethical-political implications with me. Hena Bajwa and Chris Lockamy commiserated with me. Kelly Kaufhold has been an excellent foil. Julie H. counseled me at low points. Several friends in Austin’s MTG community offered necessary distractions. I owe special thanks to the activists and media makers who permitted me to interview them: Grace Alfar, Kelly Booker, Laura Brady, scott crow, Marcus Denton, Alice Embree, Thorne Dreyer, Alyse Deller, Matt Gossage, Lily Hughes, Jason Netek, Bob Libal, Bo McCarver, Cristina Parker, Jeff Zavala, and an anarchist who wishes to remain anonymous. Due to time and money constraints, unfortunately I could not incorporate all of these interviewees into this study; however, I intend to include these voices in a later work. In addition, I benefited from material support—gifts of books, journals, zines, and magazines—provided by friends and comrades associated with MonkeyWrench Books and the Portside Books Collective. I am very lucky to have so many well-read troublemakers in my life. My parents Allen and Donna Tedrow helped put me through graduate school and supported me in countless other ways. My incredible wife and partner of 15 years, Breanna Batson, has been my rock during my years in graduate school. Our feline companions Wiggles, Noodles, and Bartok provided comfort and company while I wrote late into the night. vi A note on the text: I presented a rough version of Chapter 3 as a paper for the 2010 Union for Democratic Communications conference at Penn State. It did not play well with the crowd, and I am thankful to Deepa Kumar for her encouraging words afterward. Some material in Chapters 3, 4, and 5 began life as seminar papers in classes taught by Harry Cleaver, Dominic Lasorsa, Laura Stein, Mark Tremayne, and Michael Young. A revised and extended portion of my interview with scott crow appears as a chapter in Emergency Hearts, Molotov Dreams: A scott crow Reader (2015, pp. 107- 121). However, most of the original research and writing in this dissertation has not been published or presented previously. I claim sole responsibility for the contents of this study, including the information it conveys, the analysis it presents, conclusions drawn, opinions expressed, and any errors in fact or judgment it may contain. vii Black Sails on the Mediascape: Towards an Anarchist Theory of News Media and Media-Movement Interactions Matthew Allen Tedrow, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2015 Supervisor: Russell Todd Co-Supervisor: Mercedes de Uriarte This dissertation provides an anarchist account of news media power and interactions between news media and social movement actors, by drawing on anarchist thought and practice, as well as theoretical traditions such as libertarian Marxism, critical media studies, science and technology studies, and social movement studies in sociology. Notable features of anarchist media theory include: a critique of communications technology and corruptions of information power; a critique of mass news media’s corporate hierarchical structure; and a premium placed on communications practices and media that enable non-hierarchical forms of communication, as well as on widespread participation in the process of meaning making. This qualitative theory building and research, which addresses a glaring gap in anarchist literature about media, is rooted firmly in anarchism’s rejection of authority and oppression, its commitment to liberty and autonomy, and its understanding of prefigurative politics as a form of direct action. Anarchism also brings its ethical-political commitments to bear on communications research, by challenging the administrative/critical researcher binary, questioning state-centric research perspectives, and calling on scholars to engage in activist research that could benefit activists and social movement actors. In addition, viii anarchism provides a theoretical basis for assessing established critical media theories according to their strategic or tactical implications for activists and other social movement actors, not simply according to how well these theoretical perspectives capture or explain different aspects of social-political reality. Moreover, unlike classical or orthodox Marxist theoretical perspectives, anarchism rejects vanguardism—the strategic principle that a small but dedicated group of class-conscious revolutionaries bear primary responsibility for fomenting social change—as well as the belief that capturing state power is indispensable to social transformation. An anarchist account of news media and media-movement interactions thus problematizes critical media theories such as framing, hegemony, and political economy, which proffer state-centric analyses and strategic implications. Besides promoting theoretical arguments, this study features an original research component consisting of in-depth, ethnographic interviews with activists based in Austin, Texas. The findings from this exploratory interview research suggest that some of the major theoretical arguments contained in this dissertation accurately reflect how some anarchists think about news media. ix Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction and Lines of Inquiry ..........................................................1 Theory Building Approach .............................................................................4 Line 1: Anarchist Theorizing About News Media ..........................................6 Line 2: The Face of Activist Research ............................................................9 Line 3: Assessing the “Problem of the Media” .............................................10 Line 4: Clarifying and Assessing Strategic Implications ..............................11 Line 5: Digital Technologies and Activists’ Options ...................................12 Line 6: Alternative and Mainstream Media Interactions ..............................14 Roadmap .......................................................................................................15 Chapter 2: Anarchism, Information Power, and Technology ................................18 Origins of the Revolutionary Anarchist Tradition ........................................21 Contemporary Anarchism .............................................................................25 Rejection of Oppression, Authority, and Hierarchy ............................27