Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2009 Rage Against the Machine: How Indymedia's Radical Project Is Working to Create the New Public Sphere Richard E. Templin Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE: HOW INDYMEDIA’S RADICAL PROJECT IS WORKING TO CREATE THE NEW PUBLIC SPHERE By RICHARD E. TEMPLIN, III A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2009 2009 Richard E. Templin, III The members of the Committee approve the Dissertation of Richard E. Templin III Defended on December 12, 2008. ______________________________ Andrew Opel Professor Directing Dissertation ______________________________ Doug Schrock Outside Committee Member __________________________________ Stephen C. McDowell Committee Member ______________________________ Donna Marie Nudd Committee Member Approved: _________________________________________________ Stephen C. McDowell, Chair, Department of Communication _________________________________________________ John Mayo, Dean, College of Communication The Graduate School has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii IN MEMORIUM Mary P. Priest – Beloved Mother – 1938-2009 O.D. Priest Jr. – Beloved Father – 1923-2007 This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, my wife Grace Frances my daughter Aster Mary and all of my cherished friends. This project would not been possible without the guidance, patience and inspiration of my teachers, mentors and friends Drs. Andy Opel, Donna Nudd, Steve McDowell, Marilyn Young, Harry Dahms, Gary Heald and James Young. A very special thank you to my fellow IMCistas, both those who participated in this project and those who have given so much to create and nurture Indymedia around the world. Thanks to all radical media makers everywhere; keep up the fight—another world is possible. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ vii Abstract........................................................................................................................................ viii INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1 1. FROM THE JUNGLES OF CHIAPAS TO THE STREETS OF SEATTLE: THE RISE OF THE INDEPENDENT MEDIA CENTER ......................................................................................8 What is the IMC? A Primer .................................................................................................8 History of the Independent Media Center..........................................................................12 The Electronic Fabric of Struggle begins in Chiapas ............................................13 The Battle for Seattle .............................................................................................18 Building the Network.............................................................................................25 2. THE BIRTH OF THE OLIGOPOLY........................................................................................29 The Media Oligopoly.........................................................................................................30 The Telecommunications Act of 1996...................................................................32 Merger Mania.........................................................................................................35 Deregulation Continues .........................................................................................43 The Movement for Media Reform.....................................................................................51 Organizations for Media Reform...........................................................................52 Conclusions........................................................................................................................57 3. RADICAL ALTERNATIVE MEDIA.......................................................................................60 The Radical Media of John D. H. Downing ......................................................................65 Mass, Popular and Oppositional Culture ...............................................................66 Hegemony and Counter-Hegemony ......................................................................69 Communities and Social Movements ....................................................................74 Radical Media Organization ..................................................................................81 Repressive Radical Media?....................................................................................84 Conclusions............................................................................................................87 The Alternative Media of Chris Atton...............................................................................90 New Modes of Production .....................................................................................95 Transforming the Roles..........................................................................................97 New Social Movements .......................................................................................100 Alternative Media and New Technologies ..........................................................101 Conclusions..........................................................................................................105 iv 4. THE RADICAL NATURE OF INDYMEDIA: POLICIES AND PRACTICES OF THE GLOBAL NETWORK ................................................................................................................108 General Process and Communication ..............................................................................110 Webs & Wikis......................................................................................................110 Global Communication........................................................................................116 10 Principles of Unity and Membership Criteria.............................................................120 The 10 Principles .................................................................................................120 Criteria for New IMCs.........................................................................................128 5. COFFEE SHOPS TO CYBERSPACE: THE INTERNET AND PUBLIC SPHERE.............131 The Power of the Internet?...............................................................................................133 Autonomist Marxism ...........................................................................................134 Turning the Tables ...............................................................................................137 Radical Media = Radical Public?.....................................................................................142 The Habermasian Public Sphere......................................................................................142 Critiques...........................................................................................................................158 From Strategic Communication to Communicative Action ............................................161 Critical Methodology...........................................................................................161 Universal Pragmatics ...........................................................................................164 Theory of Communicative Action .......................................................................167 Conclusions..........................................................................................................172 6. RESEARCHING THE IMC ....................................................................................................176 Don’t Trust Anyone Over 30 ...........................................................................................179 Just Because I’m Paranoid Doesn’t Mean They’re Not Out to Get Me ..........................190 Police Violence ....................................................................................................190 Legal Challenges..................................................................................................194 Compromises on the Horizon?.........................................................................................195 7. INDYMEDIA IN NORTH AMERICA...................................................................................200 Why a Census ..................................................................................................................200 The Census.......................................................................................................................203 Results..............................................................................................................................209 Conclusions......................................................................................................................226 8. THE TALLAHASSEE-REDHILLS INDEPENDENT MEDIA CENTER ............................233 The Rise and Fall of the Tallahassee-RedHills IMC