Natinal Conference for Media reform 2007

January 12-14, approximately 3500 media creators, educators and activists gathered to discuss topics related to media reform on a national level. Many big players, like Bill Moyers, Jesse Jackson, Geena Davis, Jane Fonda, Van Jones, as well as FCC commissioners as well as state and federal legislators were on hand to share their views and discuss not only what is wrong with our current media infrastructure in the United States, but how we can go about trying to fix it.

I sat in on as many sessions as I could and I have this to report: many people are pissed off and are working to make massive change. People are taking independent media more seriously and questioning the corporate controlled media marketing machine that has been churning out content for the past 30 years. I believe that a revolution is starting, fueled mainly by discontent with the existing systems and made possible by creative uses of technology.

This isn’t just a revolution of media. Look at the congressional changes across the country. Right here in Massachusetts we have our first Democratic governor in quite a while, and the second black governor in the country’s history. The majority of people want something to change. Most people might not even know what that is yet but it starts by asking questions.

Ask why you watch so much television. Ask why reality TV has nothing to do with reality. Ask why advertisers are getting more and more aggressive. Ask why News Corp purchased MySpace a year ago. Ask why media and telecommunications companies are pushing so hard, spending millions of dollars a week, to pass new legislation changing the rules of how infrastructures are built. Ask why newspapers are dying. Ask why I care.