'Media Activism 101' draws people concerned about state of media

Published: 2005-05-18

ST. LOUIS (CNS) -- Media users critical of the state of media today but unsure what to do about it got a course in "Media Activism 101" from a quartet of activists who have spent up to 30 years in media activism efforts. The symposium drew a packed house May 13 as part of the National Media Reform Conference in St. Louis. The conference was attended by 2,500 people, most of whom work on media issues in their local communities. Speaker Nan Rubin, of Community Media Services in New York City, has been active in media matters so long she has changed her nom de plume from "Nan Rather" to "Nan O'Tech." She suggested the concept of media activism as a three-legged stool, each leg with its own strategy: "own our own" --"there's a lot in analog and digital media that we (in the community) have control over," said Rubin; confronting the media, including being a watchdog and a monitor, and doing research on media; and changing the rules under which media operate through regulation, legislation and technology use. "The technology is making all of this cheap," Rubin said about activists getting their message out. "It's what's transformed us as activists."

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