"So I blogged about it"

Out of Jim Gilliam's 12 minute speech titled "The Internet is My Religion" the quote that struck me the most was "so I blogged about it." It encompassed everything we have learned in Independent Media to date.

If no one had ever felt the need to "blog about it" there is a large possibility that independent media would not be as powerful as it has grown to be.

Gilliam's speech really showed the strength a blog can have and how independent media is influential in society as a whole. His plea for a new pair of lungs and his frustration with the UCLA doctors was made public through his blog. The public outcry was what got Gilliam an appointment for a double lung transplant, and then saved his life.

The way Gilliam wove his lifelong love for the Internet with his personal battle with cancer was moving and thought provoking. How much can we use the Internet for before it becomes TOO much?

1,000 True Fans

Small donors have a big impact in the world of independent media. An outlets true fans are the ones most likely to donate money, whether it be $50 or $5. The concept of a 1,000 true fans is one that many independent outlets rely on. If 1,000 people donated $50 each an outlet would raise $50,000 by people that genuinely believe in them and their cause.

Sites like Kickstarter.com and Spot.us raise money for various independent media projects. Donors can choose their amount and if the target amount is not raised in a certain span of time, the donors get their money back.

Their is more competition in the big donor market. Non-profits are all vying for the same donors. But, this money comes with strings attached.  Non-profits will feel an obligation to cater to their big donors because of their monetary value.

In independent media, change can happen by talking about it, unlike corporations where there are spoken and unspoken biases.

The Influential Internet

The Internet has revolutionized how media is presented and opened up an entirely new independent media platform. The struggle for independent outlets throughout history was their distribution. The Internet rid outlets of that problem to the point where, without it, independent outlets would be back at square one. In class Tuesday, we discussed Democracy Now's reference to the viral video from Asmaa Mahfouz and the Egyptian revolution. Without Youtube, it can be argued that the revolution would not have happened or been half as powerful. The Internet has become the go-to medium for independent media because of its ease. Posts can go viral in minutes.

Monetizing the Internet has been a struggle for both mainstream and independent outlets. The traditional model of revenue does not apply to the Internet. We discussed the three models used by independent outlets: small donors, big donors, and advertisements. Indy outlets have to weigh the pros and cons of each and think with the business side of their brain, not just the journalist side.

Indy Media in the Media

While browsing Twitter this morning, as I do every morning to grab the headlines of the news and decide that I want to read further, a Retweet caught my eye. A story in the New York Times, "A Grass-Roots Newscast Gives Voice to Struggles," discussed Democracy Now! at length. Their personal struggle against corporate media, which Amy Goodman says "the views of a majority of Americans had been “silenced by the corporate media."' and an overview of their mission is all touched on in the article. I found it interesting that the NYT published such a positive article about an independent outlet and hope their support will help to broaden their readers minds.


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/business/media/a-grass-roots-newscast-gives-a-voice-to-struggles.html?_r=1

"Princess of the Black Press"

After reading the chapter on Ida B. Wells, I commend her and her on-going fight to end lynching in the South. She was able to get her anti-lynching message out across multiple publications and platforms. Her articles appeared not only in independent publications, such as the New York Age, but mainstream publications picked them up as well.

Her voice was one to be reckoned with. Wells's crusade could not be stopped. When she was exiled from the South, she relocated to the North and continued to write and distribute her work in anyway she could. Wells was politically-saavy enough to realize that when offered a speaking tour in England, the British press had clout in the American South. Her anti-lynching campaign then went international.

Both before and after her trips abroad, Wells wrote pamphlets that advocated her cause, such as The Red Record. In 1895, when that pamphlet was published, Wells no longer needed support from another publisher. Wells was known nationally and internationally for her work against lynching.

Even after marriage and a short-lived retirement, Wells never abandoned her cause. After hearing wind of a particularly awful lynching in South Carolina, she was back at it. Wells went right to the White House and when that didn't work she began writing again. Fifty pages later, she had the booklet, Mob Rule in New Orleans.

Sadly, Wells never saw lynching disappear. Her crusade started a conversation but failed to finish it.

#occupywallstreet

What began in the lower Manhattan area of Wall Street has now spread to major cities across the country. Occupy Chicago, Occupy Boston and Occupy D.C were all on my radar this weekend.  Mainstream media drastically underplayed this movement, especially in the early days of the protest. The Huffington Post has a whole page dedicated to Occupy Wall Street and its counterparts. There are blog posts, videos, photos and stories that are relevant to the movement. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/occupy-wall-street

My favorite part of the movement is their own form of media, The Occupy Wall Street Journal. It is a genius play on words and immediately caught my attention when a fellow student pulled it out of her backpack. When college students start to take notice, you know that it is a topic worth looking at. Friends of mine drove overnight to New York City to participate in the protests and make it back for classes the next day. That takes dedication.


Even when 'Googled' today, Occupy Wall Street is a huge presence in the indy media world and decidedly less in the mainstream.