Forum Post: MEDIA ISSUES @GA @occ wallstreet
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 4, 2011, 12:02 a.m. EST by theantiromance
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from Columbiaville, MI
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
I'm guessing that as this occupation goes forward in time, as more spring up, as this phenomenon grows and morphs more media attention will be paid to it. I really worry about this because of the derisive nature of a lot of the attention it is getting within the US press, as well as, thinking back a year or two, to the smearing the Tea Partiers used to receive from certain sources.
I mean to me the statement on the GA page makes sense, I saw it too, some people, maybe most, wont see it. Also to me the tumblr makes sense, I know people going through that, I fill parts of those stories but some people wont see it, is the tumblr not meant to inspire and really get on the news?
Basically, at this point, everyone is warily approaching the story, maybe its a blackout maybe it isn't. Some sources don't publish anything, some seem to publish derisive articles-footage-updates (http://www.npr.org/blogs/ombudsman/2011/09/26/140815394/newsworthy-determining-the-importance-of-protests-on-wall-street, several Cnn blogs too) some are actively hostile and totally skewing the point (http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/watercooler/2011/oct/3/picket-occupy-wall-street-protesters-post-manifest/).
So how do you get your message out? It goes out virally, through the ether of facebook and blogs and tumblrs as well as the deepest thing, word of mouth, but how do you control the message propagated through the big media?
If we can't control that should we boycott major media, deny interviews, write scurrilous diatribe against their articles, and just ignore the haters?
I'm not sure there are easy answers here, I've tried to tell my friends/family the reasons I see for these protests and why I agree with them. But there is a lot of shit flying around in the 'real world' and its mainly amusing, emotional or totally pointless so its easy to lose the gravity of people rising up and taking steps towards democratic exchange. That is the point that needs to get emphasized again and again, not even as a demand, but a demonstration that this is democracy, this is real, this is hard, this is what EVERYONE needs to be doing to come face to face with the monstrously broken system of governance int his Country, and by proxy, most of the world.
Good luck, sorry for the person disagreement and the rantiness, hope someone reads this and finds it useful!
Here's an idea, let each area form up and gain momentum. Give each area a time, say new years day to get organized enough to form a more coherent thought than "we're angry, we're united." Until then pass on the media.
I like this thought but momentum will quickly die if we don't stand for something. I think we're riding high on this bridge incident and the problem is that taking the bridge wasn't even planned part of the protest. It was a police trick. I'm sure they now realize how it fueled the movement and they won't repeat that mistake. My point is, practically speaking, the marches themselves aren't going to make news. Incidents make news. That's what Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi understood so well and a point we've been missing. They created tension to draw attention to injustice and win support. They were provocative. If we go a week with no tension or controversy, the story, the momentum, support and interest will die. And it's getting darn cold out there.
I agree to a point, momentum is more important than message at the moment but at the same token you can't get embroiled in the 24/7 media cycle. You have the public's ear, use that wisely.
One of my favorite sayings is: "If we don't tell our story, someone else will.". We've given no narrative (or an extremely vague one at best) so the 99% (who are RIPE to be supporters) aren't getting our message. I'm suggesting we issue detailed demands targeting Wall St. When they're not met, we engage in non-violent resistance. That's what King and Gandhi would do.
My pizza delivery guy in PA showed up with the pizza tonight and said he "heard something about people protesting in New York" but wasn't sure if he should get involved because he "didn't understand what they were for." We're missing GIGANTIC wave of support because we're not dealing intelligently with the press who will carry the message. They're the animal and they'll spread the word if we feed the them.
Sadly, this is not a democracy. This is a democratic republic. A federal one at that-- the american system was not created for democratic freedom nor equality. It was created to prevent tyranny of the passionate majority and minority interests. This is why congress takes so long to process stuff in our system-- the congressional system was designed to filter out the common person's inarticulate frustrations.
I agree with what you're saying. I'm incredibly frustrated with the spin and general lack of media attention. Then again, I do not think we are ready for it. We are disorganized, only unified through emotion and experience. We need a platform of concrete solutions before we draw more attention to ourselves. Otherwise, guess what will happen? We will only draw more spin, more shit will fly, more passions will flare. And our congress will strain us out as it was intended to do.
http://www.occupytogether.org/
the simple answers are that you need to organize a lot of sub forums and a wiki and then come up with a detailed platform, this should be done as immediately as possible and the sooner the better, probably can be done with the interested people so far in under a month... without such process and without such real thinking the messages will always lack clarity and the protests will end up being pointless.
The stand we need take is that we are a political force for responsive government. We elect our politians to represent us and they have a mandate to advocate for us. We are the the 99% majority of america and are a huge political force. Let this be our mission