So, yes, for some reason I’ve been on an MSNBC kick lately–or maybe because that’s where some of the most interesting stuff has been happening. But I promise that this will be my last post of the week with MSNBC footage.
But I thought I’d note that Chris Hayes, Washington Editor of The Nation, was a guest on Countdown with Keith Olbermann Friday night. Chris was discussing the two faces of Sen. John McCain. Now yes, that’s noteworthy (and definitely worth learning about), but what was really interesting for me (as a a media geek) was who he was talking with. Keith was absent from the show that day and in his stead was our fast rising progressive journalist and TV personality star, Rachel Maddow (one of the high-impact personalities we are featuring in our book).
Let me ask you, when was the last time you saw two progressive journalists dominating a major cable channel for even 5 minutes and having an interesting, journalistic, topical conversation that didn’t involve defending themselves from loud-mouth pundits or having to scream over the conservative blow hards? If you know the last time, let me know, but I surely can’t think of it. I’m sure that this has to do with MSNBC’s bottom-line decision to go more “left”–but I’m not going to argue with it. Watch the clip.
The next two months are just swarming with media conferences, and we’re hoping to catch up with readers of this blog at at least one of them. Here’s a quick rundown of which of us will be where:
International Communication Association Conference, Montreal, May 22-26: Jessica will be heading up a preconference and a Sunday panel on redefining “public media”
National Conference for Media Reform, June 5-8, Minneapolis: Jessica and Tracy will be presenting together at the academic preconference on the topic “Independent Media: New Impact Measurements.” Then, on Friday, Tracy will be moderating a panel called “How Independent Media Creates Change,” and Jessica will be moderating a panel called “New Directions in Public Media.” (I also heard a rumor about a party—details?)
Beyond Broadcast: Mapping Public Media, DC, June 17: Jessica’s planning this one, and Tracy will be there, and so should you! It’s a great chance to make the case for how public media should evolve to better serve citizens in the Web 2.0 era. Register today.
Personal Democracy Forum, New York, June 23-24: Join Tracy at this star-studded extravaganza of Web 2.0 political strategists
We’ve got some big goals for our book project. We aim to showcase innovative, high-impact models of journalism and cross-platform media, convince politicians and advocates that progressive media matters, and strengthen the larger progressive infrastructure. Throughout 2007, we’ve been tracking and interviewing writers, editors, bloggers, directors and others, unearthing common goals and structures for making change.
But this is a big story to tell, and we can’t do it all by ourselves. For our next research phase, we need your help.
We have many questions for you, but thought we’d start with just one: What progressive story, outlet or personality do you think has made the biggest impact in the last six months?
To help you think more about impact, we’ve posted some examples, along with a few of the questions we’re asking media-makers. We hope this will be an ongoing conversation–feel free to join us here on the blog’s comment sections, or if you’d rather talk one-on-one, drop us a note at info[AT]buildtheecho.net. We want to hear your questions, ideas and feedback.
In the coming months, we’ll use the blog to expand our research, develop an updated version of the progressive media maps and examine questions of progressive media audiences and business models. All of this will help inform and shape our work as we write the book.
In an earlier post, we offered some examples of high-impact progressive media that we’re examining. Below are some of the questions we’re asking media-makers in our interviews; we thought that laying them out here might help clarify our research:
How would you describe your primary audiences? (i.e. age, gender, geographic location, education level, political affiliation, and any other descriptors you think are important.)
What new audiences are you targeting and why?
What’s your primary platform? (print, online, online video, radio, podcasting, film, books, etc.) What are the future platforms you are integrating into your work and why?
What do you think the major role your media outlet plays now in the political and cultural landscape? Has that changed over the years?
What are you trying to accomplish or change (or both) with your journalism and media work? In politics? In social movements?
How do you relate to the term “progressive”?
How do you identify within the spectrum of the progressive media sector?
How has your work fostered or built a community (either offline or online)?
Can you offer three successes of “high impact” journalism or media producation? (If three is too overwhelming, start with one!)
So we’re not too overwhelming, we’ll be breaking up these questions into more posts over time. We look forward to your thoughts and feedback on these questions and theories in the future.
As we’ve prepped for the book during the past year, we’ve gathered stories and data to help us understand how the progressive media is making an impact on the political and social landscape. We have spent a lot of time talking to specific progressive media-makers about how their projects are structured, when they think they have made an impact and how they need to continue to develop.
Needless to say, we’ve sifted through a lot of information. Articles. Interviews. Books. Academic research. And there’s still a long way to go.
One of our most important goals is to report on how specific media outlets have fostered change. The book will focus on the time period between the 2004 and 2008 election, noting the rise of collaboration, new technologies and a rising interest new business models for progressive media. Below are some of the common “impact threads” that we have noted so far within the last four years, with examples of outlets and stories that exemplify particular approaches. The ideas below are just a starting point:
Mainstreaming an issue— Sicko,An Inconvenient Truth, Naomi Klein on disaster capitalism, Grist
Building and informing progressive audiences—The Nation, AlterNet, Netroots Nation, Amy Goodman
Taking it to Capitol Hill—Democracy Journal, Jeremy Scahill
Combining pop and politics—Feministing, Third World Majority, The Wire, Davey D
Reaching niche audiences—New America Media, Ms., ColorLines, Pandagon
Fighting the right—Brave New Films, Air America, Stephen Colbert
Uncovering the news—Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones
Pioneering new journalism models—Off The Bus/Huffington Post, Firedoglake
Chasing the tech—examples: Crooks and Liars, Bloggingheads.tv, TechPresident
While we have many other examples, we need your feedback to help us flesh these ideas out. Are we crazy, or on the right track? Are there rising projects we should be tracking? Do you have any additional categories that we’re missing? Do you have an example of a high impact story or media outlet? (Or one that should have been, and wasn’t?) Let us know about it. We want to engage as many brains as possible during this process.
Please comment on this post, or send your ideas about the most influential progressive stories/outlets from 2004-08 to info[AT]buildtheecho.net. Over the next six months, we’ll be posting responses from different individuals and continuing to share our own research and writing for your feedback.
