Young people are fired-up over corporate media's crimes.
As we shape the future of our media, we see one future with more of the same: Big Media offering dumbed-down, scripted, cowardly news, and restricting our access to content on the Internet. The other future sees us triumph in rolling back media consolidation, putting diversity and local news back on the airwaves and on TV, and safeguarding our Internet from corporate control.
It’s not a difficult choice. And neither is deciding to act, which is why you should be at the National Conference on Media Reform June 6-8 in Minneapolis. The conference is bringing together anyone who’s fed up with Big Media and its effects on music, news and the Internet – and that means you.
The conference is this weekend – we hope to see you there!
This year’s conference is jam-packed with programs and speakers specifically for young people and the issues you care about.
Chantz Eroli from Yo! The Movement, Jeanette Lee from the Allied Media Project, Yunuen Rodriguez from Females United for Action, and Anthony Williams from Current TV will lead a discussion about how young leaders and visionaries are transforming the media. Free Press member and media activist Garlin Gilchrist II said of the NCMR, “I went to last year's conference in Memphis, and it gave me tools I could use to change the system. This conference is the place to be.”'
Representatives from youth media organizations Jamilah King from WireTap Magazine, Samantha Muilenberg from Reel Grrls, Mariana Lopez from Detroit Summer and Nissan Brown from KFAI-FM Youth News Initiative will talk about youth making media.
You can learn how to take on Internet policy wonks and corporate lobbyists, and build skills to become the media and tell your own story.
And whether you’re fighting for the future of the Internet, fostering community media, or challenging corporate control of the airwaves, you’ll need to know how to motivate and mobilize your community. Camille Cyprian from Wellstone Action will facilitate discussions with young people on the ins-and-outs of campus organizing. And Shamako Noble from the Hip Hop Congress and others will teach successful strategies using hip hop as an organizing tool in urban communities.
Robert “Biko” Baker from the League of Young Voters will be on site talking about media and elections. Other speakers include Adrienne Maree Brown from the Ruckus Society and Silvia Rivera of Radio Arte. And hip hop and media justice activists like Rosa Clemente, Davey D and Malkia Cyril join media luminaries like Amy Goodman, Arianna Huffiington and Bill Moyers.
That's not all -- go to www.freepress.net/conference [1] for more details
Check out the full program of more than 60 sessions on journalism, independent media, the future of the Internet and so much more. The conference also offers hands-on trainings and workshops on media monitoring techniques, grassroots organizing, and online advocacy.
And don’t forget to stop by the Youth Lounge, where you can network with other young activists, and stick around for a Saturday evening rally with speeches and performances from amazing artists and activists.
Hope to see you in Minneapolis!