A Change is Gonna Come

I started my own blog (Chris's Commons) and began writing for The Cincinnati Beacon almost two years ago following the 2008 National Conference on Media Reform. I wasn't trying to do anything new or innovative, but merely add my voice to the conversation. I wanted to weigh in on issues that were being unreported, under-reported and provide a different perspective than is often put forth in the so-called "mainstream" media...so I wrote.

I started writing on all kinds of topics, from ridiculous talking heads on cable news, to serious issues that were affecting the local population of Cincinnati. I showed up at budget hearings, I asked questions of Ralph Nader when he was in town and attended talks by various figures including a vet who had fought in Iraq and then found the courage to come back and speak out against the war effort.

When it became clear that more was needed, I invested in a video camera and video editing software so that I could contribute video content in this growing age of new media. I put that camera to use over the summer of 2009 in my coverage of the health care reform debate and most recently at a Conservative candidates forum, where my camera was blocked by the Josh Mandel campaign.

Recently, a new opportunity has presented itself, stemming from professional skills that I have obtained over the years as well as from my writing for the Beacon. This new opportunity is a position with Brave New Films in Culver City, California which I will begin at the end of this month. This is an exciting new opportunity and I will embrace the chance to work for an organization which I hold in high regard for the work that they are doing to better the world.

Naturally, this move out of Cincinnati will affect my contributions to the Beacon and will prevent me from providing the coverage on local events that I have been able to provide over the past few years. My new role will allow me to gather additional perspective on national and international issues and I hope that I am able to contribute to the Beacon from this perspective from time to time.

I appreciate those who have read my articles and participated in discussions on issues that I have covered. I especially want to thank Jason, Justin and Michael for allowing me to be a regular contributor over this time. My growth and advancement to this new position could not have been possible without the Beacon. I hope that all of you will follow the work of Brave New Films by signing up for emails, becoming a fan on Facebook and following them on Twitter. There is a lot of work to be done and I embrace this new opportunity as a challenging and exciting way to help move society forward.


This is cross posted here.

How I Spent My Weekend...

This past weekend I attended the National Conference on Media Reform in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I spent my time attending numerous workshops, panels, and speeches by leading minds in the Media Reform movement. Over 3,000 people attended the event from all 50 states and beyond. We heard from Bill Moyers, Naomi Klein, Amy Goodman, FCC Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps and many more leading voices on this issue. You can view some of the speeches and get more information at this link:


http://www.freepress.net/conference


Over the course of the weekend I couldn't help but be reminded of what many already know, that an independent and free media is necessary in order for the public to be informed and for democracy to function. This is the key belief of those within the Media Reform movement. We believe that we have slid into dangerous territory with greater media consolidation, propaganda being used on U.S. citizens and media outlets that act as little more than a megaphone for the official word. It is important for us to look beyond the myth of the so called "liberal media" and give careful examination to the role that giant corporations have upon the information that we consume on a daily basis. It is clear at this juncture, that our very democracy is in trouble. It is not simply enough this time around to remain silent and hope that the issue resolves itself. Fighting for an independent press is a fight for our democracy and should not be taken lightly.


There are many in the corporate media who feel that dismissing those of us who gathered this weekend as "far-left" or "nuts" as Bill O'Reilly has put it, will negate the issue. In fact, O'Reilly sent his producer to ambush Bill Moyers while at the conference as to why Moyers will not appear on O'Reilly's show. First and foremost, ambushing someone, is not journalism. The attempt that O'Reilly used was nothing more than an attempt to gather a sound byte with which he could use on his show to attack and defame Moyers without any discussion of the real issues at hand. The raw footage of this incident was captured by other journalists at the Conference and I have included it below. Bill O'Reilly has promised to show his audience just how "nuts" those who attended the conference are on tonight's show. I will be comparing this raw and unedited footage below, with what airs on Bill O'Reilly's program and make discussion of this the topic of my next blog.


We need to fix the media for this very reason. If what you see below qualifies as journalism then it is obvious that we have a long fight ahead of us.