Well, you haven't said much of anything in the thread, though, concerning Pacifica and other efforts at mass communication directly supported by constituencies on the left, aside from calling them progressive ghettos. The impression one gets is that they are not as worthy of thought as how we may present ourselves to the corporate media. If anything, shouldn't our priority be the other way around, as the corporate media are evidently not interested in left-wing discourse?
At 2:44 PM -0600 12/3/02, Jeffrey Fisher wrote:
>>You haven't proposed anything practical that rank-and-file
>>organizers and activists like myself can do in the USA, though.
>>Most of us are not and will not be mass media workers like Rod
>>Sterling.
>
>first, that's not an argument for the relevance of argentina as an
>example, which is the context you conveniently removed and ignored.
The example I used was Venezuela. I don't know how the corporate media in Argentina are behaving, aside from the fact that they started "Reality TV" shows on politics and unemployment:
***** Friday, 13 September, 2002, 13:37 GMT 14:37 UK Reality TV search for Argentine politician
...A Buenos Aires television channel is launching a show called The People's Candidate in which the winner will be nominated as a candidate for the 2003 congressional elections, representing a new party.
About 800 people have already auditioned for the show, including pensioners, transvestites and the unemployed....
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/2255546.stm> *****
***** Who Wants to Be Employed? By Jennifer C. Berkshire, AlterNet October 15, 2002
Out of work or afraid that you might soon be? Not to worry. Americans may soon be able to compete for jobs the old fashioned way: on a reality TV show.
It's no joke. In the latest addition to the reality genre, contestants will go head to head for a chance at that increasingly scarce commodity, employment. Potential candidates will place ads with an employment agency, then undergo tests and on-the-job training. Finally, the two applicants deemed most qualified by the agency will subject themselves to the ultimate job interview: viewer approval. The candidate with the most viewer votes gets the job; the loser will be sent packing: "You are unemployed - goodbye!"
The format, picked up recently by Sony Pictures Television International and being offered to TV stations around the world, is based on a controversial hit show in Argentina called "Human Resources." In the Argentine version, viewers pick a winner based on whose story is the most moving. (Good looks don't hurt either.)...
<http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=14283> *****
At 2:44 PM -0600 12/3/02, Jeffrey Fisher wrote:
>second, not everyone's as talented or as lucky (in his own way) as
>serling. i'm surprised, though, that you didn't come right out and
>call this a symptom of my contempt for rank and file activists and
>organizers.
I wouldn't call it contempt. It would be pointless for the majority of left-wingers, though, to prepare how to present themselves on _The O'Reilly Factor_.
At 2:44 PM -0600 12/3/02, Jeffrey Fisher wrote:
>as for your question, sorry, i haven't worked out all the details of
>the revolution, yet, so i guess i'll just shut up.
I'm not asking for details of the revolution. How about thinking about how to get advance coverage of an upcoming demonstration, for instance? -- Yoshie
* Calendar of Events in Columbus: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html> * Anti-War Activist Resources: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/activist.html> * Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osu.edu/students/CJP/>