By Charlotte Scott
“Community radio is the antidote to that small circle of pundits featured on all the networks, who know so little about so much, explaining the world to us and getting it so wrong. On community radio, you can hear your neighbours, you can hear people from your community: the silenced majority, silenced by the corporate media.” - Amy Goodman
What does media democracy mean to you? The question can be overwhelming. Media democracy is about the struggle to create a transparent, citizen-driven media that informs and empowers all members of society. It is a crucial element in the struggle for a just world. Media democracy affects every aspect of our lives, and its triumph could change everything.
In the spirit of Amy Goodman's ground-breaking and courageous work, CKUT (90.3 FM) - McGill's campus/community radio station - and Media@McGill created a free, accessible forum in which students, faculty and the public could discuss the theory and practice of media democracy, learn the technical aspects of grassroots reporting, and meet journalists, artists and producers who have contributed to the struggle for open airwaves in Canada and internationally.
McGill faculty and students showed their support as presenters and workshop facilitators. Professor Marc Raboy, Beaverbrook Chair in Ethics, Media and Communications addressed community radio's relationship with the CRTC (click for audio link) and facilitated a workshop called “Knowing your radio rights.” Professor Khalid Medani from the Institute of Islamic Studies spoke about Canadian media and the “war on terror.” Professor Tina Piper of the Faculty of Law shared her knowledge of copyright in community radio, and Professor Darin Barney, Canada Research Chair in Technology and Citizenship delivered a talk entitled: “Fighting for Media Democracy” (audio link) at the closing plenary session.
Participating graduate students from the Department of Art History and Communication Studies included Geneviève Bonin and Normand Landry (audio links), who shared a panel with Dr. Raboy, and Hélène Laurin, who spoke to women's experiences in community radio. McGill undergraduate students and CKUT enthusiasts Nithya Vijaykumar and Seth Porcello (audio links) talked about community radio in India and Panama, and Seth facilitated a workshop on creative documentary production.
Facing a media landscape saturated with meaningless chatter, cynical advertising, and apathy brought on by the tired rhythm of the evening news, one feels an urgent need to transform our airwaves into a force for positive change. As big media shuts itself away from the people it claims to serve, community radio presents an alternative to the status quo, a resource open to every citizen who chooses to exercise his or her democratic right to free speech and open inquiry. "Redefining Media" looked at the potential of this remarkable medium, and the challenges it faces in an era of media conglomeration and privatization.
From October 19-21, "Redefining Media" included panels, skill-sharing workshops and social events designed to get students active in transforming our media landscape. Panels covered a wide variety of topics, from Canadian copyright law, to creating art-on-air, to the experiences of indigenous youth in radio. Participants could even learn to build a one-watt transmitter from scratch!
To kick off the weekend, award-winning journalist and founder of Pacifica Radio's program “Democracy Now!” Amy Goodman, gave a highly-anticipated keynote speech based on her bestselling book, Static: Government Liars, Media Cheerleaders, and the People Who Fight Back. Goodman is a distinguished supporter of independent media and human rights movements in the United States and around the world. Her free talk was co-sposored by Media@McGill. To hear part one of Amy Goodman's address, click here, for part two, click here.
For the full conference schedule, click here.
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Charlotte Scott is the Spoken Word Programmer at CKUT.