Put your money where your mind is

Jessica Clark

In response to our recent "Making Connections" issue, Aliza Dichter from the Center for International Media Action sent along 10 tips for supporting independent media producers: 1. Support local and independent venues: buy books from local bookstores, see shows at small theaters. Attend independent film, music, video and other art festivals. 2. Subscribe to independent magazines. Give subscriptions as gifts. Buy a subscription for your old school. Purchase ads for your group, band, campaign. Visit the Independent Press Association’s directory to learn more. 3. Share radical videos with friends. Create a video-loan club, host screenings. 4. Bring old copies of indy magazines with you to the dentist and doctor … then replace their Sports Illustrated with your ColorLines. Practice “droplifting” -- the opposite of shoplifting -- sneak copies of indy cds into music stores. 5. Inform your library: tell them about indy magazines to subscribe to, indy video series to buy. If you’ve seen an excellent independent video recently, buy a copy for your library. Check out www.mediarights.org for videos with a mission! 6. Share your broadband – legally: www.airshare.org--- or in defiance: wirelessanarchy.com 7. Request local musicians be played on commercial radio. Buy music from independent record labels and stores. Make your own music & share it with friends! 8. Volunteer at community radio station, alternative newspaper, or public access center. Make TV with your local public access TV station. 9. Learn how to post stories to your local Independent Media Center (IMC). Next time you are at an event, or you see news happen, be the reporter through Indymedia. www.indymedia.org 10. Make a 'zine! Buy & Trade zines. Organize a zine festival. www.houseoffun.com/action/zines/diy.html www.girlmom.com/archives/000669.html www.zinebook.com/resource/zinetips.html from CIMA: Center for International Media Action http://www.mediaactioncenter.org * .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) //= 0; i=i-1){ if (l.substring(0, 1) == ' ') output += "&#"+unescape(l.substring(1))+";"; else output += unescape(l); } document.getElementById('eeEncEmail_3CJMkcqsER').innerHTML = output; //]]>

Jessica Clark is a writer, editor and researcher, with more than 15 years of experience spanning commercial, educational, independent and public media production. Currently she is the Research Director for American University’s Center for Social Media. She also writes a monthly column for PBS’ MediaShift on new directions in public media. She is the author, with Tracy Van Slyke, of Beyond the Echo Chamber: Reshaping Politics Through Networked Progressive Media (2010, New Press).
The text is from the poem “QUADRENNIAL” by Golden, reprinted with permission. It was first published in the Poetry Project. Inside front cover photo by Golden.
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