Several San Francisco East Bay area groups will hold an interactive People’s Voice Town Hall on Friday, March 21 to discuss media “empowerment through creative expression and new technology.” The meeting, to be broadcast live on KPFA-FM in Berkeley from 7-8 pm and 9-10 pm, will address the digital divide, healing as a moral, social, political and economic necessity, and Pacifica Radio’s role as a community sponsored network.
“There is an untapped power that lives within the communities who do not know media institutions such as Pacifica exist,” say the event’s sponsors. “When these voices are reached, heard and reflected back, relevancy becomes the underlying strength to build from.”
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4 comments:
Hey Greg... question about the potential for this broadcast. As I am sure you're aware, a key participant in this event has written a number of very misleading pieces about KPFA management for a Bay Area publication. In addition, KPFA as a station is noticeably absent as a sponsor, but the volunteers' union, which a Bay Area pub blasted KPFA for not recognizing, is. While I'm excited about discussions about media justice, I am certainly aware an on-air rip-fest of KPFA and its staff can be tremendously damaging for future fundraising and development. Though I'm not asking you to get into all the personalities involved, you know them far better than I, so will this be a broadcast worth catching on the stream? Sorry for the lack of tact, but I had to ask.
This is a fair question. Some of the organizers and panelists are certainly part of the Pacifica community, and while I would hope personal attacks are avoided an open discussion wouldn't hurt. I think it's important not to let concern about criticisms get in the way of more open communication -- as long as it's civil. The fact that portions of the event will be broadcast does suggest some constructive communication between people who sometimes don't get along. As you know, the idea of airing a Town Hall on Pacifica's role in a changing media environment has been discussed in the past. I'd be eager to hear from people closer to this event, both volunteers and staff.
UPDATE: On March 14, Rainjita Geesler, director of KPFA's Apprenticeship Program, which is playing a major role in organizing this Town Hall, sent out a message announcing that part of the event would be broadcast live on KPFA. Word of the broadcast was spread by KPFA program hosts and through fliers and the Bay View. However, KPFA management has announced that the Town Hall won't be broadcast after all. No word has been provided yet on what went wrong. Perhaps Ernesto was correct in suggesting that the expected criticism wouldn't be welcome.
This week on Full Circle
The Media Justice Town Hall Community Forum
Friday evening, April 11 from 7-8 PM on KPFA 94.1 FM.
Part II will air Friday April 18
This town hall forum took place on March 21 at the East Side Cultural Center, 2277 International Blvd. in Oakland.
Topics include (see more details below)
Updates on the upcoming FCC hearings taking place on April 17 at Stanford University.
Panelists also discuss the necessity of communities telling their own stories, and grassroots community media's role in supporting the people's voice. Also, the power that expression has for community empowerment and the necessity of expression towards healing as a moral, social, political and economic necessity.
Questions came up around the cause of KPFA management pulling the original broadcast slated to go live on March 21 on Full Circle.
Panel moderator: JR of the Prisoners of Conscience Committee (POCC) and Block Report Radio.
Panelists
Tiny AKA Lisa Gray- Garcia of Poor News Network
Rainjita Yang-Geesler- Co- Director of the First Voice Apprenticeship Program at KPFA
Eloise Rose Lee- Media Alliance
Renita Pitts of TEMPO (Technological empowerment media project of Oakland)
Shahram Aghamir- Voices of the Middle East and North Africa also representing KPFA's unpaid staff organization (UPSO).
Willie Ratcliff- Bay View Newspaper publisher
DETAILS
The People's Voice Town Hall meeting is a community forum to discuss empowerment through creative expression and new technology. How can creative expression lead to healing? How do we build local sustainable economies through community based projects that reflect our social and ecological values?
The connection between communities telling their own stories and healing as a moral, social, political and economic necessity, can no longer be ignored. It is through the personal story that we can connect with others and know that we are not alone. It is through this personal expression that communities can move towards creating ideas for the future and bring about real social change.
New technology creates unlimited possibilities for each of us to become media makers. It de-centralizes access to media and gives communities a space to represent themselves. In order to discuss new technology linked to creative expression, we have to talk about Digital Inclusion, and how to make the new media tools and the knowledge base accessible to everyone.
What role can community based media play in bridging the digital divide? Pacifica Radio has been a beacon of free speech for over 50 years. As a community sponsored radio network, Pacifica has entrusted its future to the hands of the community, for financial support and guidance. There is an untapped power that lives within the communities who do not know media institutions such as Pacifica exist. When these voices are reached, heard and reflected back, relevancy becomes the underlying strength to build from.
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