57 posts categorized "media"

May 12, 2011

Giving Birth to Your Activist Self: Finding Your Voice as a Mother Activist

Workshop Handout for

 

Giving Birth to Your Activist Self:

Finding Your Voice as a Mother Activist

International Conference on Motherhood Activism, Advocacy, Agency

May 13-15, 2011 - Toronto, Ontario

 

Presented by

Sharon Aschaiek and Ann Douglas

 

  • Awaken. Hear your activist voice.
  • Respond. Know what to do with that call to action.
  • Collaborate. Form meaningful connections with other activists (online and in real life) to reduce isolation and maximize your effectiveness.
  • Communicate. Connect with the public and generate media interest in your cause.
  • Lead. Achieve consensus and inspire your fellow activists to action.
  • Succeed. Learn from successful activists. Discover what takes some movements over the top?
  • Sustain. Avoid activist burnout, which zaps your energy and enthusiasm. Fuel the fire within. Self care, professional development,  and sabbaticals are ways to nurture your activist self.

 

Books

Ansell, Jeff. When the Headline is You: An Insider’s Guide to Handling the Media. Jossey-Bass, 2010.

May, Elizabeth. How to Save the World in Your Spare Time. Key Porter Books, 2007.

Moyer, Bill et al. Doing Democracy. The MAP Model for Organizing Social Movements. New Society Publishers, 2001.

Sussman, Amanda. The Art of the Possible: A Handbook for Political Activism. McCelland and Stewart, 2009.

 

Websites

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR)’s Media Activist Kit

The Citizen’s Handbook: Practical Assistance for Those Who Want to Make a Difference

Campus Activism.org: Movement Action Plan by Bill Moyer

Campus Activism.org: Event Planning Worksheet

Campus Activism.org: Four Core Elements of Strategy

Campus Activism.org: Organizing: Lessons Learned

 

Useful Social Media Tools and Platforms

Appbistro:  Directory of apps for Facebook Pages.

Bit.ly: URL shortening service (useful for Twitter).

Facebook: Social media platform

Flickr: Photo-sharing community.

Klout: A measure of social media influence.

LinkedIn: Showcase your resume and connect with others.

ManageFlitter: Manage your Twitter followers/following.

Oneforty: A directory of business-oriented apps for Twitter.

Posterous: An easy way to publish to multiple channels.

Storify: Combine content, including chat tweets.

Twitter: Social media platform.

YouTube: Video-sharing.

 

Sharon Ashchaiek

Sharon Aschaiek is a mother to a five-year-old boy with autism, a professional writer and an autism services activist. Sharon leads Autism Resolution Ontario, a grassroots, non-partisan, parent-run advocacy group protesting against Ontario’s severe autism services gaps, and working to achieve appropriate treatment and social justice for kids with autism.

Ann Douglas

Ann Douglas is active in the democracy movement and the women's movement, She volunteers with Citizens Advocating Political Participation and serves on the Board of Directors of YWCA Peterborough Victoria Haliburton. She is an author and mother of four. www.anndouglas.ca and www.onewomanoneblog.com

April 20, 2011

How Stephen Harper Changed My Life -- And How Ursula Franklin Spoke to My Heart

I never intended to become politically active. But after Stephen Harper was elected in 2006, Canada didn't feel like Canada anymore and I felt compelled to start taking action.

For a long time, I blogged here on a regular basis. During the 2008 election, I blogged many times per day in the rather naive hope that if I blogged often enough -- if I worked hard enough -- I'd be able to help convince my fellow Canadians that we needed a government that was progressive in its thinking (as opposed to the Reform Party of Canada rebranded).

It bothers me that approximately one-third of Canadians are willing to make trade-offs in order to keep Stephen Harper in power, because what they are trading off for lower taxes are rights and freedoms and the checks and balances that make for a healthy democracy.

 
I had no idea how much my life would change when I started speaking out -- how good it would feel to speak the truth about what I was witnessing and to form alliances with other Canadians who are just as disturbed by what has been happening to our country. At the same time, I also could not have predicted that I would be interrogated in my MP's office as a result of becoming politically aware and politically outspoken.

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During an unforgettable interview on the CBC radio show The Current last May, respected scientist and pacifist Ursula Franklin spoke about her time in a Nazi labour camp and the warning signs of democracy in peril. She sees some of those very same signs in Canada today and she is urging Canadians to be vigilant -- not to sleepwalk as many people do while their freedoms slip away. If you only watch one video (the interview is actually available on video) during this election campaign, I urge you to watch this one. It is powerful and unforgettable. You can find it here. (The interview starts at around the 27:00 minute mark in the video.)

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We need to send a message to Ottawa through whichever candidate is elected in each of our ridings. We want voting reform now. Proportional representation would encourage the parties to work together as opposed to treating one another as combatants.

A Prime Minister who doesn't have respect for the basic rules of government -- who doesn't choose to acknowledge that the Prime Minister is accountable to the people of Canada through the House of Commons (not vice versa) -- should not be entrusted with the privilege of governing this country for one more day, let alone a period of months or years.

This election marks a turning point in the life of our country. We are at a crossroads. One arrow points toward a more progressive future -- the Canada we used to be. The other points to a future with Stephen Harper in control. It doesn't take much to figure out what kind of Canada that would be. I'm hoping enough Canadians will wake up from the nightmare of the past five years to put us back on the path to where we belong.

 

Note: I am participating in Mom the Vote -- an effort to encourage Canadian moms to think about the issues in this election and to vote. I will be voting in Peterborough Riding.

 

June 28, 2010

G20 Video and Blog Package I Prepared for Indie Media Site PtboCanada.com

  The-real-thugs-G20-protester


PTBOCANADA: Peterborough Activists Insist The Media is Missing the Message with the G8/G20 Protests

is a G20 blog and video package I prepared for indie media outlet PtboCanada.com yesterday afternoon. There are a dozen videos (accessible on YouTube via a link in the article) plus a blog post with many embedded links. You'll find eye-witness accounts from activists who were in Toronto on Saturday, analysis of G20 issues - including media coverage of the protests - from Peterborough-area activists, protests songs and a whole lot more.

June 09, 2010

I Write Letters: On Democracy, The Copyright Bill, and The Gun Registry

I've been in letter-writing mode over the past few days. On Saturday, I fired off this letter to the editor of The Peterborough Examiner, which appeared today:

Re: How well do you know your politicians? (Fri. June 4)

Thank you for taking the time to survey local citizens to find out how many knew the name of our MP, Mayor, Prime Minister, MPP, Premier, Federal Opposition Leader, and Provincial Opposition Leader. (The survey revealed that local citizens are far more likely to know the name of our current MP than any other local politician.)

Citizens can't make informed choices at the ballot box on election day unless they have the opportunity to get to know all candidates on the ballot. For that reason, I would like to encourage The Peterborough Examiner to challenge itself to look for new and innovative ways to extend editorial coverage to the non-incumbents at all levels of government, so we can discover what they stand for and what they have to offer our community.

I would also like to challenge The Peterborough Examiner to take things one step further by asking area citizens what they want and need from all levels of government. Too often, politicians are allowed to set the agenda and determine what issues get discussed in our media and in our communities.

We are the people. The politicians work for us and are accountable to us. The more information we can obtain about how well our politicians are doing - and what other candidates have to offer - the better choices we will be able to make each time we head to the ballot box.

The media plays such a vital role in a functioning democracy. Thank you again for this important article.

Ann Douglas

And tonight, I wrote a letter to Peterborough Riding MP Dean Del Mastro, urging him to send Bill C-32 (the much-talked about copyright bill) to committee for some further work because it doesn't adequately safeguard the work of Canadian writers.

To:  

Dean Del Mastro, MP, Peterborough Riding
Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Heritage James Moore


Dear Dean Del Mastro:

I am writing to you to express my concerns about Bill C-32, which does not adequately protect the rights of Canadian writers or other creators.

The Writers' Union of Canada and the Professional Writers Association of Canada are just two of the writers' organizations which have issued press releases expressing serious concerns about Bill C-32 since it was tabled last Thursday.

I am urging you to vote to send Bill C-32 directly to committee to study, rather than allowing the Bill to proceed to Second Reading first. The Bill will require extra committee time because there are two different departments involved -- both Heritage and Industry -- and the changes being requested by Canadian creators are likely to be considerable.

I am also concerned that Second Reading approval might limit the kinds of amendments that might be possible.

Thank you for hearing my concerns.

I look forward to hearing back from your office to confirm safe receipt of this letter.

Best regards,

Ann Douglas

cc. Deborah Windsor, Executive Director, The Writers' Union of Canada
cc. Sandy Crawley, Executive Director, The Professional Writers Association of Canada
cc. Tanya Gulliver, President, The Professional Writers Association of Canada
cc. Stuart Harrison, Manager, Peterborough Chamber of Commerce
cc. Alan Wilson, Advisor to Dean Del Mastro

I also wrote a letter to a handful of NDP MPs, (on behalf of YWCA Peterborough Victoria and Haliburton, where I serve as a member of the Board of Directors) urging these MPs to shift their vote on the gun registry:

Dear Malcolm Allen, Charlie Angus, Nathan Cullen, Claude Gravelle, Carol Hughes, Jack Layton, Jim Maloway, Peter Stoffer and Glenn Thibeault:

Did you know that long guns and rifles are used in over 70% of domestic gun homicides, deaths that have clearly declined since the long gun registry was created?

With the RCMP in charge, the registry now costs $4.1 million annually to run and police search it over 4 million times a year.

It’s time to stand with the RCMP and Canada’s police associations. Time to stand up for vulnerable women and defeat Bill C-391. Your vote can save a life. 

Please search your heart and do the right thing.

Thank you.

Ann Douglas
Board Member
YWCA Peterborough Victoria and Haliburton

Lynn Zimmer
Executive Director
YWCA Peterborough Victoria and Haliburton

Theresa Butler-Porter
President, Board of Directors
YWCA Peterborough Victoria and Haliburton

September 19, 2009

Economist Jim Stanford at Peterborough Public Library: Oct. 8, 2009 at 7 pm

Looking for someone to help you cut through all the economic double-speak - to explain what's really going on with the Canadian and North American economies?

Jim Stanford is an economist who actually makes sense (as you can see from this YouTube clip) -- and he's coming to Peterborough in early October.

Author and economist Jim Stanford will be giving a free public lecture at the Peterborough Public Library on October 8, 2009, beginning at 7 pm.

The event is being hosted by The Peterborough Community Legal Centre, Peterborough and District Labour Council, Peterborough Chamber of Commerce, Trent Canadian Studies Department and the Council of Canadians.

Stanford's most recent book is Economics for Everyone: A Short Guide to the Economics of Capitalism.

Stanford received his master's degree in economics from Cambridge University, UK, and his PhD from the New School for Social Research in New York City. He was the founding chairman of the Progressive Economics Forum, Canada's network of progressive economists. In 2007 he was appointed vice-chair of the Ontario Manufacturing Council. Stanford is the chief economist for the Canadian Auto Workers union.

Related:

The Globe and Mail: Canada's Productivity Numbers Reveal a Real Structural Weakness by Jim Stanford

The Tyee: Fixing the Real Economy

Rabble.ca: Jim Stanford: Columnist

The Progressive Economics Forum: Jim Stanford

January 26, 2009

The Star Says It Will No Longer Hide Its Progressive Light Under A Bushel; Faith Leaders Call for a More Progressive Agenda from Harper

TheStar.com | GTA | Key changes in today's Star come thanks to your feedback.

This is fabulous stuff -- particularly this part:

"Only the Star among Canadian media has an explicit mandate to encourage progressive and just initiatives to strengthen the social fabric of our Greater Toronto community, our province and our nation.

"To that end, we will no longer hide our light under a bushel. In print and online, we will bring you the reflections of the best minds of our time on the most vexing questions of the period. And we will make this discussion and debate easy to find every day."

Also not to be missed in today's paper -- this article discussing how faith leaders are calling for the Harper government to follow a more progressive path.

January 08, 2009

OJR: Newsrooms must get active to survive the economic meltdown

Newsrooms must get active to survive the economic meltdown.

It wouldn't be difficult to produce a Canadian edition of the Online Journalism Review's list of "stories that the news industry, from newspapers to cable and network news, blew over the past 10 years."

Our blogs serve as citizen responses (and sometimes citizen indictments) of the MSM stories that weren't written -- but that should have been. We trusted the media to hold the powers that be accountable and to fact-check every statement made by every party pundit spewing mistruths on the campaign trail; but they weren't able to deliver the goods the way they once could. (Of course, there were some noteworthy exceptions. They have become our modern-day village criers because we know we can count on them to tell us the news we need right away.)

In the OJR, Robert Niles stresses that the media's inability to deliver what their readers were counting on them to deliver * may have helped to trigger the media death spiral that everyone is blogging and twittering about these days -- and that public trust will have to be regained through actions (good-old fashioned reporting plus a severing of the uncritical reporting on the political and corporate elite) if the MSM hope to halt the spiral.

"Allow me to suggest that the U.S. news industry's collective failure to accurately portray the world over the past decade has done as much, if not more, to drive readers to the Internet than any inherent attractiveness of this new medium. If existing news businesses wish to have any hope of surviving the current downturn, in any medium, they cannot continue to perform as they have over the past decade."

Newspapers are being urged to consider other revenue models -- the most intriguing of which is a reliance on endowment funding. I think this represents a fabulous opportunity for newspapers. The newspaper could become a community asset and community voice -- and less dependent on advertiser revenue which, despite all those lofty conversations about the separation between editorial and advertising, haven't prevented advertorial content from becoming a well-established part of the monthly or weekly publishing cycles of most dailies. And if the new model of endowment-based funding reduced the amount of advertising, the paper could be just as content rich and yet a much greener product. It might have fewer pages or it might be an electronic publication -- the anchor of a true community hub (not a marketing-driven conception of what a community hub should be, but rather a citizen-driven conception of that hub).

Transitions may not be easy, but they allow for powerful opportunities, if you're ready to see the endless possibilities and come up with a solution that will meet the unique needs of your community. A made-in-your-town made-for-your-town media solution.

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* The Toronto Star is the only newspaper in Canada to employ a public editor (ombudsman). The public editor's role is to respond to reader complaints and concerns -- something that makes for a stronger paper. The Star was the first paper in North America to create such a position.

December 03, 2008

The D Word

Do any of these techniques of persuasion sound familiar to you?

Comparing apples to oranges. For example, "Our government has spent more on culture and heritage (and sports and recreation) than the previous government spent on the arts.

Demonizing the enemy. For example, identifying political opponents as a threat to democracy or the country's future (e.g., describing a perfectly legal course of action under a parliamentary democracy as "undemocratic" or describing the proposed coalition government as Liberals and "socialists" supported by "separatists").

Straw man. For example, distorting an opposing position and then arguing against that distortion (e.g., the attack ads on Stephane Dion, which literally turned the Leader of the Opposition into a cartoon representation of himself; the gross misrepresentations of what the Green Shift and other Opposition policies and platforms were all about during the last election).

Loaded question or loaded statement. For example, posing a question -- or making a statement -- with an implied position that the opponent does not have. (For example, during the Federal leaders' debate, Harper made this statement which totally misrepresented Dion's position and thinking: "Last night, Stephane, you panicked. You came on the set and announced a whole new economic plan in the middle of a national debate. I know why you did that because you look at your platform. Your platform says we will spend billions of dollars we don't have and go into deficit. (You) will raise taxes that will kill jobs.")

And, of course, there are other similar techniques that have become all-too-familiar to political observers -- like telling half-truths, omitting key facts, and attempting to rewrite history by way of selective amnesia.

They have a name for a political leader who has mastered this political modus operandi: who holds on to political power by capitalizing on popular prejudices; preying on people's emotions and fears; resorting to propaganda campaigns to sway the electorate; and who encourages his followers to "Rally for Canada" by showing their support for him and his party.

Demagogue.

"Demagoguery invites the externalization of hatred and anxiety, it is an institutional aid to projection; it justifies tabloid thinking, stereotyping, and the conviction that the world is made up of swindlers...There is no middle ground...the ultimate objective is vague, still the need for definiteness is met by the rule, `Follow the Leader.'"
- Gordon Allport, The Nature of Prejudice

December 02, 2008

Sign Spotted at Political Rally in Peterborough, Ontario -- Quote from THE NATIONAL on CBC

Political Sign Spotted at Pro-Coalition Rally in Peterborough, Ontario

First in a series of photo posts from a noon rally in Peterborough.

Related: CBC.ca coverage about Harper government and public reaction to coalition government.

October 24, 2008

Imagine if Peterborough Had Its Own Indie Newsmagazine

I'm talking about a high quality newsmagazine like TheTyee.ca or one of the other equally gutsy and outspoken publications listed in the "Alternative and Indie Media Voices" sidebar on this blog.

As it stands, the two newspapers in our city are owned by major news conglomerates, both of which tend to have a fairly conservative/business bent. As much as they might like to, the editoriImg_6903al staff employed by these two newspapers can't push the social justice agenda too aggressively or they'll risk offending the people who sign their pay cheques or the people the pay the bills (the advertisers).

Perhaps some entrepreneurial journalism grad will move back to Peterborough to launch an alternative publication aimed at citizens who don't hear their views being reflected by the existing mainstream Peterborough media. Or maybe a group of citizens will band together to launch such a venture themselves. Imagine how exciting that would be.

Related:

Trent Radio: Trent Radio is an excellent example of the type of programming independent media can offer.

Campaign for Media Democracy: Media Democracy Day (which is being celebrated today and tomorrow) is a day for "anybody who is skeptical of the profit-centred agenda of the big media and wants to see their news & views presented in a fair manner that promotes broad-based democratic debate and action."