This blog has moved!

Please see new blog at www.beyondproject.wordpress.com

Sorry Blogger I still Love you, but I had to move away!

Thanks for everything.

:-)

x

Visit our new website!

Please go and visit our new website at http://www.cmsw.weebly.com/

We are in the process of moving the proper cmsw.co.uk address there, but in the meantime please look at the new site at Weebly and send us your comments.

Thanks! Shawn

Fema sorry for 'fake' conference

Why do I still get shocked by stories like this? And they want us to believe that they landed on the moon! LOL





Fema was widely criticised for its response to Hurricane KatrinaThe US Federal Emergency Management Administration has apologised for having its employees pose as reporters at a hastily arranged news conference.

No actual reporters were able to attend Fema's televised briefing on the fires in California on Tuesday because they were only given 15 minutes notice.

Instead, press officers asked questions many described as soft and gratuitous.
A spokeswoman for Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff called the incident "inexcusable and offensive".

"We have made it clear that stunts such as this will not be tolerated or repeated," Laura Keehner said, adding that the department was considering whether or not to reprimand those responsible.


'Error of judgement'

Fema employees posed as reporters at Tuesday's "news briefing" with Deputy Administrator Harvey Johnson because an agency was providing a live video feed to US TV networks, according to the Washington Post.


Six questions were posed by the Fema officials and Mr Johnson even used the typical practice of calling for a "last question".

"I'm very happy with Fema's response," Mr Johnson said in reply to one query from an employee.


After the Washington Post published details of the briefing, which one of its reporters listened to by phone, Mr Johnson apologised for the "error of judgement" and promised to do better in future.


"Our intent was to provide useful information and be responsive to the many questions we have received," he said in a statement.

"We are reviewing our press procedures and will make the changes necessary to ensure that all of our communications are straight forward and transparent."

Fema was widely criticised for its response to Hurricane Katrina. Its former administrator, Michael Brown, was forced to resign despite President George W Bush initially declaring he was doing a "heck of a job".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7064909.stm

My email to ITV West - Re: St Pauls Carnival 2007

From: Shawn Sobers
Sent: Sun 9/16/2007 13:27
To: itvwestnews@itv.com
Subject: Biased reporting on St Pauls

I've just watched the 11.55am West Today news update and was disappointed by the highly subjective way you reported yesterday's events in St Pauls. The people of St Pauls have long complained about the biased nature of reporting about their area and this was highlighted in your broadcast this morning.

I was at yesterday's carnival and was proud that the city was host to such a fantastic event, and even prouder of St Pauls for organising it. It was also the carnival's 40th anniversary. In this morning's news you didn't even show so much as a one-second glimpse of the colourful and peaceful carnival, which was attended by people from all parts of Bristol and also from around the country - and you instead chose to lead with a typically negative story, that of the murder inquiry from an incident in a St Pauls pub. The newsreader fleetingly mentioned in a one-second sentence the peaceful carnival saying that the police say the incident was unrelated to the murder.

Of course the murder is an sad story and shouldn't be ignored, but it is also sad that now in the minds of your viewers, due to the way you reported the incident, again St Pauls = police tape and violence. Had you instead inverted the negative/positive bias of the reporting and led with the story & images of the fantastic carnival and followed it by mentioning the unrelated and deeply sad event that happened hours later, it would have been a much more representative account of what happened in the St Pauls area for your viewers to get a less biased message.

As a previous employee of HTV West I am really sad to have to write this. And even sadder that in all the years I have been watching television news, not much seems to have changed.

Yours sincerely,

Shawn Sobers

Ffi: Avon and Somerset Constabulary

Potter teen will not face charges

The decision has been made to drop the charges against the French lad who translated the Potter book and posted it onto the internet. Apparently the decision was made on the back of discussions with JK Rowling. Thank god sense has prevailed. Now just give the boy a high paying job!


Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6943650.stm

Harry Potter translation arrest - SHORT SIGHTED STUPIDITY!!!

This story sums up a lot to me. This 16 year old French kid had the initiative, intelligence, patience and the skill to translate the whole of the new Harry Potter novel into French faster than the publishers, for no monitary gain, and he gets arrested!

Many young people are doing creative things outside of schools or other institutions that are highly impressive, but because it doesn't fit neatly into a box or set agenda gets marginalised, or in this case, is criminalised.

If JK Rowling and her publishers were truely lovers of writing & literature, they shouldn't sue this talented French kid, they should congratulate him and give him a job. Time to wake up and smell the coffee!

======================
======================

Teen in Potter translation arrest A French teenager suspected of posting his own complete translation of the latest Harry Potter book on the internet has been arrested.

The 16-year-old, from the southern city of Aix-en-Provence, has been released but could face charges for violating intellectual property rights.

The official French language version of the final book in the Potter series is scheduled for release on 26 October.

Police have closed down the website it was found on and are investigating.

Commercial profit
Aix prosecutor Olivier Rothe alleges the unnamed youth had compiled the entire translation of JK Rowling's 759-page book and posted it online within days of the 21 July release of the English original.

It is believed he did not gain any commercial profit from the unauthorised work.
Marie Leroy-Lena, spokeswoman for official Harry Potter translator Jean-Francois Menard, said he is still working on the translation.

Unofficial translations have also been posted by fans in other countries, including China, where publishers fear it could lead to counterfeit books in a country where piracy is rife.
The seventh chapter of the Potter saga is the fastest selling book in history with some 11 million English-language copies sold in the first 24 hours.



Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/entertainment/6936979.stm

Published: 2007/08/08 13:24:53 GMT

© BBC MMVII

The changing nature of David and Goliath

Not wanting to line the pockets of Tesco any further, are we now to buy petrol from the little surviving Shells and Essos stations instead? That can't be ethical decision making. (I know, I know, I should get rid of the car altogether....but....)

Not exactly the same as buying veg from the corner shop over going to the SuperMall.

I guess Tesco & Sainsbury's et al get their petrol from Esso and Shell anyway. (???) All as bad as eachother. Keeping Shells & Essos in business, or going instead to Tesco & Sainsbury's?

What a choice.

Maybe it is time to sell the car.

But.....

Big Brother 8: Not me, not this time. Pt.2

Another deviation from Community Media, just for another second.....

I turn my back for a minute and see what happens!


This is a transcript of the conversation between Emily, Charley and Nicky that led to Emily's departure from the house in the midst of another race row for the show.

EMILY: (referring to Charley dancing/pushing her hips forward) You pushing it out, you n****r.

NICKY: (shocked laughter) Erm, I can't believe you said that.

CHARLEY: You are in trouble.

EMILY: Don't make a big thing out of it then. I was joking.

CHARLEY: I know you were... but that's some serious s**t, sorry.

EMILY: Why?

CHARLEY: Oh, my God. I'm not even saying it.

NICKY: Just don't talk about it.

EMILY: I was joking.

CHARLEY: Do you know how many viewers would watch that?

NICKY: Okay, don't make a big deal out of it.

CHARLEY: Fancy you saying that. I can't believe you said that.

EMILY: Somebody has already used that word in this house.CHARLEY: No way. (Pause) Yeah, me. I'm a n****r.

NICKY laughs.

CHARLEY: I am one. Fancy you saying it. I know maybe you see it in a rap song. Maybe you and your friends sit there saying it.

EMILY: I'm friendly with plenty of black people.

NICKY: You call them n****rs?

EMILY: Yeah and they call me n****rs. They call me wiggers as well.

NICKY: I'm quite shocked.

CHARLEY: I'm in shock.EMILY: It's not a big deal though, is it?

CHARLEY: Not for us it ain't.

----

Shawn's note: Just to clarify, even if you don't think it's a big deal, it is for us. Ignorwe the ignorant rappers! The n-word is not a term of affection so don't use it! It isn't funny.

PEACE

To read BBC News article about this story click here.

Big Brother: Series 8. Not me, not this time!

A deviation from Communiyu Media, just for a second.....


For 8 years it had me, hook, line and sinker, but not this time. Since the first series I've said "not this year", and I still end up hooked. Like Zammo, though smacked on the nose by addictive reality tv, not heroin. Much the same thing I guess.

My downfall every year is that my curiosity usually makes me watch the "characters" (as they're are now called, not just people!) enter the house. From that moment I just kiss the rest of my weeks goodbye. Whether the civilian series, celebs or teenagers, I've been there witnessing all. After last year's civilian series with that prat Anthony winning I said "never again". But along came the celebs with Jermaine Jackson so of course I had to watch that. (Don't you think that Jermaine is what Michael could have become if he hadn't gone off the rails of sanity. Such a shame!!) After the "race row" car crash of that series, sure enough I said "never again!" But I meant it this time.

It's quite refreshing to stumble over Big Brother conversations on tv, radio or by the (mythical) water cooler and not have the faintest idea who they are talking about. I know there are loads of females and one boy band look-a-like guy in there. And a WI woman and an activist type, and a pair of twins, but these tit-bits have been picked up along the ways, There's no harm in that. I also know there's various guitar bands out in the world called Razorlight, Muse, Kaiser Chiefs, Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand and a few others, but I couldn't pick any of them out in a crowd - sonically or visually. Just the stuff of life, in the mix with the things I'm actually more interested in.

So, what am I doing with all my Big Brother free time?

Yep, writing blogs about Big Brother.

Surely there's more to life than this?

A water cooler, yesterday.

MAKING IT WORK

UPDATE: Community Media South West have published a new report:

MAKING IT WORK:
An Enquiry into how companies in the Community Media Sector recruit and
retain skilled freelancers

Published by - CMSW / Blueboard - Jan 2007

Research by Ella Bissett Johnson

Edited by Shawn Sobers, and Steve Gear

Synopsis

This report is a timely and original development in the analysis of social interest creative practice. It takes the debate much further than merely exploring the merits of such projects, and directly provides an analysis of the economic and skills base for this area of work – the area of community media activity within the creative industries.

According to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the creative industries are now one of the fastest growing sectors in the British economy, and socially aware creative practice is now gaining a stronger profile and being taken seriously by a wide range of cultural agencies. We feel this report provides an important step in recognising not only the economic realities of these community minded organisations via case studies of the companies themselves and the freelancers they employ, but also charts the average skills contained in this community media/arts field of work, and highlights its future sustainability.

This report has been designed to be not only illuminating, but also be useful. It will be of interest to stakeholders of community based media & arts activity, including project facilitators, managers, funders and policy makers, and also for areas such as careers advice and academic fields such as media studies and social policy. Hopefully this report will provide a platform from which to make informed decisions with confidence, from which the sub-sector of community based media education activity can strategically grow and flourish.

To order from Amazon click here.

To download full report as a pdf file click here.

Research funded by ABI Associates, University of the West of England and South West Screen

Supported by Calling the Shots and Firstborn Creatives

WiFi Radiation investigation - Response to Panorama, BBC1, 21st May 2007

Summary of programme: WiFi is bad for you. The radiation may give you cancer and is on par with mobile phone masts, but potentially more harmful due to plans to have WiFi in every school in the UK. Children's skulls are softer and thus are more prone to serious harm. The government are ignoring research from WHO which suggests harm and are pressing ahead regardless.

- --
The War on drugs. War on junk food. Smoking bans. Binge drinking awareness campaigns. It seems whatever is bad for us that we choose to consume in our own bodies is being outlawed or stigmatised by government. But advances in technology that MAY also be bad for us, but are external to our bodies and that we have no control over, are being embraced, if not enforced by government.

We are discouraged to consciously consume harmful substances, but are being forced to unconsciously be exposed to potentially harmful radiation. There's some tricky ethics at play there.

I use WiFi when I'm in the city centre, but I know for sure that the only reason I don't have it in my house is because I was never comfortable about the levels of radiation. I didn't ever know what the levels would be, but I knew I wasn't comfortable with whatever they were. Of course I use a mobile, etc so am a hypocrite - but in this day and age all a city person living in the West could be described as someone just trying to juggle their lives as best they can considering the environment and fair trade and healthy eating and equality issues and work/life balance and ethical banking and free-range and all the other small print in modern living. We are all hypocrites, and it would be a hypocrite who says any different. It's not really about our individual carbon footprints, as that is too selective. It really about our Footprint in totality, but that is too unwieldy and unpalatable to comprehend.

We love new technology because it is convenient and makes things faster. For example: MP3 players are popular because you can store your whole record collection on them and each new version of player allows you to access each track slightly easier/quicker than the previous model. Mobile phones, computers, digibox, HDTV, the list goes on. Once we've got them it's damn difficult to give them up. So if mobile phones prove to be harmful. And WiFi, and bluetooth and Sky dishes and god knows what else is pumped across our airwaves. Who will be the ones to unplug, switch off and consign these "bright idea but harmful" gadgets into the locked drawers? And who will be the ones to continue using, in the same way that many still smoke, knowing it is bad for their health and others, but they like it and in it's own way keeps them sane. If I didn't have my mobile phone and email and the Internet I too would go slightly potty I'm sure.

Hypocrites the lot of us but what can we do?

1) Accept things as they are without questioning.

2) Embrace things (technology). All this talk is just scare mongering.

3) Pretend we've never heard anything and carry on regardless.

4) Move to the countryside and live like the Good Life.

5) Pray.

6) All of the above.

I don't know where this article is going just in the same way I don't know where I'm going.

Actually that's a lie. No matter how much I love the Internet and other modern trappings, I now need to turn them all off and go to bed. When all said and done we are nothing but flesh and bone and are not invincible. We would do well to remember that.

See> Schools want urgent wi-fi advice

See comments and opposing opinions at Debate on Possible Health Risk from Wireless

If you missed the programme you can watch again here

Radio Salaam Shalom – Muslims and Jews talking together

Just giving a heads up to all at Bristol based internet radio station Salaam Shalom.

www.salaamshalom.org.uk

One of the dj and member of the steering group Adnan Ahmed was an original member of Channel Zero and I also taught him at the university. (He also sold me this broadband connection, but that's another story!)

I interviewed Adnan for my PhD, and I'm more than proud to see what he's doing now.

Big Up Big Ad!

:-)

Coming to a desktop near you......?

Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Burma/Myanmar, China, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, UAE, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Yemen.


Fpr your info, these are a list of guilty countries that filter (aka censor) the internet.

To read the full article click here.

Media Literacy and the Power of Institutions

10 days ago I went to the Houses of Parliament with my comrades Emma Agusita and Cathy Poole, for a seminar discussing Media Literacy, hosted Danny Alexander MP and the Associate Parliamentary Media Literacy Group. After introductions by Danny, Ian Hargreaves (Dir of Ofcom & Researcher at Cardiff Uni), and Peter Packer (Strategy Adviser to UK Film Council and UK Media Literacy Task Force), there followed presentations from young people involved in news production media projects with the BBC (School Report) and Channel 4 (Breaking the News).



The Houses of Parliament, yesterday.


Both projects and presentations were impressive, and demonstrated to the audience the great things that can happen when professional practitioners work with young people, and visa versa.

BBC's 'School Report' involved 11-14 year olds from 120 schools to produce video reports about stories from their local areas and issues that effect their worldviews. This project was linked with Hackney's City Learning Centre and Vivi Lachs, (who I first came across in 2002 at a FutureLab conference at the Watershed in Bristol named 'Contagious Creativity'. I was immediately inspired by her back then and was pleased to see her still on the front line of media literacy education). The children talked about the video reports they produced, which ranged from Muslim children discussing their responses to feeling 'British', a report on the 'true picture of Hackney' (in response to a C4 programme naming the area the worst place to live), and the abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. They also interviewed Tony Blair and had 2 days support time with BBC journalists. Helen Shreeve from BBC said their aim was for this experience to be had by EVERY 11-14 year old at least once in every school across the country.

Channel 4's 'Breaking the News', as described by it's co-ordinator Adam Gee, involved 14-16 year olds from schools and community organisations to attend C4 news briefings to get a true behind-the-scenes insight, and they came up with alternative ways of producing news stories. They also set up parallel news rooms in various schools and set up an online editor which allowed the young people to edit stories in their own way. One of the big impacts of this project was the way it made the C4 producers such as Martin Fewell, (deputy editor of Channel 4 News) think differently about their audiences, and take them out of the comfort zone of always reporting certain stories in a certain way. (Time will tell as to how this will change on screen.)

In the Q&A session with the young people, the most common responses to the question, "what impact have these projects had on you?" were;

1) Self-confidence
2) Wanting to be a journalist
3) Ability to have own voice heard

Both BBC and C4 are rolling out their projects to be taken up by schools and other groups across the country, or actually anywhere in the world as the resources are web based.

There is no doubt that these were fantastic projects, though watching the presentations I had a strange sense of de ja vu, as they (especially BBC's School Report) was identical to our (Firstborn Creatives') 2003 - present project Channel Zer0. (Or to see the website for Channel Zer0 in text only version rather than Flash, click here) What I saw in these presentations in Parliament was Channel Zer0 again, though on a much grander and gigantic scale. Please know that with these comments I'm not being a jealous playa hata as I'm applauding them on their achievements. It was slightly strange for me though as I saw before me how an institution such as the BBC could (seemingly) effortlessly mobilise in 4 months a project that we have been trying to really galvanise over 4 years. Same with the Channel 4 project which was also quite similar.

And here in lies the opportunity for a more sustainable future for both BBC's and Channel 4's projects, that I fear hasn't really been grasped as yet.

Both are relying on teachers, youth workers, etc, to visit & download their online resources and replicate the projects year after year. The BBC talked about this years schools becoming mentors for the news schools. Whilst knowing the BBC I'm sure they could make this happen, but really teachers are far too busy and already swamped by initiatives for a huge number of them to take it upon themselves to deliver an online media literacy project.

Here BBC & C4 are missing the opportunity to commission community media companies across the country to take these initiatives forward in the subsequent years after this initial pilot. Helen Shreeve quite rightly said they wouldn't be able to give the same access tob BBC journalists, etc as they did this year, but contracting smaller media companies to take this work forward would allow access to media expertise. Here it might sound like I'm touting for work for Firstborn Creatives, which I very well might be, but much bigger than that is the unique opportunity for the big institutions such as BBC & C4 work strategically with the smaller community media companies to deliver an annual project that would have national impact, and a model globally on what is achievable in the name of media literacy.

To be fair both Adam and Helen did suggest they could link with community video outfits, but the emphasis and resources definitely were steering in the direction of their online resources. For starters, they are A LOT cheaper than getting funding to commission a load of community media organisations. Finance is obviously a huge issue here. But so is the opportunity. I'll work my hardest to at least getting it discussed at a deeper, logistical level.

Watch this space.

Black Audio Film Collective

Handsworth Songs, 1986, 16mm film Directed by: John Akomfrah


Last week I went with a group of young people from the Channel Zer0 media club and their facilitator Gary, to see the Black Audio Film Collective exhibition at Arnolfini gallery in Bristol. For me it is an important exhibition as Black Audio are part of the reason why I do what I (try and) do, which is makes films (particularly exploring Afrikan [Black] British stories) and support others to make work for themselves. I was already at film school (Newport) the first time I came across them, in the mid 90's, but they definitely inspired me with confidence in two vital areas of filmmaking; 1) Be bold & inventive with your creative approach, and 2) Don't hold back on what you want to say. 'Handsworth Songs' and '7 Songs for Malcolm [X]' are an education in pushing the envelope in documentary production for anyone. Style and content / content and style. Hand in hand. Essential viewing. Those films restored my faith in not only endevour of making media, but also in the importance of getting hidden voices heard.

Another reason I hold Black Audio high up on my list of influences is because it was out of the film collective/workshop tradition, that also included London's Sankofa Films, that inspired Black Pyramid Film & Video Project in Bristol; the only black production company in South West England. When I left Newport it was Black Pyramid that I began working for, and out of that came my longstanding working relationship with Rob Mitchell. We set up Firstborn Creatives 7 years ago and still going strong.

Anyway....that's enough about me, what about the young people's reaction to 'Handsworth Songs' and '7 Songs for Malcolm'?

"Boring...not as good as Spiderman..."

"All this history is draining me...."

These are two comments I heard. That's not really fair as there were many (correction: many-ish) positive comments as well, but these two comments cut me deep and broke my heart, as these were mostly black young people not realising how important these works are to African British culture and what this movement represented - the first time en masse Black people had made media for themselves in this country. I had to bite my tongue and diplomatically encourage a conversation about their feelings whilst trying not to dictate or preach. I think I got away with it, but it wasn't easy.

As Rob said knowingly when I told him about it, "Why should they know how important it is?"

And it's true. What's important for me doesn't have to be for them, no matter what cultural background they are, but....

...and there is a but here.....

...for young members of a media club surely they SHOULD have an appreciation of such things, even if it wasn't to their taste. I don't like 'Birth of a Nation' and am not fond of its director DW Griffith due to him being a supporter of the KKK, but I still recognise the important impact he had on the development of filmmaking.

That's one of the things with community media education projects. It's informal. No one can be preached to and everyone's opinion is valid, within reason of course. Opinion can be challenged, but I am not their preacher and they are not my flock. I guess the main thing is that they were exposed to that work. They now know it exists. They had access. Whether they choose to access it or not, whether they choose to try and understand it or not, and whether they choose to create their own works or not is entirely up to them. They are their own people and have the right to choose, but as facilitators the least we could do was make them aware in the first instance. The rest is their choice. That is one of the challenging things about democracy. We may not always agree with others' choices, but have to respect them.

With hindsight I would do exactly the same again and continue to bite my tongue and try to be diplomatic. I've had my time and now this is theirs. I remember the first day at film school our enthusiastic lecturers took us to watch David Lynch's EraserHead. I thought it was awful and had (and continue to have) no real idea what it is all about. That was 14 years ago. Last year I bought it on DVD for £5. I haven't watched it since, but it's still there.

Mainstream media underestimates African-British resistance

It seems the mainstream media completely underestimated the impact and importance of Toyin Agbetu's actions on 27th March 2007 when he confroted The Queen and Tony Blair at Westminster Abbey. None of them were there to document the events of him answering bail. The only media there were a few of us with cameras. TRUE COMMUNITY MEDIA in ACTION. Mainstream media were unable to twist this spontaneous event with mis-representation. Hundreds of Black/African people were out in force, and IT WAS PEACEFUL!!! That's not sexy telly news. But it is the truth. How ironic....



If this video doesn't work (it has been playing up!!) then click this link to take you to Google video direct. http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-2393402568525944108&hl=en-GB


With a few exceptions, Toyin's protest in Westminster Abbey has largely been reported as the actions of a lone mad man, but THIS VIDEO shows the support that he has amongst fellow Africanists. Toyin is greeted as a hero by a growing crowd. The nature of the support takes the police by surprise who make an eventual and futile attempt to put down crowd control barriers.

Agbetu shares his views with his supporters before heading into the police station. A number of voices are heard from the supporters before Toyin returns to update them on the charges, or lack of them.

A month after his action on 27th March, it seems the BBC has still not sent the un-televised footage to the police. This would help the Met and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to determine his exact 'crime' and make charges. Unable to do this the law enforcers have to send him away until 30th May 2007, 1pm. Charing Cross.

On the steps of the police station Toyin responds to a now sizeable crowd that believes he has no case to answer. Agbetu comments on the games being played by the CPS with the arrest and charging situation, and then on the bigger picture involving pressure on African, and in particular Jamaican, young people in Britain. He urges his supporters to support their young people by instituting rites-of-passage as a necessary part of their growing up and self-discovery.
DOCUMENTED BY FIRSTBORN CREATIVES FOR CHANNEL ZERO

(Text written by Rob Mitchell)

Selling out from Community Media......

.......or bridging the gap?


Click here to watch a programme we (Firstborn Creatives) recently made for BBC1.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/bristol/realmedia/032007/marvin_insideout?size=16x9&bgc=C0C0C0&nbram=1&bbram=1

Connecting Bristol Supporters Film

Connecting Bristol

I'm part of the steering group for Connecting Bristol, which is the city's bid for the 'Digital Challenge', which is a national competition to win £4million from government for the iniviative use of digital technology to enhance the services of communities and to enhance social inclusion. Bristol have been selected as one of the 10 finalists.

Today we were visited by the Chair of the government’s judging panel, Bert Provan, and the Digital Challenge programme director Stephen Dodson. I was part of a 'round table' discussion session with the theme of: “Skills, how will the Digital Challenge help people to help themselves?”

We met at the fantastic Brislington City Learning Centre, hosted by Ayleen Driver (ICT Strategic Coordinator) and Linda Brown (CLC Director). Also present were Stephen Hilton (Lead manager of Connecting Bristol), Jaya Chakrabarti (Nameless) and Stephen Wray (Director Culture & Leisure).

Ayleen gave us a tour of the CLC, and following that had a discussion about how those kinds of spaces enhance the learning capabilities of not only the school but also the wider community. Also discussed how formal learning institutions are working with informal learning providers & community groups to link activity to enhance the experience of the young people, and to greater the potential of longterm impact, (whether regarding career, health, general social engagement, etc). Also acknowledged the need for longitudinal research to track and evidence this impact, and Stephen Dodson suggested a '7-Up' type media survey of participants if the Connecting Bristol bid was successful, to track impact and experience.

I felt the meeting was very fruitful and it was good to be able to share how the Digital Challenge has brought a diverse range of people together from across the city, to link our respective activities towards a common aim, across sector boundaries.

This all links very directly towards my own research looking into the impacts and sustainability of community media educational activity. If the Connecting Bristol bid is successful then I could possibly use a sample section of activity as a case study for mutual use. Fingers crossed......

MEDIA IN THE HANDS OF EVERYDAY PEOPLE!!!!

I don't really need to say anything, do I? 2006.




Remember this? 1991.

Films made for Mobile phones

As part of the Fresh 6 Film Festival, Calling the Shots, Firstborn Creatives and MicroFilm teamed up to run a day long workshop on making films for mobile phones. (As I said in an earlier post, I had man-flu so couldn't be there to help out!!!)

Below are two of the six films that were produced. The makers were a mini bus of young people from Cornwall, a groups from Connexions (Bristol), and a few young people who came along having seen the publicity. (They are all creadited on the films). You can view all the films by clicking here.

Films for mobile phones itself as a genre and the part it can play/is playing in community media is something I'll surely come back to at some stage. For now, i'll just celebrate their achivements. Enjoy!

Title: CyclePath Granny

Title: The Lonely Pen

The Morning After Fresh

....or....(Joining the Dots between Media Education and Community Engagament)


Yesterday's event was excellent and a real credit to Sam Burkey and all who helped organise it from Calling the Shots, Knowle West Media Centre, Suited and Booted and Firstborn Creatives, and all the young people who made the final decisions.

At various times I was on the script surgeries table - giving advice to people on their film ideas, overseeing the library archive screenings and on the welcome table.

During the script surgeries I met a lovely guy from Knowle West called Michael, who had the fascinating idea of making an animation/live action mixed film about a human and a fox. (I won't give his storyline away here, but it is very good.) I would be keen to see how his film progresses as it had masses of potential. He is linked with the Media Centre, which is a good thing. For anyone to be given the support (no matter how formal or informal) in creatively expressing themselves I feel is a fundamental role of arts & media in society, and one I feel is grossly overlooked or not greatly valued.

Arts in many ancient African, Native American and Aboriginal societies were part and parcel of the fabric of the community, not separate from religion, family, rites of passage and the general sense of identity. Artists didn't sign their names on their works as they made them for the whole community, not for themselves, but still, the artist was held in high esteem, as his/her role was serving the community.

In today's climate the artist is vilified, as no one understands the art and why it is being made. I can defend conceptual art as I (think I) understand it's place on the wide spectrum of the arts, but there is no doubt there is now a wide gap between the arts produced and the communities within which the artists may live. I would say though to those vocal haters of 'modern art' who have some money to spare - to save your ranting energy and instead support initiatives where you see the arts doing actual good in communities, (such as Fresh Film for example!!!).

The advance of digital technologies in ‘developed’ countries is seeing a convergence in arts/media and mainstream services, with proven impacts on education, health, and other vital areas of society. Harnessing and pushing the boundaries of how these new technologies are used - and much more importantly, widening the access of them - is a dynamic way of connecting these strands together for the common aim of serving all.

Not exactly sure how I got from 'A' to 'Z' in this article as this conclusion wasn't planned, but there you go!!! LOL

Fresh 6 Film Festival

Today I will be working at - and taking my children to - the Fresh 6 Film Festival, which is for young people. Includes screenings, workshops, advice surgeries and competions/commissions. The website is www.freshfilm.tv

Last years went really well. I hope it has a good turn out today. Yesterday Firstborn and Calling the Shots ran a practical session on making films for mobile phones, which I hear went reallty well. Unfortunately I had 24hour man-flu so was too ill to attend! On Tuesday Knowle West Media Centre screened a documentary about Tricky - the Trip Hop artist who is originally from that area. He was there to answer questions with the Director of the film. Films being screened in the festival are a mixture of professional film & tv work, and work made by young people and facilitated projects.

It's good to have an outlet for this work, as there's so much of it. It also rhymes with the context of my research as it's called 'Beyond Project' - interested in what happnes when the projects are over. What happens to the work, the young people, the facilitators, the ideas generated, etc, etc? What impact did it all have?

With regards the work produced itself, there are many other ways of getting it 'out there'. To name a few:

· Video / dvd archive
· annual dvd compilation
· showcase festivals
· agency for educational materials (have to apply to get film accepted) - to judge educational value of made work and package & distribute
· web access / data base
· teacher materials
· directory service – where to contact rather than central archive
· magazine every 6 months as catalogue
· book to be written about community videos – interviews with makers
· national community media database
· membership scheme
· effectiveness of web based projects.
· YouTube / MySpace / Blogging
· Current TV, Community Channel

Of course many of these overlap. I personally like the idea of the 6 monthly magazine, and the national community media archive/database. Am I overestimating though the readership/users for this type of material?

I'll come back from time to time to discuss each of these in detail, and see if any of them are viable ideas.

Time to get ready for work.

Distant light and the end of far far tunnel

Today had a meeting with fellow PhD student Emma Agusita, whose subject is very close to mine. Really good to catch up with her and it was mutually benificial. Peer sharing is a good thing!

Talked about many things, including the slippery ground that is PhD research, the shifting sands that is the 'research question', and the importance of theory in practice. We also agreed to write an abstract together for a conference next year.

Good to have a comrade near!!!

:-)

Talk of 'User Generated Content

The one day ‘Digital Communities’ conference in the Watershed in June was the first time I heard the term ‘user generated content’, and since then the phrase is everywhere. [i]

In my opinion it’s just a clumsy/fancy way of saying ‘homemade videos’. [ii] To be fair it’s not just that though, as the shift in how amateur moving image work is now perceived is primarily down to 2 key factors:

One – The means of exhibition of this type of work has been completely reversed and revolutionised by sites such as YouTube and MySpace, etc, which has awoken a curiosity in the web public to see what home video makers are making.

Two – With the rise of such sites, home video makers have begun to produce work which fits the form of those platforms, thus giving birth to new genres in the process.

Contrary to popular believe I don’t believe the shift from ‘home video’ to ‘user-generated content’ is not down to the advances in technological hardware such as camera phones, etc, as they have been with us for years now. The shift is due to technological software that can give exposure to the products of those hardware technologies.

So where does Community Media sit within this new media landscape? That is something to be explored.

This is how I saw the moving image hierarchy landscape 2 years ago.




Based on a subjective scale of ambition, perceived professionalism and budgets, home videos at the very bottom. Admittedly with regards those same criteria not much has probably changed today, but there is now doubt that every other ‘industry’ on this chart are now bending to see what is happening at the bottom, and in many cases trying to be more like the things happening at the bottom. In the same way that in the mid 90’s the commercial companies began to populate and eventually ‘take over the internet’ [iii] Now in the 00’s, the mass media organisations are positioning to have a presence on the so-called Web 2.0, and maybe eventually take it over again, but they may be too late. Rupert Murdoch recently bought MySpace but the price was overshadowed by Google, itself a dotcom, buying YouTube for a record amount. Who is David and who is Goliath is no longer so clear. [iv]

Community Media educational activity has as its USP not only engaging non-media professionals in production, but also its participative and facilitation approach. The question I am interested in then is, ‘what is valued more by participants: making work or working with others?’

No doubt that part of what makes us human is the social interaction with others, but it has been long said that the internet have changed these dynamics forever. If a school, youth club or individual can make work in an afternoon and instantly show it to the world, will they still be inclined to employ a production company to do assist them in that process? And if I’m asking that question today, what is likely to be the reality in 5 - 10 years time? Will community media companies become the second hand bookshops of the future? (Still in the shadow of the mass media battered Waterstones, with the online Amazon taking the major share of the lead).

Unless educationalists within the community media sector can actively and convincingly evidence the value of participative/facilitative approaches, or unless it can re-position itself to ride the new Web 2.0 wave, it may become victim to the relentless pace of media technologies. [v]

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[i] On the subject of the phrase ‘user-generated content’, I need to remember to trace who originally coined the term.

[ii] As also acknowledged by Ana Kronschnabl (Plug-In Cinema / Fluffy Logic)

[iii] Here I’m talking as much about companies such as Sainsbury’s, Argos and Tescos,
and Mothercare, and not just the media companies.

[iv] Also Al Gore has partnered with BSkyB to launch the UK version of its user-generated tv channel Current TV, which launched its US parent a year ago. In publishing, www.lulu.com allows you to upload your own manuscripts and print & sell them one at a time, taking the frustrations and risks away from mainstream publishing, and bringing it closer to DIY community publishing, allowing you to make a profit at the same time.

[v] This article may be overly dramatic and pessimistic, but I think still a valid discussion point.

The idea of De-Schooling

I came across the theorist Ivan Illich (a peer of Paulo Freire), who wrote an influential text in 1971 titled ‘Deschooling Society’. The popular perception of the text is that Illich was arguing for the elimination of schools, but in the Foreword to a 1996 book of essays titled ‘Deschooling our Lives’ [i] , Illich says his earlier book was misrepresented and that he was advocating advocating for the “disestablishment of schools, in the sense in which the Church has been disestablished in the United States”, not for their total eradication.

I need to do more research into it, but it seems the attributes deschooling advocates say should be in their ideal learning environments are very similar to how community media facilitators talk about their ideal projects. I am by no means suggesting that community media activity can replace schools, but rather that I will look into whether it can borrow any thinking from deschooling in terms of methodology and ethos.

Illich was not a Marxist, but apparently his work does parallel with Marxist views. [ii] This rhymes with my thinking as Marxist theory was more than likely going to form the predominant weight of the methodology of this research, through theorists such as Freire, Foucault and Althusser.

In ‘According to Sociology: Themes and Perspectives’, Michael Haralambos summarises Illich’s views as follows.

“Education should be a liberating experience in which the individual explores, creates, uses his initiative and judgement and freely develops his faculties and talents to the full. Illich claims that schools are not particularly effective in teaching skills and in practice, diametrically opposed to the educational ideals in which he believes. He argues that the teaching of skills is best left to those who use those skills in daily life.………

He regards schools as repressive institutions which indoctrinate pupils, smother creativity and imagination, induce conformity and stupefy students into accepting the interests of the powerful. He sees this ‘hidden curriculum’ operating in the following way. The pupil has little or no control over what he learns or how he learns it. He is simply instructed by an authoritarian teaching regime and, to be successful, must conform to it rules. Real learning, however, is not the result of instruction, but of direct and free involvement by the individual in every part of the learning process. In sum, ‘most learning requires no teaching’.” [iii]

Admittedly not all of this echoes exactly with how community media facilitators think, as they are not particularly anti-school. But there is something to investigate in how theorists are visioning alternative learning spaces in the wake of advancements in technology, especially in relation to how media literacy is becoming more of an accepted agenda in UK education: especially in Bristol where schools are failing.

---------------------------

[i] Edited by Matt Hern. New Society Publishers. Canada

[ii] ‘According to Sociology: Themes and Perspectives’. M.Haralambos. 1989. Unwin Hyman. London

[iii] page 187

Production Alliances

Was part of a good event today organised by South West Screen called Innovation Alliances, which showcased various companies work that they funded from the Alliances funding strand. Firstborn had a stall with Calling the Shots and Knowle West Media Centre to showcase our "Independent State of...." project, which we are working on together.

All the other companies there were more mainstream corporate and"commercial" companies. I was pleased to see us three Community Media companies as equals amongst the crowd. Just the way it should be!

Please click here to download the Alliances brochure (pdf).

I was pleased to be at the event, (although strictly speaking I shouldn't have been working at all as today was the 76th anniversary of the Coronation of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I. A Rastafari celebration day. The celebration event is on the 4th so I'll take time off from work then!)

JAH Bless and goodnight.

Has media made the world a better or worst place?

That was the title of an event I went to in Cheltenham this evening, part of their literature festival. The panel were a Clare Short, Libby Pervis, Jeremy Paxman, Tony Benn, a print journalist called Daniel something, a Radio 4 presenter called Nick something, and the chair was also a Radio 4 presenter but I can't remember his name either. It was quite an interesting debate bit also quite frustrating, as I had my hand up for ages but still didn't get to ask a question.

It's probably a good job I didn't get pointed at by the chair as I wanted to have a rant rather than ask a question, (they were quite strict on the audience only asking questions and being concise)!

I wanted to rant at Libby Pervis as she said - when prompted by a question - that she thinks all sections of society are adequetly represented in the media and there are enough channels now for everyone to find their voice somewhere. She didn't see representation as a problem in today's media. It's easy for her to say that, but go to any white working class estate, amongst black and Asian communities, young people, and many many others they will tell you how they are misrepresented in the mainstream media. That's why alternative media exist at all - to try and make a space for different voices. Grrrrr....

I wanted to rant at Tony Benn as he thought he was being very radical on stage by saying he respects it when people fight to have their voice heard by any means, and go against the flow. But it was him who the major force in getting pirate radio stations outlawed in 1966. I wanted to know whether he had now chyanged his mind, and if he now thought pirate station were now a good idea. Grrrrrr.....

I was also going to ask a question what the panel thought about the idea of having Media Literacy taught in schools. They would probably have scoffed at the idea no doubt, thus pubilically tainting the notion in the minds of the 500 or so audience, and being a negative effect on the media literacy campaign. Good job then then the chair didn't point at me.

Clouds/silver linings......

Black Film Makers Awards

Last Friday I went to London the Prince Charles Cinema to the Black Film Makers (BFM) awards, which closed the BFM Festival season. We (Firstborn Creatives) had a lovely film called 'Confetti' nominated for the awards, which was written & directed by Shiloh Harmitt. We didn't win anything, but it was still an inspiring event and just re-established the need of films from the African continent and diaspora to get audiences far and wide. I would be interested to know in what context the films were made. Were they self-funded?

It also re-affirmed the importance in the need of more access to media tools by more people.

The first 2 years of my Research

Essays and Articles written for my research - May 2004 - November 2005 (PhD began in October 2004)

The following essays and articles (pdf downloads) explores some of the thoughts and issues I've been negotiating during the process of my research into the Community Media Sector so far. The main focus of the research is to analyse the cultural sustainability of educational activity within the community media sector, and attempting to find models of best practice which can be used as a tool kit for facilitators, companies, funders, and by communities groups themselves.

I am still in the early days of this research, and as it progresses I shall post up new writings as it develops.

The most recent ones are nearer the top.

Media Literacy in Community Contexts (November 2005)
Article written for the Westminster Media Forum Publication, in response to the Media Literacy Seminar (27.10.05) (pdf) click here
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Research Progress Update (May 2005)
Research Question- Aims & Objectives- Background to this Research- Methodology- Theoretical Framework- Taxonomy of Terms- The Houdini approach to research- Reformation of the Media- Identity, Power and Representation- My crossroads(pdf) click here
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Project Evaluation Diagram (April 2005)
This map-diagram attempts to show how many projects are evaluated, whilst highlighting areas of impact which are potentially missed by the majority of evaluation studies.(pdf) click here
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Beyond Project: Community Media and Impact, Effectivity and Sustainability(April 2005)
Paper which explores the definitions of impact, effect and sustainabiliy, and attempts to challenge the "short term" mentality behind the concept of the word 'project'.(pdf) click here
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Defining Community Media and Achieving Educational Sustainability (January 2005)
Abstract for Euricom Colloquium, Piran, Slovenia, 2005 (pdf), click here
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Negotiating Methods and Theories - Part 1 (January 2005)
Article, (pdf), click here
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Key Questions to ask about the Community Media Sector (March 2004)
Initial themes, ideas and questions to ask Notes, (pdf), click here
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Hierarchies within Moving Image Industries (April 2004)
Image, (gif), click here
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Argument: The Community Media Sector is not the amateur cousin to Broadcast (April 2004)
Paper, (pdf), click here
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Exploration of Community Media Research Questions (November 2004)
Article, (pdf), click here
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Definition of Community Media (December 2004)
Paper, (pdf), click here
see also;

Community Media Structure Map (May 2004)
Image, (pdf), click here


Copyright Shawn Naphtali-Sobers

2 years into the beginning

I'm now 2 years into my PhD looking into community media educational projects, and it's time to lay everything out on the table and see what I have.

I've decided to start this blog and [try and] update it each day - whenever I've read something useful or thought a useful thought, to push it forward.

Also, to stop the research going as slow as it has been for the past 10 months.

I don't care if no one reads this. It's more for me to keep my thinking moving forward.

:-)

Wish me luck.....