Media Reclamation Project

Meeting Mar 25, Current Projects, OPIRG AGM, Adbusters & Rabble March 21, 2008

Posted by mediamattersottawa in Challenging Mainstream Media, Events, Independent Media, Media Matters Projects, Media Reform.
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Happy Spring!

In this email:
- next meeting: March 25
- current projects
- OPIRG AGM: March 25
- call for April events
- Adbusters update
- Rabble.ca: RabbleTV, plus two articles

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Next Media Matters meeting:

Tuesday March 25 at 6:30pm at the OPIRG office, 631 King Edward, 3rd floor

Please email us if you’d like to attend but can’t and/or you have some input for any of the projects described below! mediamatters@canada.com

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Current projects

Postering campaign – we’d like to make some posters to raise attention about indy media as well as critical thinking issues regarding main stream media. This means coming up with some creative marketing messages that will capture peoples’ imagination. If you have any ideas, please let us know! We’ll be working on this at our next meeting on Tuesday

Also:
- Setting up a blog to archive these updates, more
- Local independent media directory
- Long-term planning and consulation process

And:
The Dominion is looking to set up an Ottawa edition, which will basically be The Dominion plus four pages of local content. Envisioned distribution between 5000 and 20000. Visit http://www.dominionpaper.ca to find out more about the Dominion, or contact janescharf@rogers.com for info about this Ottawa project

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OPIRG-Ottawa update

On Tuesday March 25, OPIRG’s Annual General Meeting will be taking place. It will be held from 1:30 to 3:00pm at room 205 of the University Centre, University of Ottawa. You are all invited to come on out!

At this time, voting will be held for next year’s board of directors. Voting will also be taking place beforehand, from 9am to 1pm, at the OPIRG-Ottawa office, at 631 King Edward, 3rd floor.

For more info, contact OPIRG at 613-230-3076.

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Call for April events

Common Cause Ottawa has started a monthly PDF events calendar for Ottawa’s activist community. You can see the March edition at http://ottawa.indymedia.ca/media/2008/03//7059.pdf

They are asking for any April events to be submitted to a_ottawa@mutualaid.org by noon on Wednesday, March 26. Include date, time, location, brief description and contact info.

We will send you the finished PDF of April events as part of our next email sendout.

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Update from Adbusters:

On Monday, February 18, Adbusters lost its court battle against two of Canada’s television networks that refused to sell airtime for its commercials. Adbusters claimed the CBC and Canwest Global had violated its right to free speech under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by refusing to sell air time, but the court decided that the Charter does not apply to private corporations.

“It’s outrageous that the fast food, oil and automobile industries can buy as much TV time as they want in order to promote their agendas, but citizens are not allowed to talk back,” said Adbusters Editor-in-Chief Kalle Lasn in response to the ruling. “Canadian democracy will not work properly until we the people have the same right to buy airtime as corporations do.”

The rejected Adbusters ads pointed out that over 50 percent of the calories in a Big Mac come from fat; called for an end to the age of the automobile; and promoted Buy Nothing Day. While Court Justice William Ehrcke ruled that private broadcasters have the right to run whatever ads they like, Adbusters feels the case raises some troubling questions.

…

see the full release at http://adbusters.org/blogs/Adbusters_Demands_Access_to_Airwaves.html

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Update from Rabble.ca

On March 15, in conjuction with the anti-war protests, Rabble.ca launched RabbleTV, which included live interviews from Ottawa. For more see http://rabble.ca http://tv.rabble.anarres.ca/ and http://rabble.ca/news_full_story.shtml?x=68742

Also from Rabble
- commentary on the recent CRTC policy: http://rabble.ca/arts_media.shtml?x=69049
- a review of the movie, A Little Bit of So Much Truth: http://rabble.ca/arts_media.shtml?x=68682 ** remember this movie is available in OPIRG’s resource centre **