It was 1976. Democracy was holding on for dear life in the aftermath of Watergate. And at the center of the drama were reporters; real reporters, damn it, like the ones I wanted to be when I grew up; the ones that would take on the big guns armed with little more than an old typewriter, a pad and pencil, and bad, plain label coffee.
These journalists and these times gave birth to Media Alliance more than a quarter century ago as an institution that would hold the profession, and democracy, accountable to the highest standards of quality and transparency. MA took on union busting, protection of reporters and sources, and the perpetual corporate cover up; and it moved beyond those issues to become the area’s most important training resource for those seeking a career in media and those seeking to influence the media for progressive change.
“By being around for 25 years, Media Alliance has managed to train everyone who’s anyone in the field,” says Marianne Manilov, a former Media Alliance board member. “When you look at the movement, there are a few centers that one can look to in organizing–there’s CTWO [the Center for Third World Organizing], Union Summer, and, more historically, Highlander and Midwest Academy that have turned out people who have gone on to do amazing things. For media, that group is Media Alliance.”
Today, things have changed since those heady days post Watergate, and it’s not all for the better. Ownership of news outlets is down to a handful of corporations. The Internet is showing great promise as a powerful venue for independent media. Mainstream news seems obsessed with who the big wigs are screwing in private, but a growing, gutsy alternative media is reporting who they’re screwing in public. And Media Alliance is still in the mix addressing both sides of the equation by organizing to hold outlets accountable and remaining a bridge between activists and progressive media makers.
This contemporary commitment to Media Alliance’s watchdog-activist roots was in evidence when the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) held their national convention in San Francisco. MA was front and center helping to coordinate public forums, independent media coverage, and in your face civil disobedience.
“What Media Alliance did during NAB was nothing short of incredible,” recalls Van Jones, former MA board chair and national executive director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. “We helped lead the effort to hold the broadcasters more accountable, to raise awareness that there were higher standards of service and programming and that there were people in the community willing to hold them to it. And it was done in a way that was creative, inspiring, and made space for everyone to contribute in their own way. It was really an authentic collaboration.”
This work extends beyond events to a range of regularly scheduled trainings, forums, and projects designed to build the skills and capacities of media activists and media makers. The Raising Our Voices Training Program works to improve media coverage of low-income issues. Each year, Raising Our Voices trains more than 50 homeless and other low-income people working at poverty rights publications in investigative journalism, electronic publishing, and creative writing. This year, MA co-hosted the conference of the North American Street Newspaper Association for street journalists from the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.
At 25, Media Alliance is as busy as ever, working to organize a special Independent Media Center website to improve media coverage of police and prison issues, building support for community radio at the Pacifica Network, and helping communities access low power FM radio.
Perhaps MA’s greatest asset is the people who have brought their passion and principles to bear on the struggle for progressive media and progressive social change. Like those who founded the organization, MA’s current staff and volunteers work hard to uphold the organization’s original, lofty mission. For media activists Becky Perrine and Dorothy Kidd, it shows.
They write, “Media Alliance is a critical organization for Bay Area media activists–promoting collaboration between different media producers, activists, policy reformers, and social justice organizers. The staff at Media Alliance have put their time, lives, and organization on the line to fight for issues such as KPFA, media policy reform, and micro radio, to help promote the voices of the poor, young, and people of color in a time of rapid media consolidation.”
Happy Birthday Media Alliance! Thanks for making us think when we were numbed, making some noise when we were dumb, and making sure we never stopped believing in the potential of media that matters.
Makani Themba is a former MA board member and current fan residing in Columbia, Maryland. Her latest book is Making Policy Making Change.