Weapons of Mass Persuasion

By Linda Mamoun, AlterNet. Posted April 16, 2003.

By March 19, the major TV networks had done their advance work well. After months of promotion, millions of U.S. viewers were united in eager anticipation of a prime time extravaganza. Perched on their couches, anxious for the catharsis of a neatly crushed Iraqi military, they watched with "shock and awe" as U.S. and British forces launched their long-awaited sequel -- Gulf War II.

However, due largely to advances in personal computing and electronic communications, opposition to the latest U.S.-led war also spread rapidly before it even began. Though much has been written about the impact of the Internet on antiwar organizing, little has been said about the advent of antiwar TV. Yet this relatively recent development has informed, expanded, and mobilized the ranks of the antiwar movement while engaging millions of others who otherwise would be forced to rely on the empty and often inaccurate drivel of mainstream TV. After years of concerted effort, activist media makers have built independent networks that reflect a commitment to progressive values, public education, and participatory democracy.

Alternative Analysis

National television outlets rarely if ever offer in-depth analysis of U.S. foreign and domestic policy, not to mention shows that document organized opposition to war. Filling this vacuum, as the 1990s began, was one of the first antiwar TV campaigns to air nationally: The Gulf War Crisis TV Project was the first series designed to mobilize people against U.S. imperialism in Iraq and the Middle East. Created through a wide collaboration of filmmakers, peace activists and war resisters, it was produced and distributed over public access TV by the Deep Dish collective and broadcast on the 90's Channel, the first full-time progressive network to air independent productions on cable systems around the country.

In 1995, when this independent network was forced off the air by TCI, then the world's largest cable system, 90's Channel co-founder John Schwartz launched a new initiative called Free Speech Television (FSTV). Unable to acquire a full-time cable channel, FSTV began distributing free progressive programming to a network of 50 community access cable stations across the country.

During this formative period, FSTV's content included a broad range of programs acquired from independent film and videomakers. America's Defense Monitor, one of the first series to air on FSTV, is still broadcast today. Produced by the Center for Defense Information, America's Defense Monitor presents critical analyses of U.S. foreign policy, military expansion, nuclear and conventional weapons, and international affairs.

At the edge of the new century, an unprecedented convergence of anti- globalization activists, video collectives, print journalists, and photographers at the 1999 World Trade Organization (WTO) protests in Seattle created the first Independent Media Center (IMC). Enhancing audience access for journalists and videographers, it operated in collaboration with Paper Tiger TV, Deep Dish TV, Whispered Media, and Free Speech TV, and produced a daily televised report on the street protests and police repression surrounding that WTO meeting. The tremendous impact of the first IMC subsequently inspired the formation of others on every continent. Today there are over 100 IMC collectives, and thousands of new indy journalists who work with them to break through the corporate media blockade.

Coinciding with the birth of the IMC movement, another progressive network was born when WorldLink TV acquired a channel on DirecTV and DISH Network, as part of the new federally mandated public interest obligation. In 1998, after years of political and legal struggle by independent media advocates, the FCC began enforcing a requirement of the 1992 Cable Act requiring Direct Broadcast Satellite companies to set aside four to seven percent of their spectrum for non-commercial educational uses.

WorldLink presents alternative perspectives, news from around the world, and international cultural programming. One of its most provocative programs is Mosaic, a compilation of daily reports from dozens of TV stations throughout the Middle East. WorldLink also airs a regular program of media criticism hosted by Globalvision's Danny Schecter. In January 2000, Free Speech TV was awarded a full-time satellite channel on DISH Network, and since then has provided free programming to its community cable affiliates.

Responding to Crisis

The events of Sept. 11 and the U.S. government's war against Afghanistan compelled the independent media community to further solidify and expand its international network of activists, journalists, and filmmakers. Within nine days of the 2001 attacks, Free Speech TV began producing and broadcasting "World in Crisis," a top-of-the-hour news update that evolved into a half-hour weekly current affairs program. It provides a national outlet for people to speak out on peace, tolerance, and civil liberties.

Immediately after 9/11, journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez of the nationally syndicated radio program Democracy Now! also launched telecasts on Free Speech TV. Presenting news and critical analysis, Democracy Now! is a vital forum for many of those excluded from the mainstream media. Today, in the midst of yet another U.S. war, the show continues to serve as a lifeline for viewers who are angry at the government's policies at home and abroad.

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