The PAPER CHASE has started!

[paineinthearse]

There have been at least two posts alerting DU to this project (one by our own lala_rawraw, whose idea this is), but this project deserves another.

The PAPER CHASE project is so simple EVERYONE can participate. The result is that you will help enlighten average citizens in your community the of the crap that * is getting away with.

Find a DU story that has a bearing on your community, such as cut backs in medicate or no funding for Amtrak or unfunded mandates like NCLB; save as a document, add the link to the source, print copies and place in (in this case) clinic waiting rooms and train station lobbies and school committee meetings.

It gets news ignored by the corporate-owned news (CON) directly to those affected.

Here's my twist.

1. In this post, add links to stories you think should be widely distributed in this manner.
2. Bloggers (you know who you are) - either nominate one of your existing pieces or write something new for this project; place a link here.

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/index.php?p=225 (printed in full with permission).



What Is the Paper Chase?

The paper chase is a way to help bypass government purchased pre-packaged news, as well as the mainstream media's lack of substantive reporting. The danger the lack of real information making its way to the people is apparent in the current state of affairs. What the paper chase asks people to do is to simply: print, copy, and leave news wherever you go on a daily basis for twoweeks. We cannot simply reach the people on the Internet, because people generally go to the sites they like and the people we want to reach are largely unaware of our sites and may be disinterested. We have to show them that what they are missing is the truth.

This is an opportunity to make a difference and reach out to those beyond the Internet.

When Is the Paper Chase? Starting Monday, March 27 - April 9

Process Questions:

What news should I pick? You should pick news on whatever issues you feel important. You should try to alternate between topics, however, because the goal is after all to inform the public. You should also avoid large, over the top stories. Remember, the people we are trying to reach do not know what the current state of affairs are. Our goal is to provide them with information they can digest, not to make a political statement. So do not pick stories about "left" vs. "right;" pick stories that are issue-based. Remember that your audience is not your echo chamber and choose accordingly.

How many copies should I make? As many as you want and can afford. Do not go overboard as too much paper might miss the point.
Where should I leave the news? It is important not to afix the news onto any public property or break the law in any way. Some suggestions are your doctor's office, gas station, grocery store, etc. The places you leave the news should be regular everyday places.

What type of paper should I use? Please use recycled paper because, while we are trying to reach the people, we still want to be responsible to our environment.

Can I just hand out to people instead? Not a good idea. Most people will simply walk away or the paper will be thrown away without reading. It has to be left in visible places, not afixed, simply placed in sight, so that people make an active choice to read it. Some small shop owners or even larger business may let you leave a few on their counter.

What news sources should I use? Please do not use opinion pieces or anything that might be nothing more than propaganda. This is about getting the truth out to the masses, not coverting political point-of-view. The stories you choose may be the hot button issues for you, but at least select them from news sources you trust, not from opinion pieces or from talking points. You are not limited to the sponsors of the Paper Chase, so long as you respect copyright.
What about copyright? The sponsors of the paper chase have no problem with copying and printing as their URL/Title/etc. will appear on the pages. Other news sources should be asked what their policy is on distribution and you should indicate what your intentions are. Feel free to link to this URL as an explanation.

What will this accomplish? The hope is to open more minds to the facts that the media fails to report. Even if it it raises the awareness of a single person, it will be a success. It will energize those involved and demonstrate the willingness of online media--and those who care about the news--to seek new readers and discussion outside of the Internet.

Sponsors
We are still adding sponsors. If you are interested, please email Muriel Kane - [e-mail] < [e-mail]>

Prior DU posts:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3353926

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3371760

Do it! Do it today!

[CitySky]

1. i want to do this soon

i need to have some time at home (hopefully soon) to create a "first issue". am thinking of using a half sheet of regular paper cut VERTICALLY, and calling it "THE SKINNY" (get it? skinny piece of paper)- Maybe "THE SKINNY - News You May Have Missed" There could be one headline and 2-column story under the title headline on the front, and another story on the back.

Also, Democracy Now! just moved to the 7am drive-time slot on our community radio station here in Houston. I am thinking of putting an "ad" for DN! on the bottom of the flip side of my "skinny". The ads are available in .pdf format at DemocracyNow.org. All I have to do is add in the station and time.

So the purpose is two-fold: inform people about 2 (per issue) important stories under-reported by the Corporate Media, and direct them to quality independent media.

what thinkest thou??? also i know you started another thread asking for links to possible content -- we should probably share it all here too b/c here in "Activism" threads don't sink as fast. i have copyright questions... will share my ideas for "content" when i get to work on this for real and ask my specific copyright questions then. it's all in the percolating idea stage at this point; has been for a while!

[katinmn]

2. Excellent, PITA!

I'm going to start with:
Police 'showdown' averted (the story about Jeb's foiled attempt to rescue Ms. Schiavo from the hospice)
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11233240.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
Even though this was reporterd in a daily, it hasn't gotten near enough coverage.
and:
Secret Service investigating removal of three from Bush visit
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CO_BUSH_COLORADO_COOL-?SITE=COCOL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
and:
Secret Service Now Investigating Bush Black List
http://www.buzzflash.com/alerts/05/03/ale05048.html
and:
Quiet judge persists in Schiavo maelstrom
Circuit Judge George Greer, who is regularly reviled and travels with security, is not the man his critics might suspect
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/03/06/Tampabay/Quiet_judge_persists_.shtml

[buycottJoe]

3. I wanted to post to one of the above mentioned threads

but it's too late because they are archived. You can only read them. Anyway, I just wanted to add that fliers can be left at universities. A big campus often has more than one library. Also the student eating areas, lounge areas and study areas have a lot of tables on which to put fliers or brochures.

[CitySky]

4. cool!

I have access to a college student who could drop some off at campus for me. Thanks for the tip!

My prototype is almost done; will post it here when ready. I am waiting to see if I get a response from my request for permission to reprint one of the articles. My thought is that, since these are free and serving a not-for-profit political or educational purpose, use of a short snippet (4 paragraphs or fewer, like here on DU) of copyrighted material probably qualifies as "fair use" under section 107 of the copyright code. So for one story, I snipped four paragraphs and didn't ask for permission. For the other, I want to use eleven paragraphs, so I wrote a nice polite email yesterday to ask for permission to reprint "up to 400 copies" for small flyers to be distributed free of charge in and around my city. (Is there a "keeping my fingers crossed" smiley?)

[CitySky]

5. OK, I am CLEARLY no expert in copyright law!!!

OK, please DON'T do like I said in the above post! Or if you're gonna, you betta get yo'self a good law-yah first... I did a little more research today and it's much more complicated than I had assumed. Even if you follow the case law in this area all of the time (which I DO NOT, of course), it's sometimes hard to predict where courts will draw the line.

What's clear is that the "big boys" newspapers aren't going to want you re-printing ANYTHING from their exclusives, not one jot or tittle, EVEN IF you give them credit for it. The exception might be as part of editorial content: e.g., "The Wet Sleet Journal blew it again when it reported in an article entitled "It's Swell," appearing in Tuesday's edition, that things are 'peachy keen' for the poor in America today." - but I want to print NEWS, not editorial content.

A safer strategy seems to be to stick to stories provided by rawstory.com and the other groups who have already agreed to be part of the Paper Chase Project, as suggested in the OP. There's plenty of good content there too. I am just agonizing about not being able to spread some of these tidbits further:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/la-na-delay27mar27-a,1,1259332,print.story?ctrack=2&cset=true

but I'd rather be safe than sorry!

Peace!