Be the Media: Proposal (long, sorry)

[crispini]

I don't know if this can be done in time to help us on this forum, it might be more of a long term effort. Nevertheless, here is my proposal.

This idea came out of frustration that I see on here with the media, and the inability to get our message out. We need to close the gap between the internet and the "real world." People are encouraging flyering, freeway blogging, and so on. All of these tactics, while good, would be more effective if they were coordinated.

I would like to establish a website that
1) would close the gap between the internet and the real world.
2) would allow us to coordinate and focus our "be the media" efforts.

The goal of this website:
Establish a coordinate grassroots distribution network for our message.

Here is how it would work. Volunteers would sign up for the following responsibilities.

"Distributors" would be responsible for getting the flyer out. Going door to door, hitting parking lots, whatever.

"Area coordinators" would take the responsibility of printing the flyer and getting it to the distributors.

An "editorial council" would take the responsibility of deciding what flyer got sent out, and on what date. Hopefully we can keep this council small and include people whom we all trust to make decisions for us, i.e. maybe somebody like Will Pitt, and others.

In this way, there would be one message sent out, on one day, and depending on how many volunteers we got to sign up, we could blanket the nation. The key point here is that we make a concerted effort to send out the same flyer on the same day in order to get the message out. (Later phases of the website might include ways to sign up for freeway blogging and maybe even phonebanking.)

Anyway. My vision is to build a website where all of the different types of volunteers could sign up, but now that I am looking over this, I realize that we here at DU could organize a coordinated flyer campaign around the "we need a senator" issue FIRST, separately from building any kind of website or infrastructure to coordinate the ongoing effort.

Ok, here's what I'm going to ask on this thread.
1) Other thoughts, suggestions etc to make the idea better?
2) Would you, personally, participate in a coordinated flyer campaign, in the next few weeks, around the election fraud issue?
3) Would you, personally, participate in FUTURE "be the media" coordinated flyer campaigns as I have described above?
4) Would you, personally, sign on to help build the web infrastructure and/or serve as a "core team" volunteer to develop this idea as I have described above?

Just so you guys know before you sign on, although I am not a professional geek, I am a user interface designer, I know my way around computers, and I have project management experience. I am prepared to devote my personal time and money to this project.

Hate to post and run, but I'm off to lunch. Back soon.

[jamboi]

1. Excellent, fully agreed. Have you checked USVIP.org and AudittheVote.org

and RedHandsMovement.com? Will any of the things we have now serve our needs, cuz we're getting an explosion of websites dealing with this and it'd maybe be best if we can work with one of them.

[crispini]

5. Well, the website's not the key point --

the key point would be coordinated distribution of the same flyer, on the same day, no matter how it's done. Website almost not necessary, it's just an organizational / infrastructure thang.

That said, I'll go check the other sites & see what's out there... I'm afraid I've been a little DU-centric, thanks! :)

[Shalom]

2. Like the Idea: Why Not Expand It beyond Flyers ?

I've made suggestions in the past that we could set up a LSM (Left Stream Media) which would be "broadband" in the sense that it would cover different media, including video.

For example, during some of the confronations in Ohio recently, if DU'ers had videocams they could act as field reporters for the MSM, and their takes could be published in an on-line library for viewing.

[wicket]

9. Left Stream Media- I like that

:thumbsup:

[Kralizec]

3. I think this ideas should be discussed more. It has real potential. n/t

[Farah]

4. we have already started on a similar effort, so please make sure that you

join us on this website, which already has active discussions:

http://www.1-2-free-forums.com/mf/index.php?mforum=mtf

[crispini]

6. Similar, but different.

I just went and checked out those forums. The point there is for online activists to take the message to the media. The point in my post is for online activists to take the message into the real world, to people who DON'T go online, and bypass the media.

Since you're active on that forum do you think they'd be interested in this idea? It doesn't really seem to match their stated goals I think.

[neversaynever]

7. I'm lost ... but I am a professional writer/editor/translator

and offer my services as such to anyone who can handle my general internet illiteracy and seek to work with me on "my terms" (not because I'm UNWILLING to cooperate with existing efforts, but because I am somewhat autistic in this regard: I can write and I can edit (in record time), but I'm not very flexible in terms of "How" to do that.

I am known in the publishing industry as a fast and furious editor who can write and/or edit efffective copy.

but, the best way for me to work:

send me the text you want edited/ commented on in word.doc file
I'll go in and make suggestions/edits using the editing functions of word
then you decide whether they're helpful or not.
(I recently spent two days helping Steve Freeman get his most recent version of the text in shape)

Anyone who would like to take advantage of this offer, pls send PM.

[oscar111]

8. KOS person has highly similar idea

Might want to join up with him.

I will see if i can find the link.

His idea is to put a few Kos articles as headlines, with abstracts.. into a one screen format... for printing weekly on fliers.. fliers then put up on grocery bulletin boards, etc etc.

A weekly Wall-Newspaper, as done centuries ago.

You have a wonderful idea! It WILL work!

Getting our stuff out to folks that never hear our ideas, is wonderful. Be sure to put on every flier, some urls to sites with AUTOMATIC UPDATE/NEWS EMAILS.
DNC sends such updates out.. More progressive sites may also send them out.

That way, passive folks who would not go to our sites, would keep in touch. DU needs an email newsletter AUTOMATICALLY sent to newbies.

edit... i cant find the KOS thread... if you have DU's Search feature, you might find it here on DU somewhere. The post here, linked to a KOS guy. There, he called his flyer idea "Red Dawn" or something like that . He meant Red to be about red states. I told him it was a bad title, but he likes it.

The post here at DU was longgggg. The meat of the idea was at the very end. To find it, also might try looking around KOS, which is a clunky site that has a bad interface design IMHO.

A bad feature of his idea was to have folks vote on what articles go into the flyer. Freepers would mess that up.

PRINTOUT WALL-NEWSPAPER might be a good term for the idea.

[neversaynever]

10. Here is one IDEA (that I've already implemented with some success)

I Live in primarily African American community. I've begun distributing a "message in a bottle" (a text rolled up into a "scroll" with a gold ribbon around it).

It includes the full text of Jesse Jackson's Dec. 8 speech, with the following "intro" -- (will also be emailing it widely). Note that it does NOT inundate people with detail upon detail. It is one page, attached to the four page text of Jackson's speech (shrunk to fit on 2 pages).

Fwiw, here it is (of course, the personal note first paragraph can be deleted and the rest adapted accordingly):

As some of you know, I have been actively involved in the campaign to contest the results of the 2004 presidential election based on widespread evidence of voting fraud, “irregularities,” voter suppression and the disenfranchisement of perhaps millions of voters—primarily in minority communities. I have invested all of my “spare” time and many resources into this campaign—in fact, it is all I have done since November 2.

Although the matter has now reached the stage of litigation and government-sponsored investigations, it has received little attention from the mainstream media. Republican-controlled elections boards and officials have done everything in their power to sabotage the efforts of prominent Black democrats (like Jesse Jackson and John Conyers) to expose the fraudulent behaviors that led to the election results.

I have included here the text of Jesse Jackson Sr.’s speech, presented at a forum sponsored by the House Judiciary Committee in Washington DC on December 8. I urge you to follow-up on this and to view the video transcript of the entire forum that was broadcast on C-SPAN, but completely ignored by the mainstream press. Links to transcripts and to video coverage can be accessed by clicking on the “official investigations” link at the site listed here (which offers a very comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the situation).

Did your Vote Count? Election 2004
http://shadowbox.i8.com/

And another excellent, up-to-date overview site is:
http://nov2truth.org/

Mr. Conyers needs our support in these matters, and has been actively seeking input by email and/or regular mail. A contact form is available at this address:
http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/contact.html

a complete overview of the Judiciary Committee’s efforts is available here:
http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/

There is a highly energized and organized community of “internet activists” who have made it very easy for you to get involved, just by taking five or ten minutes of your time to respond to “action alerts”—by sending emails to media and government as need arises in rapidly developing litigational, legislative and citizen-based efforts. I encourage you to check in to this site from time to time to see what you can do to help.

http://www.stolenelection2004.com/alerts.html

The People’s Email Network (PEN) has similarly set up an easy system for emailing.
http://www.thepen.us/e-fraud.html

You can reach a lot of media resources quickly and easily with this “Media Blaster”—and it’s fun, too!
http://www.independentmediasource.com/voteintegrity.htm

If nothing else, please sign the Contest the Vote petition
http://www.contestthevote.org/

[oscar111]

12. like it a lot! PS..

People are rushed, doing 2 or 3 jobs.. best to skip most of the intro, get right to what Jesse had to say in abstract form at the very beginning.

Our LW culture is to deal with the public like a professor with a captive class that will sit for an hour, listening.

Rush Limbaugh knows better.. short memes are what works.

[New Earth]

11. that's wierd

i was thinking something similar the other day, almost exact! to have a flyer made up that everyone passes out on the same day...wierd. so obviously i think it's a great idea and i'd be willing to help out and get something started. i actually already have something started on my computer at home, can't get to it right now. it has to be factual, and it has to BE SURE to include the fact that members of the House Judiciary Committee are on the case - and that Kerry is aware of what is going on and it shoudl mention what he's done so far to help (just mentioning the fact that he's at least a little into this will help). It has to include everything and everyone that will make people listen and believe what they are reading. and it should not bash Bush or Republicans - it needs to have a non-partisan tone and factual info with very credible people mentioned.

i'm also really good with designing/setting up message boards if that needs to be done.

[crispini]

13. Great! Let's think short-term for now.

Let's work up a flyer specifically to go out in late Dec with the aim to "find us a senator" so to speak. A call to action.

Then let's just pick a day and see how many people we can sign on to get it out there.

PM me if you want some help. Let's chat tonight, eh? I bet if we get the copy all edited and fixed up well we could coax bigpathpaul into making it more beautiful.