The event focused on media politics and affecting change
By Jennifer Bednard
Photos courtesy of Flickr
On Nov. 2 and 3, students and community members alike descended on booths and panels in the Vancouver Public Library building as part of Media Democracy Days, an annual event organized by both the SFU communication department and members of independent media organizations, to discuss issues in the print and broadcast media. “The big question is, ‘what are timely and relevant issues,’ ” explained Josh Tabish, lead coordinator of this year’s MDD, “‘[and] how does the media inform our understanding of them and action around them?’ ”
The event included workshops, a documentary screening, keynote speeches, and panels on a variety of topics ranging from data and political marketing to the use of scientific evidence in the news. “It’s not just for communications students,” said Kavya Joseph, co-coordinator of the event, “We targeted the international studies department, political science, women and gender studies, environmental science . . . For people in the sciences, it’s knowing to be aware of your relationship with the media and how it affects how science is received by people.”
The diverse programming was made possible in part by an increase in donations. Tabish explained, “This year we got very lucky and received a very large donation from VanCity Credit Union, which gave us more time to imagine more creative programming, rather than trying to scramble together funding.”
Though programming and panel design is decided primarily by members of the communication department at SFU, Kathleen Cross, a professor of communication studies who has been involved with the event for some time, says that there is a high degree of community engagement and involvement as well. She stated, “From the very beginning, it was based on a combination of academics and community. It wasn’t just an academic conference, and it wasn’t just a community conference or practitioners’ conference on how to make things better — it was both. Change will happen when you have a good combination of theory and practice.”
Change in media organizations has been a goal of Media Democracy Days since its inception in 2001. “There was a major media buy by CanWest,” Cross explained, “It was one of the first times that there was a major change in concentration of ownership, and people were very concerned about that. They said ‘We’ve got to start talking about this.’ ” Conversations at previous Media Democracy Days events led to the creation of The Tyee, an online alternative news source and Open Media, a national lobby group that focuses on media and communications issues.
This year’s Media Democracy Days were marked by an unprecedented amount of student involvement. “We had an army of volunteers,” Tabish said, “We could have taken the school over! It was unbelievable. We had to turn people away.” Courtenay McLaughlin, a communications student and volunteer, discussed reasons to get involved, saying “I think it’s a really important opportunity for all communication students to get involved with on some level, because MDD really is the crux of what the communication program is all about.”
Tabish added that the event can benefit students who are looking to get jobs in the media industries. “MDD offers a few things. It brings together all of the progressive and independent and alternative organizations in the Lower Mainland, so for people who want to work in this field, it’s kind of a wonderful show-and-tell session. And through the panels, for people who wish to work in these areas, this is a great way to have a kind of bird’s eye view on what type of media culture exists in the Lower Mainland.”
Organizers said that the biggest benefit of Media Democracy Days is how the event allows like-minded individuals to come together to change the system. Joseph explained, “It’s not just about talking about the media. It’s not just about dialogue. It’s also about creating a platform to bring together so many different people so that we can actually create some kind of change in the media system.”
Cross also points out that this focus means that MDD has produced some outstanding results. She stated, “Open Media was started by four twenty-somethings, and they created one of the most incredible and the most effective national lobbying groups on media and communications issues that we’ve ever seen in this country. You don’t need to be a corporate lawyer to do these things.”
