MEDIA EDUCATION

Event: Root Causes, Our Cures: Women's Activism for Media Justice and Reform, an interactive workshop at the WAM!2005: Women, Action & Media conference in Cambridge, Mass.

Liza Dichter, board member of WIMN and cofounder of CIMA – Center for International Media Action, works with workshop attendees to outline a list of strategies women can use to effectively advocate for better media content and more just media policy, such as:

• Creating independent media networks
• Civil disobedience
• Legal advocacy/lobbying policymakers
• Generating public outcry/support for policy change
• Local pressure and work with local governments on policy issues such as cable broadcasting regulations
• National partnerships with labor, social justice coalitions, etc.
• Media watch and monitoring groups

The group collectively brainstormed a short list of resources and organizations doing media advocacy, and encouraged participants to contact the facilitators for additional resources:

• MoveOn.org
• Free Speech TV
• Cable access
• Zines
• Independent women’s magazines and publications
• Low-power FM radio