RAT a brainstorming session

[Gaby <gaby@ratconference.com>]

Dear All,

Another addition to the awesome lineup
(http://www.ratconference.com/philarat/schedule.htm)
came in tonight. 

Eric Galatas (of Colorado?) will lead:


Medium Hot/Medium Cool/Medium Just Right 
or 
“Brecht Seizes TV” 
a brainstorming session 
Saturday, 11:30 to 1pm
Bertolt Brecht tried his luck with Hollywood and the new and powerful
medium of film, but was rejected, perhaps because his particular brand of
political theater was seen as a clear and present danger to commodity
capitalism.
What would have happened if he had been given the keys to his own
network?
Please come out for a discussion on how theater artists can harness new
media networks, and find ways to deepen their impact in local, regional
and international communities.

Background:
According to Ben Bagdikian’s groundbreaking book THE MEDIA MONOPOLY
(Beacon Press, 2000), six conglomerate corporations currently dominate
all print, broadcast and entertainment media in the U.S. But in spite of
this seemingly monolithic stranglehold on politics and culture,
alternative networks, like RAT, and others, are sticking it out, and with
some success.
For example, while activists were organizing to shut down the World Trade
Organization’s ministerial meetings in Seattle, an ad hoc network of
television, radio, print, and internet groups came together to establish
an Independent Media Center
(www.indymedia.org).
The goal was to make sure that messages critical of corporate
globalization would make it past the gates of corporate-owned 
media.
So when CNN reported that no rubber bullets were being aimed at
peacefully assembled demonstrators, the IMC responded. Photos and video
stills, taken directly in the line of fire, of the very same rubber
bullets, concussion grenades, and chemical agents unleashed upon
non-violent protestors were posted on the IMC web site. And next to the
visual evidence, in-depth articles were linked, explaining _why_ so many
had taken to the streets to shut down the WTO.
On November 30th, the IMC site registered over a million hits. CNN
decided to change its story.
And it’s not just the sensational and violent actions that play on the
the IMC networks. Guerilla street theater, puppets, banners, music,
street raves ­ you name it ­ are trans-mediated by IMC video, print,
photo and radio teams.
Since Seattle, some 54 IMCs have sprung up in communities across the
globe. Collectively, this very loose affiliation of media activist has
produced web sites, 35 hours of live television, a monthly tv series, a
dozen or more documentaries, a global weekly newsheet, and countless
daily radio broadcasts.