And Now the Rest of the Story....



Much has been made over the last couple of years (and especially in the last several months) about the major media's (aka main-stream media, drive-by media, or alien-media nation) inability to provide balanced news coverage about major events shaping our world....especially in Iraq.

Several times I suggested that a "Good News Hour" would do wonders to combat all the negative reporting, and possibly avoid a decline in public opinion on Iraq. Unfortunately we have turned that corner, and can only now hope to regain ground. Truth and good news still have a place in our media environment.

Perhaps as Glenn Reynolds suggests, the Davids born of the blogosphere could produce an adequate alternative. The Alternative Media Network (AMN) if you will. In my mind, a lot of the ingredients for the recipe are already in place....

Start with some hearty 'Army of Davids' stock, add heaping cup of Pajamas Media ingenuity, mix in a bushel each of Bill Roggio's and Milbloggers, and finish with a dash of Paul Harvey.
- Glenn Reynolds of course penned his tome "An Army of Davids" to promote the premise that "...Markets and Technology Empower Ordinary People to Beat Big Media...", or as Michael Barone puts it "...Reynolds shows that technology can empower individuals to determine their own futures and to defeat those who would enslave us..." of course those who are currently enslaving us are the 'dictators' of the MSM, who decide what is shown and what makes news, and keeps most people down on the information farm. We must buck this yolk, and seek out our own news if we have to....But how?

- Pajamas Media of course represents an aggregation of new media forms, and pushed the idea of distributing video cameras to "Davids" in order to capture an independent view of the 2006 Mid-term elections. PJM sought to enable those who don't hold to the standard MSM agenda, with the ability to show another side of the electoral process. Providing equipment is only half the battle, there must be people behind the cameras and microphones....But who?

- Bill Roggio, blogger and intrepid independent journalist has returned again to Iraq to provide some unvarnished truth. This time he did not sign on with any established press organization to sponsor his application to be an Embed with the Marines in Fallujah. Instead, he formed his own independent company, Public Multimedia Inc., and got clearance to become an Embed ostensibly as a blogger, not a regular journalist. Bloggers of course already exist in Iraq, mostly in the form of ordinary Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, and Sailors. These folks are the heart of our existence and endeavor in Iraq. And has been demonstrated numerous times over, they are the ones who know what stories are not being reported, as is notably demonstrated in Roggio's first dispatch from Iraq. Now if we have equipment and people, we need only stories....But what?

- To find stories in Iraq, one need only to adhere to the guidance of Paul Harvey...."And now you know...the Rest of the Story...." As we know, the MSM gives us plenty of stories, but what an Alternative Media Network should provide is the "Rest of the Story". Those story-lines already exist....they just need telling. Existing bloggers and oft ignored CENTCOM dispatches can point the way....

Of course, those all stand alone as good ideas, but how do you make them work together as an effective media operation?

As I said....all the pieces of this puzzle seem to exist. If PJM could use its clout and reach to find monetary support (they gotta know some rich conservatives right?), they could provide Roggio's Public Multimedia with all the necesary equipment. PJM could also find other prospective reporters, who could sign on with Public Multimedia in order to get Embed credetials. Those new correspondents could ask to embed in those places where good reporting is thin (e.g. anyplace beside a Baghdad balcony), based on leads from those milbloggers and compatriots already in country. On the back end of this new media news cycle, PJM could host a website to distribute all of this new media reporting. Regular bloggers could use their own resourcefulness to cross link items to other outlets like digg.com and YouTube, with the hopes that good news could go viral. Podcasts have been revolutionary, and 'vlogcasts' may be the next big item, as outlets like Hotair.com and iTunes continue to show us.

OK, it may be a small dream, but I would love to see this announcement: "Pajamas Media, in cooperation with Public Multimedia, are pleased to announce the launch of the Alternative Media Network. An online news media outlet with independent correspondents covering stories you won't find in the Main Stream press. Tune in and spread the good news!"

Live the dream!

UPDATE: More often than not, I am a fan of PBS' Frontline. This 4-hour series that "...examines the political, cultural, legal, and economic forces challenging the news media today and how the press has reacted in turn..." looks as if it could be interesting. Although any program on the relevancy of today's news media who's preview excerpts prominently feature Dan Rather, Bill Keller, and Dana Priest, and has Markos Moulitsas as the voice on the rise of Bloggers seems immediately suspect. But it might be fun to watch the self aggrandizement...

Posted: Tue - December 5, 2006 at 05:13 PM          

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