October 19 - Media democracy day

In our era of rapid concentration and commercialization of the mass media, one major convergence remains: interest groups for media democracy. Media Democracy Day will push for and promote a mass media system that informs and empowers all members of society. Media Democracy Day will connect existing pockets of critical and creative media projects into a coherent message for public attention and local and global actions. Following the rise of social movements for feminism, racial justice, and environmentalism in recent decades, international efforts to democratize the media are now mobilizing for education, protest and change. Media Democracy prioritizes diversity over multiplicity, citizen control over consumer choice, cultural development over commodity trading, community presentation over representation, and public discourse over public relations. We envision three themes for Media Democracy Day: Protest - against a media system based on commercialization and exclusiveness. Education - understanding how the media shapes our world, and limits democracy. Change - call for a media culture that encourages citizen participation and responds to public interests. Demand diversification of media control, equitable representation and community access. This citizens' agenda has been abandoned by government policy and conveniently side-stepped by mainstream media. Even though they use public airwaves and mediate democratic discourse, media corporations face few public interest obligations. Our print, broadcasting and even on-line media products and processes are unable to communicate the broad range of perspectives in our communities because they are addicted to advertising and mainly owned by a handful of national and international corporations. The only audiences these corporations are responsible to are their shareholders and major advertisers. This movement calls for media reform and renewal not just for democracy, but a for a communication system capable of expressing the transformative cultural changes needed for human survival through cooperation and ecological sustainability. Media Democracy Day will bring this vision to life with a day of protest, education and calls for change in the interest of all.