Google is currently in talks with Twitter. Google is interested in buying out the company. How will this effect the ability for journalists and others to mobilize people in social gatherings and events?
Twitter is highly effective and was reportedly the first site that broke out the Mumbai bombings.

Remember how google and yahoo both censored and took a controversial Chinese professor's name out of the search engine? i think that people should definitely be wary of this buyout.

Glenn Greenwald and Amy Goodman

On Tuesday, Gleen Greenwald blogger of Salon.com and Amy Goodman, of Democracy Now, came to speak at the State Theater as recipients of the Izzy Award. Moments I really enjoyed and will remember from their speeches:
Glenn Greenwald:
Glenn spoke about the importance of understanding the concept of independent journalism. It is essentially the kind of journalism that we should be practicing. Journalism should be independent. There shouldn't HAVE to be independent journalism because the word journalism itself should not have to be separated into corporate, mainstream but it is because of the way our various media outlets exist: CNN, FOX, MSNBC vs. Democracy Now, TPM Muckraker, etc.

He also mentioned how many people seemed to view the late Tim Russert's Meet the Press television program to be a place for democratic discussion. However, Vice President Dick Cheney saw the show as something that he could use to manipulate a medium and control the public's way of thinking. Cheney believed that Tim Russert (without knowing that he was really doing this) was the best person to help him control his message for the Bush Administration.

Also, Glenn stated that the media was to blame in terms of being a "partner in crime" with the American government by propagandizing the wars taken place during the Bush Administration. The American mainstream media was fully supportive and biased in support of the war, lauding the government's intentions.

"All journalism by definition is independent, and if it's not independent, it's not journalism"-Glenn Greenwald.

Amy Goodman of Democracy Now:
Goodman discussed how the independent media's responsibility as journalists was to represent the "lost voices" --the ones unheard in the corporate media.
I never thought of the media (or what it should be) in this way until she described it in this brilliant manner:
"The media is a huge kitchen table"... it should be a place of discussion for war and peace, life and death.
In a civilian society, journalists need to understand that they must be the voices of those who are disadvantaged and need their thoughts and issues heard.
Goodman believed that Democracy Now's motto, "The Exception to the Rulers", should be universal. The problem, to Goodman, is that people have lost faith in the traditional media and that is exactly why Democracy Now and other independent media outlets are on the rise of popularity.
She strongly advocated and discussed how essential it was for journalists to maintain and ensure that the internet will continue to be open and free. Private corporations are leasing the public airwaves and this is simply a nonsensical idea. This idea of large, special-interest corporations taking over public space is a dangerous one that will lead to more dangerous consequences in the near future.
I am highly moved and influenced to create greater social change and to stand up for what I truly believe in --practicing independent media and being the voice for those who are disadvantaged and misrepresented/unrepresented. Amy gave a strong speech at the Izzys about how are country was founded on a framework of democracy and freedom. Yet at a convention like the Republican National Convention which is supposed to celebrate democracy, citizens' rights are being violated. Citizens are being violated of the right to know what is taking place and be informed. Journalists are physically assaulted, beaten, and harassed by the government police.
The youtube video that was recorded of Nicole Salazar, a fellow Democracy Now producer who was severely beaten by the federal government's police force, drew a huge response and truly showed the power of grassroots organization of media groups. The occurance recorded on video flashed a spotlight into the reality of what was going on.
Are we really a democracy then? What have we turned into? But do we, journalists, give up at this point?
Amy and Glenn really opened my eyes into the tremendous future that lies in independent media. It is certainly a combination of the Ithaca College Independent Media Center's speakers (Matt Taibbi, Glenn, Amy, etc.) and Jeff Cohen's Independent Media class that has really brought to my attention and more in-depth understanding of the power of grassroots organizing and the freedom that independent journalists have to make create change.

"We will not be silent"-Amy Goodman

When will this stop

The corporate media and its battle (alongside their partner in crime-the government) against the legalization of marijuana.
When will this stop?
CNN EDITS OUT POT PURCHASE BY DL HUGHLEY-ONE OF THEIR NEW ON AIR PERSONALITIES

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/26/cnn-edits-out-pot-purchas_n_179808.html

Can't you just present the news. . . stop editing out and censoring stupid things like this when you feel it necessary to air an Anderson Cooper special on Asian Americans and the political vote (focusing on Asian Americans' involvement in the presidential election) when you interview all these Asian-American immigrants in a supermarket and not one American-born Asian-American...there are a lot of us you know.

Yet you want to not air this D.L Hughley segment on air.. haha.
Don't you have better things to do you on your time to edit, CNN?

HuffPost recently posted this  ...making itself look good and setting itself apart as an online independent media source compared to these companies that are showing print media's downfall...

A newspaper company bailout? hahahhaha... I would prefer the government stay as far away from newspapers ... and the big corporations lose and diminish their control over more media outlets. 

Johann Hari of the London Independent writes an excellent article discussing how although newspapers are doing badly, we certainly cannot have anything that will give the government too much control over newspapers: 

However, i think that Hari should also point out more that although newspaper companies are dying out right now, blogs and other independent media sources have shown how much of an influence they can have on a society and its government.

Citizen reporters are realizing the power they have in their hands to type out and research information to communicate to the rest of the world the truth, and in essence become a journalist themselves. Also, citizen journalists are at the right time when they can work to collaborate with professional journalists to gather more information and make a greater difference. We do not need newspaper conglomerates after all.  Hari doesn't really make a mention of independent media. He should.

Mark Finkelstein

last week, conservative blogger and Ithaca local Mark Finkelstein came to speak to our class. Although i do not agree with Finkelstein's political views, I have a lot of respect for him because he is someone who keeps his views in mind but is also willing to hear and listen to the other side. He gave our class a lot of useful advice on breaking into journalism as an independent blogger. He suggested that we of course, start a blog now. Finkelstein also said that it's important to utilize well known sources or friends of yours (networking) who have connections with larger media outlets. It leaves a footprint for you, and it lets you establish yourself and your work. By being able to communicate more often and take advantage of the networks you have established, you can be successful and potentially get your work out to be showcased to larger media outlets. 

Big Brother is everywhere

For indie media class, i recently read a few articles from FOXNews, Common Dreams, NYTimes, and a few other media outlets regarding how censorship and control of media content is increasing. In fact, it is not only the government that is controlling what we can read and view, but it is also the big corporations like Google and Yahoo who have growing power over what can be searched online. Truthfully, I was never aware of the fact that Google, Myspace, Yahoo, and many others would care or even think of doing such a thing as controlling content on search engines. I honestly thought that there main interest was in obtaining more ads and that their political interests were limited. However, I guess my naivete has obviously been revealed more clearly through my discoveries in these readings. In a country that we hail a democracy, do we really live democratically and freely? Are we really able to exercise our 1st amendment rights? So now big corporations --search engines like Google and Yahoo are following suit of taking political interest in order to seize greater power. There has to be a stop to this. Why should the government and especially corporations take away information that we should know about? This creates a society that lives in a blindfold, with their eyes shut and even their ears muffled from the truth --by today's broadcasters in major corporate media--FoxNews, CNN, we can go on.

A follow up to my previous post-

HYPHEN MAGAZINE- AN ASIAN-AMERICAN MEDIA MAGAZINE DEDICATED TO CHANGING THE WAY WE VIEW AND COVER ASIAN AMERICANS

AN INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE ..WITH SOME SPUNK AND YOUTHFUL, BOLD FLAVOR

here's a follow-up to my previous post regarding my academic research on Asian-Americans and the media.
I recently browsed the web for quite a while to find worthwhile independent Asian-American media outlets. However, I could not find any except Asian Connections.com which seemed to have a good way of putting Asian-Americans into the mainstream spotlight. however, the website rarely updates and its layout is dull and boring. In addition, it seems to market to no particular audience which I think can cause some major problems and give the outlet no particular direction. In addition, it is not clear whether or not the site is sponsored by a corporation or not.
A few days ago though, I looked through more pages of the google search engine to try to dig deeper to see if there were some hidden Asian-american media gems that young, budding journalists were getting started.
I found one site that I wish I could have found earlier to research and write about for Jeff Cohen's independent media outlet paper that was due a few weeks earlier. The independent media outlet is called Hyphen Magazine.

Hyphen magazine presents itself as a hip, modern, and politically-socially aware magazine for young Asian-americans.
So Why the Name HYPHEN??
According to the magazine online... it states :

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Why is your magazine called Hyphen?

Hyphen refers to the debate surrounding so-called "hyphenated identity." Some Asian Americans resist the idea that they are somehow not fully "American" when they are labeled "Asian American." Others wear the identity proudly, while some shrug it off as irrelevant. We believe these differences of opinion reflect the dynamism and complexity that define today's Asian America. Our magazine uncovers these tensions while exploring what it is that ties us together.

-Courtesy of hyphenmagazine.com
It is carried in independent bookstores all across the country although its roots are in San Francisco, Cali. It can also be found online.
It's fiscal sponsor is Independent Arts and Media, which gives them the nonprofit 501 (C) 3 status that allows them to receive donations. The magazine is responsible for raising its own budget.
This is the magazine's about section that tells about its mission and history. It is clearly a magazine dedicated to promoting greater social understanding about the issues of Asian-americans, which in my opinion are buried below more prominent social issues regarding Caucasian-Americans and perhaps African-Americans.
Asian-americans do not seem to be represented accurately at most times in mainstream media and in the entertainment-film industry.

Here's the about section

The magazine was recently awarded for one of its covers.

I congratulate the magazine for successfully portraying an Asian-American male as attractive and more masculine. Asian-american males are constantly facing pressure and stereotypes that depict them as not being masculine, having physically feminine qualities, and not being someone one would think of as a front cover model.
Hyphen Magazine is trying to redefine and put the truth into the spotlight with its magazine.

What the webpage looks like on Hyphenmagazine.com