[Media-watch] How is media watch working?

[david Miller]

Dear all,

Following our meeting last night this is a short message to ask for some feedback and to outline how the list intended to operate.

1.  This list started in mid January following a meeting on the media and war in Glasgow.  There are now more than 60 people on the list and there has been quite a bit of traffic.  Given the recent growth of the list I thought it might be worthwhile to outline how the list operates and what it it intended to do.  Media watch is intended to provide a collective information service on media bias and propaganda in relation to Iraq and the 'war on terror'.  The explicit point of this is to try and encourage people to take part in answering back to the media.  This might take the form of complaints about bias, but equally it might involve us in praising journalists who do a good job.  We would like to encourage everyone on the list to write to complain about issues or programmes that annoy them or to praise journalists who produce interesting material.  If you do write, please copy the letter to the list and (later) copy any reply to the list too.  This will hopefully encourage others on the list to also write to the media.  (Remember to be polite in your letters.  It also helps to try and be constructive etc.  Although it is best to use your own words in letters to the media everyone should feel free to plagiarise any letters/information posted on the list for their letters)

In addition there is a third thing that we can do, which is to draw useful and interesting material to the attention of journalists and suggest that they might like to use it.  In the days before the net,  the notion that large numbers of us might be better informed on world events than journalists working in the area was less plausible than it now is.  But it seems to me that many of us are now in a position that we can supply material to journalists of which they are unaware and which they will find interesting.  For example I forwarded the recent interview with Kate Adie that was posted on Media-watch to a couple of people in STV and BBC Scotland and they both emailed back to say they would follow the issue up.  

2. Feedback.  The list has had a variety of traffic from various list members.  As usual with lists like this there are also a fair number of 'lurkers' who don't post material.  There is no problem with this, but it would be interesting to find out from list members what they think of the material that is circulated and what use they make of it.  In particular it would be very useful to know what people think about the possibilities for more of us (on the list and maybe other contacts too) writing to complain/encourage/suggest to the media.   Perhaps people feel that the list is useful as an information source.  Perhaps others feel there is too much traffic etc. Please reply direct to me (to avoid gumming up everyone's inbox) and I will circulate a digest of responses: david.miller at stir.ac.uk

How to use Media Watch
As a reminder:
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If anyone has problems with the list email me.

Hope to hear from lots of you soon.

David