EPIC – the Future of Media

The fast pace of technology and media culture change every thing is possible. There were many things that predicted about the media and it is technology use. We saw many of them were already happened and lots of them are happing. It is also possible to happen what the people are predicting about the media because of the fact growing technological use.
Although cultural change over years and years are one of the factors, technology is the key here. It is possible that ten years from now Google and Amazon may merge and come up lot of community needed media that can culturally changed media and society. We see everyday that the commercial media are undermining the value and the principle of this country. We see human rights abuses. We see the American democracy tradition and political participation are hijacked by few rich and corrupted dishonest journalists. We did not see the rule of law and the old American civil society follows only and respects rule of law. The future of media prediction showed us the possibilities of change and less or almost technical determinisms.
The Google Grid is possible because consumers or media user are already had many storage since the advance of the web 0.2. So, the next decade or so it is possible the media user may have unlimited access and huge amount of storage. These are all EPIC, the Evolving Personalized Information Construct for well informed citizen.

PART 1 EXCERPTS FOR ALLIANCE FOR COMMUNITY MEDIA CONFERENCE

What is the Alliance for Community Media

Community Media is Citizen media

Citizen media is community voice where the news is community news. It is a bottom-up approach, which is open source, and every citizen can contribute to it as a collaborative way. In citizens, ordinary citizens are reporters, photographers, cameraperson and editors to their news. A good example of citizen’s media is such as blogs, vlogs, podcating and do-it-yourself printing media. This is where the citizen’s media differs itself from the mass media which is top-down mainstream media.

Contrarily, mass media is merely profit oriented corporate media that does not care the basic public interest like media access and right to know. In citizens media there is no centrally controlled then distributed media, it is a media that generated by people to the people for the people. Overall, it is a complete civic involvement whether is politics, financial, education, employment and media itself.

What is Community Media

Community media is any form of communications which is noncommercial by nature for the community. The purpose of community media is access that the media activity should improve the quality of life in the community. It provides a passage for free speech and personal expression. A truthful local news and up-to-date information is one of its priorities. It has great purpose for community building. It gives free access to citizens’ who entrust in the creative process, development of arts and cultural activities. Community media make a links for the community and voluntary sector to the local authorities for social rejuvenation. It promotes problem-solving methodology for community with the public at-large. Its standpoint is to strength the democratic process, pluralism, and promotion of citizen’s involvement in their communities and the public. (Guled)

Is Ethnic Media an Option?

As student of media I like to explore different kind of media. The one I thought first it will work best for the community was ethnic. Now, I realize it won’t help the community in number of reasons. One of the important reasons is because it is commercial. It is a profit-base media which is risk for take over like Telemundo Spanish TV. This TV used to be Latino TV but now it is corporate media after take over. When the big corporate media saw how well they doing in the market they take over. So the best option is community media.

What is alternative Media

Alternative media is any media that understands and service a particular social group. There are many social groups that the mass media marginalized them specially new Americans. A people who claims they are US citizens but do not have equal rights with other born US citizen. These new Americans majority of them are speaks and understands ethnic languages than English. There is no way they can get most basic civic information from the mass media. As result, alternative media is best choice.

Empowering

New Americans needs means to communicate and medium that they can exchange information for basic needs. There are many things they need to know their newly adopted country and their local community. They need to know where they can enroll their youngest to schools. How to find a jobs, hospitals if any of their family members is sick. They need legal assistance for the housing and other public services. Everyone of one of these needs requires outreach.

The outreach is an informational exchange among the community that encourages the community to empower itself all the needed information in order every member of the community help his or herself. This community outreach helps both community advocate and the community itself into two unfold ways. First it will empowers the community to adopt do it yourself attitude. Second it will help the community advocates have more time to spend finding other ways they can help their community. The other ways could be a website, radio or newsletter that address most needed information for the community.

Communication, information, outreach emperor's the new Americans to address their problems. They need media that represents them that talks their local language. The mass media won't address their problems because mass media do not understands their daily problems. What they need is that an alternative media whether it is ethnic, community, citizens or diversity media that understands their needs and service their needs.

Outreach

The best way to outreach the new comers is to publish a less cost media like newsletter. There less cost technology that can make easy to produce newsletter. One of these technology is simple compose the raw material with Microsoft Word then sent to the printshop to publish. Nevertheless, it won't that be easy but there will be lot of work need to be done. For instance, contents should be ready in written form. There must be some arts be done like logo and graphic arts and so on.

Information

There is no community in US a community that inneed an information than new comers like Somali community here Boston and near cities and towns in Massachusetts. There is lot of people do not have the basic information such as where they can apply food stamp and where they do bring there youngesters when they come in the country. This people media that were written their first language to communicate with them. This media must be simple, easly accessable and less cost.

Communication

Community building starts with communication. When the community or community activist communicates well with each other community building will become easy and smooth. However, this communication will not happen unless the inside communication within the person happens. The fact of the matter is that human brain has two sides that suppose to communicate well but somehow this does not happen. There are many reasons why they do not communicate well but the important thing is that it will learn to communicate if it give chance to communicate.

Element of the Trade

Every trade has its element and the basic element of worldviews are myth, ideal, realty and civic. Every worldview has these basic units whether it is old, early, middle or new. The differences of these worldviews are how they relate or connect to these elements and how they disintegrate or alienate among the elements. If any one of these elements is missed or ignore there will be an inclination. For instance, myth is important for production of idea to create values that became ideal to deal with the reality in order to be a civil person. In this way, the new worldveiw integrates all these elements to create civil communities or societies. To realize this community building, utilizing the media and information technology is very important first to educate second to empower then advocate for the community .