Media Democracy Day 2010: Coordinating Committee Meet Up

In Attendance: Gala Milne, Steve Anderson, Andrea Fields, Jennifer Kendall

Unable to attend: Kt Raso, Zahed Mardukhi, Vivian Pan

Summary:
 This event was meant to mostly allow people who are interested in helping
out with MDD this year a chance to get to know one another, get a sense for
what they want their involvement level to be, and to share some ideas
around programming options (keynotes, panels, workshops)
 We discussed what progress has been made so far, including the booking of
our venue (Vancouver Public Library, Central Library), securing sponsorship
from mainly academic institutions, initial contact with preferred keynotes,
and a look at the kind of support that we will require from the coordinating
team this year.
 Please find appended to this summary a booklet of information that was
distributed at the meeting containing Library regulations, Tyler’s vision
statement, and a summation of confirmed progress.

Organizational Structure:
 In that MDD has been taken on by the School of Communication at SFU as
opposed to an NGO, it is being organized at a more institutional as opposed to
grassroots level, and the initial progress that has been made has come largely
from the work of an Advisory Committee at SFU.
o There was some concern expressed that, with the advisory committee,
there isn’t a clear way in which coordinating team members can be
involved in the decision-making process
o The Advisory committee has dealt with much of the front-end
administration, but will become much less involved as Fall
approaches, and so the coordinating crew will carry through on the
actual execution of the event, and are encouraged at all times to
contribute to the brainstorm/planning/execution of the event.
o Ideally, programming, workshops, panels, and keynote suggestions
will come from the coordinating crew and community as much as
possible. Tyler will be sending out an open call for programming
options the week of June 28th
 Further, for those volunteers interested in a more long-term
engagement with the project, there are several key roles that
have been identified by past coordinators as essential to
successful execution of the event:
 Promotional writers/assistants: Kt Raso has
volunteered to help out here- we will talk more to
determine your exact involvement, Kt.
 Media Fair liaison/coordinator: We’ll be communicating
with many different organizations to plan and run the
media fair in the promenade, and will need someone to
 be the point person for these organizations, confirm
their attendance, and greet them/provide them with
support and information on site.
 Technical/Logistics Assistant: This will be more of a
day-of role. Most operational problems tend to come
from tech issues, and so we want to have 1-2 people
with stronger technical skills floating at the venue to
provide tech support as needed.
 Volunteer Team coordinator: Last year, Breanna
Bergeron worked to assemble, communicate with, and
confirm a day-of volunteer team. Ideally, we’ll have a
similar role this year, so that volunteers have a single
contact throughout the lead-up period, who will also
serve as their point-person on-site.
 Fundraising Concert Crew: Andrea Fields has
volunteered to coordinate the fundraising concert at the
Railway once again this year, but will likely require the
help of the coordinating crew for postering, word-of-
mouth promotions, on-site volunteers, and the like.

Poster Design/Communications:
 Kt suggested in an email that we turn the poster design process into a contest
for SFU Students. The crew took some time to discuss this option:
o MDD will have two sets of posters: one for internal library
distribution that must follow the guidelines provided in the booklet
found below. The second is for our own external distribution, which
can be whatever we want it to be.
o The team liked the idea of bringing in a community-sourcing process
for the second set of posters, as these don’t need to be completed as
early as the Library posters, but also suggested that maybe a contest is
a bit too much administration, and might not yield the response we’re
looking for from students.
o The suggestion was that we would use a single designer (volunteer
Amanda McCuaig) to design the Library poster, and then look to a
wider group for design ideas for the external poster.
o Tyler will be planning a visuals/communication/design session
in the near future to discuss the kind of visual direction our
promo materials will take this year.
 Will distribute the date+time to the coordinating team so that
everyone has input on how MDD will look and feel this year.

Programming Suggestions:
 From discussions in the advisory council, we have a couple options we’re
pursuing for opening keynote speakers:
o Avi Lewis of Al Jazeera English
 o Cory Doctorow
 However, we would like a strong closing keynote, as well. We can feel free to
suggest some bigger names, as we may be able to secure a bit of funding from
the CCPA towards a big-name draw. At the meeting, Andrea suggested we
invite Naomi Klein and bill her appearance as CCPA sponsorship- will follow
up on this this week.
 Feel free to make further suggestions for keynotes on the wiki, which you
will all be invited to.
o We would like to have our opening and closing keynotes
confirmed by mid-July for promotional purposes
o Personal note from Tyler: I’d also love to see a speaker that isn’t a
white male journalist! Don’t be afraid to suggest media
artists/innovators of all kids!
 Also, there is a page for workshop and panel brainstorming on the wiki that
everyone can contribute to. There are several suggestions already on this
page.
 As mentioned above, we will also be sending out an open call for panel and
workshop ideas this week to get input from the community, and potentially
have organizations/individuals take on the coordination of some panel
sessions.

Railway Fundraiser:
 We closed by addressing the Railway Fundraiser:
o We would like to book bands that balance a community/activist
presence with a “buzzy” name, to try and turn MDD into a project with
a broader appeal and open it up to an audience that may have never
considered the issue of media democratization before
o We are going to offer musicians in-kind promotional support, a
catered spread, and billing as sponsors of the event in exchange for
their time
o If you would like to help out with the Railway concert, email Tyler
(mddcoordinator@gmail.com) and Andrea
(andreacora.fields@gmail.com) and we’ll get you set up.
Media Democracy
Day 2010
Question. Create. Transform.
Media Democracy Day 2010: Vision Statement

Since 2001, Media Democracy Day has united engaged citizens, activists, media and
cultural producers, academics, students, and community leaders in a dynamic,
charged, and urgent discussion of the state of our Canadian media system. By
questioning dominant message structures, promoting citizen engagement in
practices of production, and parlaying both into progressive social change and key
action items, MDD has given rise to a vibrant media democratization network in
BC’s lower mainland, aligning Vancouver with a global call for a media system that
serves citizens before corporate bottom lines.

Media Democracy Day was initially predicated upon one key slogan: Know the
Media, Be the Media, Change the Media. This phrase suggests a three-pronged
approach to media democratization in Canada.

1. To know the media demands citizen engagement, critical discussion, and

analytical dissection of how meaning and information are produced today.
This means interrogating the political economy of communication, opening
up the back rooms of the production and distribution chain, and highlighting
the biases of representation embedded therein.
2. To be the media means taking charge of the myriad opportunities available
for citizens to participate actively in the creation of meaning within the
culture. MDD promotes this engagement by providing attendees with free
workshops focused on how to transform and denaturalize the hierarchical
audience-producer binary established by decades of corporate control of the
media.
3. To change the media requires that we harness both political-economic
inquiries and media production to the task of transformation. By gathering
independent and activist media outlets in one place around common themes,
MDD hopes to transform a loose association of like-minded groups into a
coherent movement capable of mounting a legitimate challenge to the
dominance of the corporate, mainstream media.

As this year’s head coordinator, I feel that this theoretical frame is immensely
productive and reflects a decidedly Gen-2.0 sensibility. To assume that we are
passive receivers of media messages vastly underestimates both our individual
critical capacities and our ability to work with others to question cultural mores.
Digital communication demands a frame of analysis that recognizes both the
empowering and detrimental effects of open data, crowd-sourced media production,
and social networking platforms. For this reason, I would like to adapt this year’s
Media Democracy Day framework from this original vision:

Media Democracy Day Vancouver 2010: Question. Create. Transform.

The “Question. Create. Transform.” slogan draws upon the founding principles of
MDD, while also increasing the scope of the event and suggesting the urgency of the
movement. Media discourses are never limited to discussions of media. Past MDD
events have interrogated environmental destruction, immigration policy, new
definitions of citizenship, and the reclamation of public spaces in the urban
environment. Of course, MDD examines these issues through the critical lens of
Communication Studies, but the impact of the event as a whole extends well beyond
the realm of images, words, and sounds, into the broader projects of social justice,
the creation of democratic discourse communities, and the lived experiences of
today’s citizens. By simplifying our vision and slogan, we recognize the importance
of media in shaping and influencing the way we see the world, yet also invite a
diverse mandate focused not simply on media transformation but also upon social
transformation through media.

In the past number of months, a number of global events have made a politicized
discussion of media more necessary than ever. Global marquee events such as the
Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games have witnessed the legitimation of citizen
and unaccredited journalism; the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has made the question of
environmental communication and greenwash tragically relevant; and election
fraud in Iran has shed light on the power of digital media to liberate dissenting
voices within oppressive political regimes. It is my hope that in such an
environment, Media Democracy Day 2010 will bring together a diverse collection of
alternative and independent voices to deeply question how we come to know this
world, actively engage in creating solutions to its problems, and transform it for
the better.

Twitter: @MediaDemocDay, #MDDVan

Facebook: Media Democracy Day Vancouver
Official Website: www.mediademocracyday.org
Media Democracy Day Co-coordinators:

Tyler Morgenstern
Co-coordinator, Media Democracy Day Vancouver 2010
MDDCoordinator@gmail.com
778.385.8448

Gala Milne
Co-coordinator, Media Democracy Day Vancouver 2010
Gsm2@sfu.ca
778.847.4252

Media Democracy Day Advisory Council 2010:

Dr. Stuart Poyntz

Assistant Professor of Communication, Simon Fraser University
Programming and Event Coordination Advisor
Spoyntz @sfu.ca

David Murphy
Lecturer, School of Communication, Simon Fraser University
Promotions and Communications Advisor
davidcot@sfu.ca

Dr. Kathi Cross,

Lecturer, School of Communication, Simon Fraser University
Media Fair Advisor, Advisory Committee Chair
kcross@sfu.ca

Dr. Robert Hackett,

Professor of Communication, Simon Fraser University
Funding and Sponsorship Advisor
bobhackett2010@hotmail.com
The Story So Far:

Date:
Media Democracy Day 2010 will take place November 6 from 12 PM-5 PM at the
Vancouver Public Library, Central Library (350 West Georgia)

Our Venues:
Pre-MDD Reception:
 W2 Woodward’s has generously agreed to sponsor a pre-MDD reception on
the evening of November 5. We will secure a guest speaker to deliver a short
(10-15 minute) address, which will be followed by a social.
 Details of the event are still being confirmed, but W2 will provide the space
free of charge, potentially contribute to the cost of refreshments, and provide
us with valuable cross-promotion as we will technically be one of their
“launch events” in the new Woodward’s space.
 We will be in charge of programming and administration.

Media Democracy Day:

 Media Democracy Day 2010 will be hosted by the Vancouver Public Library,
Central Library (350 West Georgia)
 As the Library is contributing an essential part of our operations, MDD is to
be billed as a co-sponsored event put on as a collaborative effort between
co-sponsors SFU School of Communication and the Vancouver Public Library,
and coordinating partners OpenMedia.ca

 The Promenade:
Each day, approximately 7,000 people pass through the Promenade to access
the library. This high-traffic, covered street space also houses retail shops
and food and beverage vendors. Illuminated by natural light, the Promenade
provides ideal exposure for information booths and trade fairs. A full trade
fair is afforded 2,012 square feet in which up to 30 tables can be set.
o Configuration: Full trade fair arrangement. This allows for 30 tables
to be placed, with usually two chairs at each. Additional chairs can be
brought in, but final requirements should be confirmed 7 weeks in
advance (September 18, 2010)
o Equipment Provided: The library will provide one table and two
chairs to every exhibitor. Power is available through floor outlets.

 The Alice McKay Room

The Alice McKay is our main panel room, and when set up for a public
address, holds approximately 300 people.
 Configuration: The room will be configured in the standard
author/lecture set up throughout the day. This provides us a single
 podium, a table and four chairs for a panel on the stage, and
approximately 300 chairs for public seating.
 Equipment Provided: In the Alice McKay, the Library will provide
and set up:
 Wall-mounded, 9-foot projection screen
 Adjustable lighting
 Chairs
 Rectangular tables (2’ x 6’)
 Podium with microphone
 Microphone on floor stand
 Microphone on table stand
 A/V cart
 Small 8’ x 12’ stage
 Water for speakers in recyclable cups

 The Alma VanDusen/Peter Kay Room

The VanDusen and Kay rooms are smaller workshop and lecture spaces
where we will run our concurrent panels and hands-on media production
workshops in groups of approximately 60 people. Both rooms, when set up
in a lecture configuration, will seat a maximum of 60 people.
 Configuration: The room will be configured in the standard
author/lecture set up throughout the day. This provides us a single
podium, a table and four chairs for a panel on the stage, and
approximately 60 chairs for public seating.
o Equipment Provided:
 Wall-mounded, 8-foot projection screen
 Chairs
 Rectangular tables (2’ x 6’)
 Podium with microphone
 Microphone on floor stand
 Microphone on table stand
 A/V cart
 TV/DVD Station
 Water for speakers in recyclable cups

Promotional Environment:
We have been developing an integrated, harmonized, multi-platform promotional
strategy built more around networking and the creation and distribution of strong
editorial-style content as opposed to pure “advertising” strategies:
 Social Media Networking:
o Media Democracy Day is present on Facebook through a Fan Page,
which allows us to be present in people’s news feeds on a daily basis.
We have been trying to use the Facebook page as a place to post
interesting articles form around the media/activist networks, as well
 as updates and announcements on progress of MDD planning, so as to
provide a service to fans, as well as promote the event.
o We also use Twitter heavily, but NOT for “promotional” purposes.
Twitter is ideal for making announcements and quickly distributing
updates on our progress, but it is to be use more as a networking
tool. It’s a great way to build friendly, informal relationships with
great organizations that we can later contact and invite to the event.
 Traditional Promotions:
o We have distributed one traditional media release so far, announcing
the date and time of the event, and providing media organizations
with contact information should they want comment. It has been
picked up and responded to by a few organizations so far, and led to
some great programming opportunities.
o Postering will take place as per usual. We have a volunteer signed on
to design our two posters (one for internal Library distribution, one
for general distribution by our own team of volunteers), but we also
have a suggestion from Kt Raso, one of our volunteer coordinators to
turn poster design into a competition to engage the student
community at SFU.
 Promotional/Fundraising Concert:
o Last year, the MDD crew put on a Fundraising concert at the Railway
Club to create momentum and buzz around the event a couple weeks
in advance, and in the process, raised about $650 for operational
costs.
o Andrea Fields, last year’s MDD coordinator, has generously
volunteered to take on the planning of this year’s concert, and has
been in contact with the Railway regarding our preferred dates.
o To pay wait staff and sound assistants. The Railway requested 20% of
door sales last year, and will likely do the same this year. We feel this
is a fair request, as to pay the operational costs of a night of live music
is usually more than 20% of door sales.

Library Information:

The Vancouver Public Library is pleased that we will be hosting the SFU School of
Communication for Media Democracy Day on November 6, 2010. We have booked
our Promenade, Alice MacKay and Alma VanDusen rooms which are located on the
lower level of the Central Library. Your contact for this program is Sophie
Middleton.

Program details:

 The program begins at 12:00 p.m. and ends at 5:00 p.m. The rooms must be
empty by the stated end time.
 Book/CD/DVD sales: a table can be set up in the room to sell the
author/performer’s books/CDs/DVDs. You may sell these items yourself or
arrange your own bookseller/vendor.
 Soliciting donations, silent auctions or fundraising activities of any kind are not
permitted.

Vancouver Public Library Program Co-Sponsorship: Policy

 
1. Co-sponsored programs are open to the public and free of charge.
2. Soliciting donations, silent auctions or fundraising activities of any kind are
not permitted.
3. Book/CD/DVD sales are permitted. You may sell these items yourself or
arrange your own bookseller/vendor. No other types of sales are permitted.
4. Providing food and beverages (including alcohol) to the public is not
permitted
5. Room set-ups must be arranged at least 7 weeks in advance. Last-minute
requests for changes to room set-ups will not be accepted.
6. Room access is ½ hour before the start time of event unless prior special
arrangements are made with the program contact. Co-sponsors may not
enter the room without their program contact present.
7. The following disclaimer statement will be posted outside all meeting rooms
regardless of occupant: "Statements being made or positions being taken
during meetings do not necessarily reflect the opinions or values of the
Vancouver Public Library Board."
8. All activities and programs conducted in Library buildings and all persons
using the Library space are subject to the general rules and regulations of the
Vancouver Public Library Board.
9. Groups and organizations using Library space must not interfere with the
regular on-going function of Library service.
10. The Library reserves the right to cancel co-sponsored events.
11. Co-sponsors charging an admission fee or requiring a donation for entry will
be charged the regular rate for the room.
12. Co-sponsors will agree not to contravene the Criminal Code of Canada and
the Human Rights Act of British Columbia during the course of their event.

Vancouver Public Library Room Co-Sponsorship: Regulations

1. Co-sponsors must provide their own AV equipment.

2. The Library accepts no responsibility or liability for equipment brought to or
left on premises.
3. The Library can provide tables, chairs, risers, podium and certain other
conference supplies.
4. The Library's logo is copyrighted and may not be used without the express
written consent from your program contact or the Graphics Department.
5. The client is responsible for any licenses and fees required by third parties.
 6. Signage may not be posted on the painted walls or doors. Pins (2 inches) or
Velcro (hook side) may be used on the cloth walls. One sign holder is
provided for each room. A fine will be levied if walls are marked by signage.
7. All garbage/recycling generated by the event must be placed in the
appropriate receptacle immediately following the event and the room must
be left in the condition it was found. Please remove cardboard boxes and
other large items from premises.
8. Chalk or marking devices may not be used on the paving stone of the Plazas
or other surfaces.
9. Smoking is not allowed within the Library building and in any interior
Library space.