What’s the Quality of the Blogsphere? –> the presentation of the workshop and debate talked about below: BlogTalk, NewsTalk: Eight Conversations about Politics in Media, the presentation made at de Balie Center for Culture and Politics, on 24 June 2004, are online at http://www.issuenetwork.org/pres/news_networks2/

A N N O U N C E M E N T
Public Debate

“The proper place for justice is the courtroom, not the TV screen.”
- concerned British citizen, 2000

An evening with American Activist-Scholars

with info-graphics about media and rights

De Balie - Centre for Culture and Politics
Thursday, June 24, 20.00 hrs
http://www.debalie.nl
Reservations: 020 - 553 51 00
Part of All-American Issues: Stories from the Homeland, the series
co-produced by de Balie Centre for Culture and Politics and the
Govcom.org Foundation, Amsterdam, with support from the Ford
Foundation, New York.

Global issues hit the homeland. Finally, there are issues from abroad
to awaken the U.S. The U.S.A is normally one of greatest exporters of
social issues. Indeed, for many people globalization is
Americanization. But now the U.S. is witnessing its activist-scholars
importing issues and movements. The World Social Forum is coming to
North America, and with it come the issue lists. Shipping in the
issues these days may provide new opportunities for rights talk,
because the U.S. always has been adept at turning issues into rights.
“Communication Rights,” “Cultural Rights,” “Information Rights” and
“Media Justice” are among the new coinages. But who are the bearers
of these rights? Normally subjects seek rights. But are rights
seeking subjects? And what are the costs of turning issues into
rights?
Media Rights for all?
What if we make the digital divide into ‘Internet rights’?
Can we expand free speech to ‘communication rights’?
Will plurality of voices and diversity of viewpoints make way for
‘media justice’?
When we say ‘cultural rights’, can we really mean that groups have rights?
Do ‘information rights’ imply a Freedom of Information Act for all?

Introduction by Richard Rogers

Speakers include:

Jodi Dean, Hobart-William Smith Colleges Geneva, NY
Noortje Marres, Philosophy, University of Amsterdam
Lisa Brooten, Our Media Network
Seeta Pena Gangadharan, International Media Actor Center
Greg Elmer, Ryerson University, Toronto
Robert Latham, Social Science Research Council
Gerri Spilke, Center for Collaborative Learning, Philadelphia
David Philips, University of Texas at Austin
David Silver, The September Project
Sarah Washburn, The September Project
Philip M. Napoli, Fordham University
Rafel Lucea, MIT Sloan School
Nick Jankowski, Oxford Internet Institute
Catherine Borgman-Arboleda, International Media Actor Center
Info-graphic design by anderemedia.nl
Analysis by Andrei Zelman, Andrei Mogoutov (aguidel.com), Astrid Mager, Erik Borra, Koen Martens, and Catherine Somze (govcom.org workshop producer).

Further information:

Origins of the Media Justice Movement in the USA:
http://nanrubin.com/html/highlander.html
(The Highlander Meeting)

Issuenetwork - the workshop site of the Govcom.org Foundation:
http://www.issuenetwork.org

Media pages De Balie:
http://www.debalie.nl/media

Website Govcom.org Foundation:
http://www.govcom.org