Memphis! Episode 2

by A.man.I

It was a smooth road to Memphis. I travelled from Atlanta, through Birmingham Alabama, into Mississippi, and finally arrived at the "home of the blues" about six hours after my road trip began.

Now remember, these events took place the weekend of January 12th. It takes time to edit these adventures for your viewing pleasure. The National Conference for Media Reform was a very interesting experience. There wasn't a large presence of mainstream media, but some local Memphis stations covered the event. Speakers and participants were highly critical of the mainstream - how minority issues are covered, and the way the news networks have covered the war in Iraq. Just about everyone stressed the need for more voices to be heard, and why coverage needs to better reflect this nation's diverse communities.

I was most interested in hearing how people felt about the way the news covers urban issues, and what people think about citizen journalism. From the Rodney King beating to 9/11, people who are non-journalists have been sharing videos with news outlets. Now, the Internet, and sites like YouTube, have cut out the middle man.

YouTube version
Download video (wmv)