Media, Activism and Sports: The Nation at the National Conference for Media Reform

Media, Activism and Sports: The Nation at the National Conference for Media Reform

Media, Activism and Sports: The Nation at the National Conference for Media Reform

What is "independent media," and why is it so important?

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What is "independent media," and why is it so important? Free Speech TV interviewed a handful of Nation writers at this past weekend's National Conference for Media Reform about their personal projects and what's missing in political discourse as we know it.

 

Where does deregulation end and inequality begin? "Comcast, NBC, ATT, Verizon, all of the big names in the telecomm world are big players in policy making and often push through policies that are bad for communities," says The Nation's Leticia Miranda, "especially low-income people and people of color."

 

For local- and state-based struggles like the uprising in Wisconsin, Nation writer John Nichols says, documentarians and unattached media-makers are integral for capturing what's happening on the ground. Otherwise, "It's almost as if the working people have gotten in the way of power."

 

There's no ignoring, Nation sports editor Dave Zirin says, the political and financial underpinnings of where the World Cup was placed—and yet, "the overwhelming majority of the sports press wasn't drawing these connections." From the seeds of emptiness, in that and other arenas, Game Over was born.

—James Cersonsky

The media makes history, and history makes politics. Read Dave Zirin's Chileanist take on the death of Margaret Thatcher.

We cannot back down

We now confront a second Trump presidency.

There’s not a moment to lose. We must harness our fears, our grief, and yes, our anger, to resist the dangerous policies Donald Trump will unleash on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as journalists and writers of principle and conscience.

Today, we also steel ourselves for the fight ahead. It will demand a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis, and humane resistance. We face the enactment of Project 2025, a far-right supreme court, political authoritarianism, increasing inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis, and conflicts abroad. The Nation will expose and propose, nurture investigative reporting, and stand together as a community to keep hope and possibility alive. The Nation’s work will continue—as it has in good and not-so-good times—to develop alternative ideas and visions, to deepen our mission of truth-telling and deep reporting, and to further solidarity in a nation divided.

Armed with a remarkable 160 years of bold, independent journalism, our mandate today remains the same as when abolitionists first founded The Nation—to uphold the principles of democracy and freedom, serve as a beacon through the darkest days of resistance, and to envision and struggle for a brighter future.

The day is dark, the forces arrayed are tenacious, but as the late Nation editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote “No! This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

I urge you to stand with The Nation and donate today.

Onwards,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

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