Patrice Riemens: [mcspot] [Fwd: New Media Awards]

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From: Patrice Riemens <patrice@xs4all.nl>
Subject: (Fwd) [mcspot] [Fwd: New Media Awards]
To: nettime-l@desk.nl
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1999 10:33:33 +0200 (CEST)

-------- Original Message --------

Subject: New Media Awards
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 1999 18:01:03 +0100
From: Stefan Magdalinski <stefan@isness.org>



Thanks for an interesting time last night, and thanks for giving
http://www.stand.org.uk two awards. 

We were honoured to have been considered in the same league as
http://www.mcspotlight.org/ , but I found it astonishing to be told
afterwards that you edited your presentation of their site in the awards
ceremony to remove the sites' coverage of http://www.j18.org , because,
according to one of your organisers, "it wouldn't have fitted in". 

The June 18th protests were, with the exception of the inevitable tiny
minority, peaceful, constructive, democratic, and valid. It was mostly
about environmental damage, better conditions for cyclists, and Third
World debt. They are not the IRA, or Combat 18. They also used the net
more powerfully than anything we've ever done. 

Here's the paragraph from the McSpotlight page:

"DAY OF PROTEST & PARTY IN FINANCIAL CENTRES ACROSS THE GLOBE 

On Friday 18th of June thousands of people will come to party and protest
in dozens of financial centres around the world. Take the day off and join
in this global day of action against capitalism" 

Terrifying. Obviously worthy of censorship from a left-leaning political
magazine. 

And this, we should stress, is not a minor part of McSpotlight's advocacy.
Coverage and publicity for J18 was one of their principal aims in the last
few months.  How can you honour McSpotlight with a nomination, but then
omit to accurately describe the things that they believe in? Journalistic
integrity? Respect for the work that they've done? 

STAND's politics are not the same as McSpotlight's, but I think we'd find
it very curious if you had, in describing our work, sought to blur our
message simply out of fear of what the audience of MPs, Labour Ministers,
and corporate sponsors that you invited to this event might make of it. 

Part of STAND's committment is to educate MPs about the nature of debate,
and action, and feeling on the Net. We'd assumed that was the intent
behind these awards, too. If you're afraid to represent them properly to
your parliamentary mates, we'd prefer it if you spent less time graciously
handing out gongs to Net activists, and more time listening to what they
actually had to say. 

see you next year. 

stefan

-- 
/**
Stefan Magdalinski 07931 376142
stefan@isness.org
icq: 5261825
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----- End of forwarded message from Eveline Lubbers -----