'Media for the 99 Percent' Challenges Corporate Media with Joint Coverage of May Day Protests Nationwide

SAN FRANCISCO, April 26, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This year, International and Immigrant Workers' Day, May Day, will usher in a spring of protests fueled by the rise in anti-immigrant legislation and enforcement, a lopsided economic recovery that favors the few, and a reemergent Occupy movement poised to challenge corporate power. 

If past coverage is any indication, corporate media will not tell the May Day story accurately or with depth or analysis. That's why more than 25 independent media outlets belonging to TheMediaConsortium are collaborating to provide coordinated, national coverage of May Day events from around the country.

Calling themselves "Media for the 99 Percent" (www.mediaforthe99percent.com), these diverse outlets will offer a live TV and streaming broadcast, an interactive map, breaking news reporting, and coordinated social media coverage across their sites, reaching a combined audience of more than 50 million Americans.

"With this May Day collaboration, independent media will show that live national coverage can reflect the breadth, diversity, and complexity of the American people," says Jo Ellen Green Kaiser, executive director of TheMediaConsortium.

Independent media outlets have stayed with the Occupy story through the winter with unparalleled reporting: books by YES! Magazine and AlterNet; a weekly "Occupy the Media" TV program by FreeSpeechTV; cover features by InTheseTimes, TheAmericanProspect, TheNation, and MotherJones; in-depth and breaking news reporting by Truthout, MakingContact, the PublicNewsService, FreeSpeechRadioNews, and many others.

On May Day, the Mediaforthe99 Percent outlets will leverage their existing platforms and reporters to provide coordinated national multimedia coverage, featuring:

An interactive Map: Find out where actions are happening across the country and follow the independent media's by-the-minute coverage with links to video, audio, photos, and blog reports.

Television and Live Stream Broadcast: Free Speech TV will broadcast live (and live streamed) news coverage throughout the day, featuring reports from around the U.S., as well as in-studio commentary.

Curated Social Media Coverage: Using the Storify platform, Media for the 99 Percent will offer a curated narrative of breaking news via blog updates, along with photos and social media posts from reporters on the ground.

All three content tools are available for embedding by other news outlets and the public. These tools can be found at: www.mediaforthe99percent.com

Adds Don Rojas, executive director of Free Speech TV, "This independent media collaboration will provide a perspective of May Day activities that will not be found in the corporate media."

Available Spokespeople:
* Jo Ellen Green Kaiser, Executive Director, The Media Consortium
* Don Rojas, Executive Director, Free Speech TV

To set up an interview with Jo Ellen or Don, please contact:
Lisa Rudman, (510) 459-8558, [email protected]
or Katie Sheehan, (415) 743-6477, [email protected]

Spokespeople Bios

• Jo Ellen Green Kaiser, Executive Director, The Media Consortium

Currently the executive director of The Media Consortium, Jo Ellen has worked for a succession of independent magazines, including stints as Managing Editor and Associate Publisher of Tikkun, Publisher of LiP: Informed Revolt, and Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief of Zeek. She is driven by a belief that democratic societies thrive only when their members have access to accurate information and informed opinion. A leading figure in Jewish media, Jo Ellen is an expert on the Jewish social justice movement. She is the co-editor of Righteous Indignation.

• Don Rojas, Executive Director, Free Speech TV

Don Rojas joined Free Speech TV in 2009, and is responsible for leading the organization's evolution and growth.  An internationally-renowned journalist and communicator, his distinguished career spans over 30 years as a newspaper editor, general manager of a major New York City radio station (WBAI-Pacifica), the first communications director of the NAACP, media manager at Oxfam America, Internet publishing pioneer (The Black World Today) and former press secretary to the late Prime Minister Maurice Bishop of Grenada. Don has lived, traveled and worked in the United States, Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

About The Media Consortium:
The Media Consortium is a national network of independent media. Our mission is to support and grow the impact of the independent media sector.

Contact: Lisa Rudman, (510) 459-8558, [email protected]
or Katie Sheehan, (415) 743-6477, [email protected]

SOURCE The Media Consortium