By Alex Paramo
People often comment to me that they notice my work with Community Publishing. I take that as positive commentary since the point of Community Publishing is to get people noticed. Community Publishing is much more than multimedia books (they are quite important), Digital Marketing (Indigenous Grafix) or Blogs but rather the creation of a media platform that will eventually become open access and free to use. Why would I embark on a project of such magnitude?
Taking Back Democracy
“If the public forum is not fully open, then those who control access become gatekeepers. If they charge money in return for access, then those with money have a greater ability to participate. Good ideas in the minds of men and women who cannot afford the price of admission to the public forum are then no longer available for consideration. The conversation of democracy then comes untethered from the rule of reason and can (is) being manipulated.”
The field of Media Studies provides countless examples of how the “main stream” media has fallen into the control of the hands of a few. Those countless few control what we view, hear, experience and ultimately shape how we perceive the world. These few are corporations controlled by the extremely wealthy.
This is one slide of a great infographic used in an Business Insider article. While this information is common knowledge the gravity of the situation seems lost on us.
Alternative Media
Alternative Media provides an outlet for regular folks like you and I to gain access to media from folks that have different viewpoints from folks from the ultra-wealthy corporate heads that currently control the majority of the media. Furthermore it allows for a diverse group of people to voice their views and concerns. It is crucial that we have as many viewpoints to generate more ideas and allow for greater creativity in our society.
Video Blog (Vlog)
With the idea of diversity of thought in mind, Community Publishing‘s Community Spotlight series strides towards promoting locally based artists of all mediums that are serving the interests of their community. The Community Spotlight Video Blog (Vlog) brings these artists and their ideas to audiences using video. Video is arguably the most effective type of media to engage audiences with. Here is our first installment utilizing the resources of our partner High Def Entertainment | Affinity Music Group.
Join the Movement
Our Community Spotlight Vlog is broadcast using our YouTube Channel (please subscribe). Please consider subscribing to Community Publishing – No Ads, No Spam, No Charge. Run a google search on Alternative Media and subscribe to them or start your own! Thank you for supporting local independent media and publishers like us. Spread the word, the power is in your hands.
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Alex Paramo
Alex Paramo is an Author and Co-Founder of Community Publishing. Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as multimedia eBooks while promoting literacy in our communities.
We are proud to be a community partner and digital programmer at Rail Yards Market.
#JoinOurCommunity at http://communitypublishing.org
