2,000 Greater & Lesser Mysteries/2,000 Greater and Lesser Mysteries.iso/bahi/mys00168.txt

Text File | 1994-06-10 | 48.0 KB | 999 lines

O2
            >>> The Alternative Information Network Conference <<<

Contribution 1.
From: William Bowles, Editor, New York On-Line, an alternate information
resource, and distributor of Southscan, a weekly bulletin of southern
African Affairs.

Electronic Addresses: a) possibly here, where you are now reading this, or
at New York On-Line: [phone]; Peacenet: nyonline; MCI Mail:
wbowles; GEnie Mail: w.bowles
Print Address: P.O. Box 829 Brooklyn NY 11202-0018
Voice Address: [phone]

[If you upload this to an electronic system, please try to upload the
additions as well. The same goes for print collections]

     Form
     A Statement of Intent/An ongoing conference/discussion document on:

The need for the formation of an alternative information exchange, that
will encompass both print and electronic media. Such a system could be a
database of alternate information drawn from existing print directories
such as the Alternative Press Index. Or it could consist of both print and
electronic editions of newsletters, magazines, books, papers, news wire
services, press releases, discussion papers (such as this). But far more
importantly, it is the recognition that it is the harmonious combination of
both traditional and new technologies that is at the root of such a system.

Interestingly, the final form is not known yet, nor is it important that we
know. The main thing is to get it moving.

Consider: Reuters News agency grew to occupy the place that it does today
simply because some individuals were in the right place at the right time
to exploit the new technology of wireless telegraphy. About 6 years ago
Reuters and other global information systems lost their monopoly on
knowledge gathering and dissemination. Potentially, each and everyone of
us has the same access to information from around the world.
More importantly, the new technologies alter our relationship to "news"
and information. No longer need we be passive consumers of predigested
pap. Instead, we have the opportunity to SEEK OUT knowledge. But this
implies the use of critical judgement and discrimination in what it is you
read, and where you get the information from (something you may have
noticed that is entirely missing from network news).

Who should "join" this conference? Everyone from Mother Jones to
Processed Word, community groups, solidarity groups, media workers, the
list has no end...

Question: "What is the end product?"
Answer: Ultimately, a worldwide network of information exchange, linking
citywide desktop publishing coops. Such city (or community) based coops
would be on the one hand, the final destination of the information, and on
the other, the originators of information. With such a system we can
bypass the corporate media entirely.

A flight of fancy: A BBS running on a personal computer, with a HyperCard-
based front-end to an optical disk (or disks!) Such a system would contain
as much data as a VERY LARGE library and would be interactive. Cost?:
About $3500

Question: "What do you want me to do?"
Answer: Initially, just read this, the first contribution to the conference.

Question: "Then what?"
Answer: When you have finished reading this, decide if it applies to you or
your group and reply to it, either in print or electronically. Your response
can be whatever you think is relevant. Whatever it is, it immediately will
become a part of this conference and help shape the final outcome. If its
in print form it will be added to the print edition (which will be loose-
leaf), and either sent in toto, or just the new additions will be sent to
those who already have it.

Using desktop printing techniques, not only can it be produced quickly and
easily, but such things as updating indexes, references, directories, is
vastly simplified. Of course the electronic edition will be available in
many forms: Electronically, as part of a searchable database, or as part of
a collection of text files (depending on the location and the facilities)

There are obvious problems to overcome, especially with the print edition.
1.     How for example, will publishers of different editions keep current
with each other?
2.     Should we have a limited number of "approved" publishers? (they
would serve as central distributors for any given region)
3.     Who will pay for the print editions?
4.     Should we constitute ourselves as an organization and collectively
support its development by sharing costs? If for example, we could get
every alternate press, group, publisher or individual supporter to chip in a
few dollars, that could amount to an enormous pot to work with. In return,
everyone who pays will automatically get the ongoing conference
directory (or access to it electronically, which they probably would have
anyway).

Finally, its size and composition is irrelevant. It will be as small or as big
as we want to be.


WHY?
We have reached a watershed in human existence. Increasingly, people are
realising that we must act decisively, or perish. From nuclear
disarmament to the environment; from alienation in the workplace to
empowerment in the community, individuals and groups are forming across
the planet, who, for once, appear to pointing in the same direction --
forward.
Concurrently with this process, new technologies have appeared which
link us globally, enabling us to exchange information as easily with a
friend in Zimbabwe as with a friend around the corner.

It is not too far fetched to say that we are slap-in-the-middle of a global
revolution

     Background
o     We are in the midst of a revolution in production
o     Information has become the primary commodity of advanced industrial
       states
o     This revolution-in-the-making is worldwide
o     The new working class now in the process of formation, is
       increasingly universal in character
o     The computer is dissolving barriers between office and factory
o     Today, 26 corporations control over 80% of the media output in the
       U.S.
     (and 70% of the world's output is controlled by western nations)
o     Tools previously only accessible by corporations or the rich are now
      available to individuals

How?
For the first time we are in a position to challenge the hegemony of the
state and the media/communications giants. The new technologies are now
affordable by all but the poorest amongst us (and by using cooperatives
even the most disenfranchised can gain access to these technologies of
empowerment). Consisting of a personal computer, modem and laser
printer and possibly an electrostatic copier, this combination of tools
puts the power of an entire collective work process in the hands of a
single individual.

More importantly, these new tools do NOT replace traditional means of
communication. Far from it; for it is the judicious combination of new and
old that guarantees the widest circulation of ideas and information.

o     The computer is a "meta-tool." The advantage of the computer is that
      it has no single, or multiple functions, but instead can be shaped to fit
      any task.

Examples of the versatility of the computer to empower the individual

o     This conference

o     The FCC proposal to increase access charges, was in large part
       defeated by many thousands of people using the electronic mail
     capabilities of the computer to bombard the FCC with letters opposing
     the rate hikes. The message was spread from computer to computer

o     A telegram service that one can use to automatically send mailgrams
     to government leaders anywhere in the world. You can even assign the
     writing and sending of grams to a solidarity or community group of
     your choice (average cost: $5 per month)

o     Using desktop design and printing it is possible for an individual to
       put
     out a newspaper or newsletter filled with information collected from
     literally around the world, in under 6 hours in both print and electronic
     format (I have been doing it every week for past 18 months).

o     add your own examples...........

o

o

Ok, that's it for now. This is just to get the ball rolling


New York On-Line Proposes the Formation of
The Association of Alternate Information Providers
Discussion Paper #1

Introduction
Small publishers abound in this country, producing an
immense variety of printed material aimed at all manner of
people and covering every conceivable situation. Most produce
relatively small print runs, as most are what we would call
"specialist" publications. Yet taken collectively, they
constitute an enormous resource of alternate news and
information, that if it had a larger distribution network
would rival the established media corporations in size and
would most definately surpass them in the depth and breadth
of coverage of national and world events.

Many are in fact not really publishers at all in any formal
sense, but are activist, solidarity, or community-based
organizations that need to inform their constituencies or
members of what is happening or what needs to be done (one
thinks of Central America solidarity groups, or environmental
activists, but the range is vast). They may publish weekly,
monthly or quarterly newsletters or brochures in a variety of
formats. They may put out information in the form of alerts,
or even your basic flier. Whatever their format, collectively
they constitute a valuable resource that informs and
enlightens in ways that the established media does not and
never will do.

How can we take better advantage of this collective
resource? Can we reach a bigger audience? Is there a bigger
audience out there?

Obviously the economics of the situation determine to a large
degree why it is so difficult to reach a larger audience. Most
alternate news/information providers have no access to the
mainstream media, whether it be print or electronic. Even
fairly well funded alternate news organizations find it
impossible to break the monopoly of such corporations as
Reuters, UPI, AP, the New York Times or Dow/Jones News
Retrieval, for a variety of reasons that we needn't go into
here. Most magazines, newspapers, radio and television
stations are owned by a handful of corporations. The contents
are homogenized and "safe" for mass consumption. All
reinforce the status quo.

"Freedom of the press belongs to those who own one"

There have been many attempts to catalog this plethora of
material (The Alternative Press Index is one such example),
but API does not distribute nor is that its function. Small
bookshops may contain a cross-section of such publications,
but small bookshops are few and far between and tend to be
concentrated in major urban centers (NY, LA, SF or Chicago
for example), hence they reach only a relatively small
audience. The alternative press offers one such outlet for
news about these publications, but again the problems reside
not in production but in distribution. Distribution is costly.
Most small publications survive by selling subscriptions via
mail. The alternative press itself is in the same predicament!
Major print retailers do not carry alternative newspapers
such as In These Times or the Guardian. Printing and postage
constitute the bulk of costs and the only way to recover these
costs is either by making the price so high as to restrict
access, thus defeating the stated purpose.  Mass circulation
requires big bucks and the advertising to support it. It would
appear to be a "no-win" situation.

Recent developments in computer technology, both in the field
of communications and printing have created the potential to
change this situation. This is where The Association of
Alternate Information Providers (AAIP) comes in. But before
we come to look at the actual mechanics of our potential
production/distribution system, a few words on the actual
technology itself and what it is capable of.

1. Computers/Printers
   Computers are now relatively cheap. A complete PC, with
monitor, hard disk, keyboard and sufficient memory to
undertake most tasks can now be bought for as little as $370!
Even laser printers no longer constitute a major capital
investment (as little as $1000 will buy you a laser printer,
and the cost will keep on dropping). Inkjet printers can be had
for as little as $250, with relatively good output. We all know
about the ubiquitous fax machine and its impact on political
events across the world! There are now relatively few small
organizations that don't possess a computer or even a fax
machine. Portable computers are dropping in price, so even
being "in-the-field" and "in-touch" is now a reality for even
small organizations and individuals. They have become
indispensible to the modern office. Yet many of us do not
realise that the computer is but the tip of the
communications iceberg. By linking the computer to the
telephone network, we can send information around the world
just as easily as we can send it across town! We can even link
computers to fax machines and visa versa. But what does this
mean for us? Essentially, the job of collecting, formatting
and printing a periodical or newsletter can be done by one
person in day utilising this technology. What are the
implications of this technology in the context of challenging
the media monopolies? How can we use this technology to the
best advantage, for in the final analysis, we are still faced
with the age-old problem of distribution. So near yet so far!
2. The Telephone
   The telephone network now spans the globe, linking
hundreds of countries together in a single, electronic web.
Until recently this web was the almost exclusive domain of
corporations and governments, by virtue either of price or a
lack of access to the technology. Even now it's still not cheap
to "phone home". Yet it is cheaper than its ever been, and the
advent of packet-switching networks enables us to send and
receive data via computer to the four corners of the earth for
the cost of a local phone call and a nominal hourly access fee.
PeaceNet for example, charges only $5 per hour off-peak
access. You can send a lot of data in 1 hour! Typically,
connection time to send say a 10,000 word article would take
only a few minutes at the higher speeds of the new modems.
Modems which transmit at 240 characters per second can now
be bought for less than $150. By comparison, Telex transmits
11 characters per second! A 24-fold increase in speed! Even
higher speeds are now available, making transmission rates
of up to 2000 characters per second, or more, possible! This
is an over 180-fold increase in speed over Telex!

3. Distribution
   Yet all of this technology by itself, is useless to us unless
we have a distribution system that can take advantage of it.
We are still faced with the problem of an enormous number of
single sources of information attempting to reach a widely
scattered and diverse audience. Moreover, there is still the
fundamental question of how even gathering and processing
this information is to be paid for, let alone its distribution!
So we have the added problem of the cost of the labour
involved in writing, researching and collecting the data
needed. Most small, alternate organizations, pay peanuts
salaries, offer no health plan or any of the other benefits the
corporate world can afford. Are we expected to work for
nothing, all "for the cause"? Obviously, most of us are not in
this solely for the money, yet we pay capitalist prices for
rent, food, and all the other necessities of life. What we can
describe as our alternate society or culture is not exactly
bursting with financial resources, yet it does raise and spend
billions of dollars in the course of a year. In other words it is
an economic force on the landscape.

How do we do take advantage of our collective power? One
way would be to combine forces. However, this presents us
with a number of perhaps more daunting subjective problems
that need to be overcome, not the least of which are a range
of political problems, like for example, getting such a
disparate assemblage of groups to collaberate together on
such a joint project without tearing each other's hair out. Yet
these problems are not insurmountable. Indeed, they are
potentially easier to solve than many of the problems that
confront us now.

4. Some Suggestions as to Solutions
   What could our AAIP do that all of the individual groups
cannot do?

a) By combining forces we can spread the cost of distribution
between us.

b) We could establish "joint ventures" such desktop publishing
cooperatives.

c) We could amortize the cost of distribution by producing
collective publications (see enclosed sample).

d) We could set up electronic networks for collection and
distribution of information. This already exists and is working
(see enclosed information).
e) We could use our collective economic muscle to advertise
our wares.
f) We could form regional mutual help associations, that
formed the basis of the national association.
g) We could offer our information services (for a fee) to
small newspapers and local radio and television stations.

h) We can internationalize ourselves and form asssociations
with similiar groups in other countries, where perhaps there
is more funding, but definately more information for us to
share and exchange!

As you can see there are a number of solutions to our
problem, each one addressing specific aspects of the overall
situation. There are many more that have not even been
presented here. No doubt, you the reader can supply others. I
offer these as part of AAIP's "starter kit".

What we must never forget is that what we offer is unique:
The information we possess! Let's not beat about the bush; we
are in the business of selling valuable information about the
world we live in! Our collective understanding of our
increasingly inter-dependent planet is unique. It is something
the corporate world does NOT possess. What makes it valuable
is the form we present it in.

This is crucial. We constantly undervalue what we possess
because we are so often caught up in the ideological dead-end
of arguing about the consumer society, whether we should
make a living out of an alternate culture, whilst in reality,
that's precisely what we are doing anyway! Not very well
perhaps, and not very much money either, but that's what we
are doing, attempting to create an alternate set of economic
and social relationships based upon the exchange of
information as part of the process of bringing about a social
revolution. Period. We just need to go the distance and get
professional at it. If we organize the vast database of social
and historical experience we possess we can make it work for
us. Afterall, that's precisely what the corporate world has
done with the information it possesses on us! The irony of it
is, that it sells it back to us at a profit! We must also
remember that this is not about computers! It's about
knowledge and information about the world we live in.
Computers are tools that can be used to our advantage, but
they are not neutral tools. They are have their functions but
they are not a panacea. Judicious use of all available
technologies is what we need. Identifying what kind of
technology to use at what level is the key. For example, we
can view the computer/telephone network as a "macro-
collector/distributor", that is, we use the
computer/telephone network to move information
economically from one region to another. It also facillitates
the collection of information. PeaceNet for example, is used
in this capacity, or locally-based, networked pcs' like
New York On-Line do it, utilising networking software
to collect and distribute information. Such systems are
already in place and are working.

5. Down to Brass Tacks!
   What are the first steps?

i. This outreach. Ok, so what next?

ii. Establish some ground rules, who can join, what should we
charge etc.

iii. How should we conduct our business. For this we need to
formulate a business plan. The plan should contain a viable
economic blueprint for the Association's economic survival and
expansion. For example, what kind of information should we be
looking for and in what format?

iv. How should we market it?

v. Advertise, Advertise, Advertise. This is absolutely crucial.
We need to know who would want to buy our information and
in what format. We also need to attract as many members to
the Association as we can. Firstly, their membership dues are
our lifeblood. Secondly, the information they possess is what
we're all about!

vi. Classify the information we possess as an association. For
example, there are a range of publishers and organizations
concerned solely with events southern Africa. Some are
concerned with southern Africa itself (aid in one form or
another), some are concerned with pressuring the US
government to change its position on southern Africa. In this
situation, one group possesses information that the other
group needs in order to mount campaigns. This necessitates
organising our collective knowledge in different ways. Each
situation is unique. This sounds so obvious yet, to my
knowledge it has not been done! What we actually have is a
range of parallel activities, which sometimes crossover, but
most often don't. The old adage that knowledge is power, is
just as true for us as it is for any other institutions. Holding
on to knowledge gives one power over situations. People are
afraid that letting go of knowledge will put them at a
disadvantage. We need to reassure people that they will
benefit from such a collective arrangement. This is a
political problem that has to be dealt with.

vii. How will we be organised? As Chapters? As autonomous
units? As regions? What will be the structure of the
association? How will decisions be arrived at?

viii. Funding. Should we be "non-profit"? Should we be a
business?

6. Is AAIP a Publisher or Distributor, Neither, or Both?
These are an important questions and at present there are no
answers as collectively, we have not decided what we want
AAIP to be. But let us take look at some of the issues and see
if we can arrive at some tentative conclusions.

Q. Could AAIP be a distributor?
A. Yes it could be if we had a nationwide network in place.
This is where the computer could prove its worth. But in
order for such a system to work, we would need structures in
place on a regional basis. The computer would be used to move
the news/information from one region to another and a local
cooperative would print and distribute, either as part of a
national cooperative, or on an entirely autonomous basis (see
below).

Q. Could AAIP be a publisher?
A. Yes it could. If its members supported such an idea then
collectively we could fund a nationwide newspaper that
would consist essentially of selections drawn from the
output of AAIP's members. The actual mechanics of such a
system would require careful planning, and I can see many
political obstacles to such a system. However, it would really
depend on where the information originates. For example,
newspapers such as the Guardian or In These Times would be
at a disadvantage as essentially such a digest would be in
direct competition with them! But here you see the advantage
of such a flexible, de-centralised system. For national
newspapers such as ITT or the Guardian could utilise AAIP as
a source of raw material. But take a look at the mockup of
MediaMatters enclosed. It consists in large part of "raw"
information, that normally has extremely limited circulation.
MediaMatters is a digest of current news covering an
extremely wide range of subjects. The mechanisms are in
place to produce such a digest nationally. Each edition would
distributed to regional centres electronically where they
would be printed and distributed locally. And further, there is
nothing to stop local cooperatives from using MediaMatters as
raw material in its own right, as the basis for some other
kind of publication! Again, at each level of the system that we
look at, we see that potentially, a source of income that helps
support another level. The entire structure is inter-active and
mutually self-supporting.

Q. Assuming there are revenues, how would they be distributed?
A. One solution would be a royalty system, which would be
disbursed monthly. Or alternatively, local
publishers/distributors would be autonomous, and after
paying AAIP for the news they print, they would keep the
income to maintain the local cooperative. Of course, there's
nothing to stop any local cooperative from producing all kinds
of output from the raw material, and using it in any way they
see fit. What I am outlining here are suggestions and ideas
that I hope will promote discussion about the various options
available to us.

Conclusion
In a sense then, what it is being described here, is a form of
"information bank" whose "collateral" is the information
supplied by its members. Given enough information covering a
wide enough range of subjects, there is no limit to what can
be done with it. I invite all who read this to contribute to this
discussion. I have by no means dealt with all the problems or
potential solutions to problems. Much work remains to be
done. NYOL opens its electronic domain to continue this
discussion, as well as the conferences on PeaceNet.
Organisations such as the Union for Democratic
Communications is yet another outlet for this discussion, as
well as the many magazines, newspapers and periodicals,
which in one way or another have a vested interest in this
debate.

Please reprint and re-distribute this discussion paper. It is
available as an ASCII file on PeaceNet. Please leave me mail
and I will forward it. On NYOL in the Networking for Change
section.

NYOL can be reached at the following print, voice and
electronic addresses:

1.Print: New York On-Line, P.O. Box 829, Brooklyn NY, 11202-0018
2.    Voice: 718-875-8949
3.    Data:    NYOL: 718-852-2662
    Peacenet: nyonline
    MCI: wbowles
    GEnie: w.bowles
    BitNet: bbowles@pratt
    FidoNet:1:107/607
    Alternet: 7:520/607

William Bowles
Editor, New York On-Line



Feb. 21,1990

William
AAIP is a very good idea and one I have interest in.  Some time
last year I had a conversation with you in response to
a topic you had posted on the AAIP idea, I'm glad you have taken
the time to further this in a disscussion paper.
There are many points to consider with regards to AAIP as your
discussion paper makes evident. Where I will start in response is
to point out that progressive news and information needs to be
consumed with an alternative historical frame. In my conversations
with people I meet in daily life, people that are totally reliant
on the established media for information and do not understand
established media for what it is, propaganda, and have a hard time
if not impossible relating to progressive viewpoints, information
and news. AAIP I feel would develop a body of historical information that
one could refer to that would allow new and skeptical consumers of
alternative information to understand a progressive article. UDC is
showing interest in developing a syllabus on media. I feel a syllabus
could retrieve historical facts from the black hole of historical
information that would allow people to understand progressive viewpoints,
information and news. Without such a framework of information the
progressives in our society are dismissed. As a group we could point to a
historical documentation that would allow for the understanding  of
progressive viewpoints as they relate to currant events. This would be a
version of history not officially subscribed to and would be in it self a
worthy task.

People are interested in many different subjects. With this in
mind I would suggest that AAIP members supplying information
tailored to the interest of each subscriber. Knowing that so many
of my subcribers are interested in the ocean when possible their
subscription will include a larger amount of ocean news and
information. Tailoring a subscribers news and information needs
would in my opinion be a welcome change from useless pages of news and
information that consumers of the established media ignore.

 The general style of a publication could be much like the "Utne
Reader". This publication takes from a wide body of articals
already published, second rights, reprints them and points out
their source where one could subscribe to that publication if one
so wished. Each issue is devoted to a particular topic where a
majority of articals, not all, deal with that topic. Tailoring a
subscription to a subscribers information needs with the AAIP
theme of the month would make for a progressive publication unlike
others.

An AAIP members could also make themselves available for public
speaking if they so wished. I feel it is the verbal transmition of
alternative news and information that is most needed in our
western democracy. AAIP members would have a unique edge in
presenting progressive viewpoints privatly and publicly given the
body of information at their hand.

 Lots to consider, lots to understand and lots to do.

clyde


peg:gholland
udc.media 2:13 am  Feb 27, 1990
Yes, it's about time there was something like the
Association of Alternate Information Providers around.  Some
ideas and comments:
1. NETWORKS ESTABLISHED: William, you portray the alternate
information scene as an archipelago of seperate islands when
in fact there are already many alternate information
networks established, such as WISE, (World Information
Service on Energy?)  What has to be done is to coordinate
these networks, as well as tie in the islands.  So work
needs to be done in mapping what exists to see how best to
organize information channels.
2. PROGRESSIVE JOURNALISTS: A list of progressive
investigative journalists around the world could be
compiled.  Again, I'm sure there are lists already.  They
could be notified and invited to contribute.
3. EDITORIAL POWERS: The AAIP must have editorial powers to
reject shoddy journalism.  If we are really worried about
editorial intervention there could be an alternate alternate
news service where one could access the rejects...
4. RENUMERATION: Either the AAIP could pay for the articles
and news clips outright, or the journalist/information
provider could be remunerated according to how many news
subscribers used the material.  Either way, news is going to
be shaped to market demand to some extent (solution, educate
the consumer to want news high in integrity and political
consciousness).
5. LANGUAGE CHALLENGE: I noticed you used the term
`nationwide' a few times, William.  Languages sometimes
delineate, but I thought national limits were irrelevant
these days.  What a great opportunity to get a balanced flow
of news and information from the South and East!  Going to
have to coordinate the translation though!  Big challenge.
Not only would I expect most of the journalists to be non-
English speaking, but also most of the consumers too!
Perhaps each language domain would have a node to translate
material coming in and going out.  I would suggest two or
three exchange languages to make things simpler (eg English,
Spanish and Cantonese).  That way each language domain node
need only three translators, and not 800!  Perhaps a certain
uniform levy would cross-subsidise the salaries of these
translators.
6. RUN AS A BUSINESS: I think the AAIP should be run as a
business, with hierarchies.  Perhaps there could be a small
collective at the top which perhaps could be renewed or
rotated periodically.  The hierarchy could also be soft,
flexible, flat, consultative, delegating responsibility,
encouraging initiative, experimenting with direct worker's
democracy etc.  But let's get an efficient decision-making
process going.  There won't be a shortage of progressive
investigative journalists if top management turns
tyrannical!
7. SUBSCRIBERS: As a business, I don't think the AAIP should
aim for `members' so much as `subscribers' just like the
conventional news megalyths.  Subscribers could be
categorized as a) commercial  b) institutions  c) volunteer
and not-for-profit organisations  d) individuals, and incur
graded subscription rates.  The rates would also vary
according to whether the subscriber intended to reprint.
8. NOT-FOR-PROFIT: The AAIP should be a not-for-profit
organisation - that is to say it should set realistic
subscription prices which covers operating costs, salaries,
and a bit more to help through crisis periods etc  It
wouldn't make profits to finance expansion into other
businesses etc.
9. CONVENTIONAL MEDIA: Hopefully, if the AAIP gains
credibility as a provider of reliable, quality information,
conventional commercial media might dabble here and there.
It is in establishing that reputation and `image' that the
challenge lies.  It looks much more impressive to have a
`New York Times' by-line after the article than something
obscure.  However `AAIP News' looks good.  It's not so
different from `AP', or in Australia we have `AAP'.  Trouble
is, they'll still be looking for the same old formula stuff.
10. ALTERNATIVE MEDIA: Unfortunately I'm not very optimistic
about our chances of expanding the conventional alternative
media.  To boost sales of `In These Times' etc would
probably need big capital injection, wizz bang promotions, a
strategy to lure the big (and often unethical) corporate
advertising contracts, shift of format and editorial slant
etc etc etc.  Let the fragmented alternative publications
continue to nourish their particular audiences.  However,
the AAIP could perhaps expand and enrich their choice of
material.
11. ELECTRONIC NEWSPAPER: The environmentally conscious
networks such as the APC, the WELL, Poptel, GeoNet, and
others, have failed still to provide an electronic
alternative to the obscene paper newspaper.  Perhaps this is
the central role of the AAIP.  Use `distnet' software (or
some other) to package and compress the information which
might be anything from 50kb to 500kb when unpackaged.  The
marketing then would be on individual subscribers.  Local
nodes of the AAIP could tack on regional and local news.
Subscribers could nominate areas of interest eg. general
world, general science and technology, general disarmament
news, regional environment, world rainforests, finance
local, sports local.
10. ADVERTISING: Subscribers could also nominate to have
their subscription subsidised by advertising, though until
PCs and software become more sophisticated for general
network use (1995?), graphics would probably remain quite
primitive.  They would be more sponsorship-type advertising.
The AAIP would have an ethics policy and a blacklist of
unethical companies that would not be able to advertise.
11. CROSS-SUBSIDIES: Subscription rates would have to vary
according to national price indexes, so there would probably
be some sort of cross-subsidizing.  Eg 50kb of daily
newspaper might cost $US 60 cents in the US and the
equivalent of $US 35 cents in Brazil and $US 25 cents in
India.
12. PLUG FOR ACP NETWORKS: For the electronic newspaper, the
AAIP would need national nodes to minimize subscriber
telecom charges.  In my opinion the APC networks should be
getting a lot more solidarity and support from progressive
organisations than they are getting.  Academic groups prefer
their own (elite) networks.  Some environmental groups use
mainstream e-mail services because the APC services are not
quite as slick.  Others use USEnet and others because they
are free.  If we are going to construct an alternative to
the domination and control of the exclusively structured
capitalist media and telecommunications industry, we need
deeper commitment and solidarity.  It would therefore be my
suggestion that the AAIP use the APC as its central network,
with gateways available to other networks - UseNet,
Compuserve, EIES etc etc.  Where local nodes are not
available, help establish them.
(In case you are wondering whether, with this ardent
rhetoric, I work for the APC, or I am an initiated cult
member of the APC, I must inform you that I am neither.  I
am a neutral academic observer with countless credentials).
13. YOU CAN SNOB/IGNORE: I hope the progressive
professionals among us will not snob/ignore this visionary
idea.  I hope they will take some time off from
deconstructing the past and present, to help construct the
future.  After all, it is the professionals who sway
influence on the moderately progressives and who hold the
purse strings for funding all these new wonderful
ventures...
14. FUNDING CAPITAL:...because the AAIP will need
substantial start-up capital (fulltime staff of 20 for two
years, hardware, software development, travel/meeting
expenses, publicity/marketing, office - say $US 1 million to
be done properly, $US100,000 if put together on a shoestring
with a LOT of love and volunteers).
Geoff Holland
APC Networks  peg:gholland


cbarney
udc.media 8:27 pm  Mar 15, 1990

 The articles in this topic came as a delightful surprise to me.
After 25 years as a print journalist, I am presently working with a
startup electronic publisher, Io Publishing Inc., whose first product is
an electronic daily.  This publication, BioWorld, is an expensive
service for businesses, but its model could serve for an
alternative press equally well.  For many years I have been
looking for people who are interested in using computer
communications as a medium for an alternative news service.  The
entries by William Bowles and Geoff Holland indicate that others
of you have the same idea.

Many networks and electronic bulletin boards exist for the
exchange of information.  They have not yet been well integrated
with print.  Rather they have restricted themselves to providing a
communications pathway for the technically adventurous.   True
electronic publishing has been limited to the maintenance of
machine-readable databases.  Even the most advanced technically of
commercial online information services, such as [Dow Jones] have
not interested themselves in the distribution of information
beyond their own electronic domain.

But the desktop process makes it possible for a very few people --
one person, in extreme circumstances -- to perform the
communications, editing, and distribution tasks that only a few
years ago required many times their number of skilled
craftspeople.  When type was set in hot lead, the process of
getting news into print was greatly articulated, with specialists
at every step.  A reporter would type a story, give it to a
teletype operator, who would rekeyboard it and sent it to a
newspaper, where it printed out on a paper ribbon in uppercase
only.  Other operators would tear off the ribbon, paste it up and
retype it again for the news and copy desks.  There it was edited
in pencil and sent by pneumatic tube to the composing room where
it was keyboarded again on a linotype.  This machine produced
single lead slugs of type that were put in trays and proofed, then
put in steel forms and proofed again.  And following this other
specialists made the forms into curved plates for rotary presses.

Today these many jobs have collapsed into a few.  Editors can run
both the teletype and the composing room;  the result is the
decline of Western Union and the practical disappearance of the
International Typographers Union, which once was very strong and
now is an appendage of the American Newspaper Guild, the editorial
union.

The technology that makes this possible is now becoming relatively
cheap and widely available.  Only ten years ago, editing was done
on a minicomputer, with software that cost more than $100,000.
Today, the software costs$500 and runs on a desktop computer.
These local workstations have their own processing power, their
own storage, and their own communications, so that they are not
bound to a single local computer.

Meanwhile, communications channels are widening.  We have routine
2400 to 9600 bit-per-second switched digital links, instead of 115
bit per second leased telex lines;  and we have access to megabit
channels if we really need it.  Moreover, these are two-way
multiplexed long-distance channels, which can link widely
dispersed editing equiipment.  And once inside the office, the
bandwidth zooms.

That means that today any individual or small group can own a
desktop editing system that can comunicate with other
computer/editing systems.  Connect the desktop computer to a
printer and you have a smart printing press that gathers, edits,
composes, stores and distributes its own copy.  Scanner and
facsimile equipment add another dimension of electronic
distribution.  And this is for just one  local node;  link these
presses in a network and the result is a distributed publishing
system that can be decentralized or centralized to any degree one
wishes, even both ways simultaneously.  The print output can be as
simple or elaborate as the occasion demands.

Model for an alternative press.

I am familiar with one profit-sector model for a desktop press:
the  BioWorld information service designed for the biotechnology
industry by Io Publishing, Inc., of San Mateo, Calif.  This is a
business publication produced by a professional staff of
journalists and distributed over a computer network.  In addition
to news reports, BioWorld provides directories of biotech
information and forums for its users to communicate in.  The
entire online body of material is searchable.  The online service
is supplemented by weekly and monthly newsletters.

There are four elements:  editorial, production, communications,
and marketing.  What is tightly focused in BioWorld could be
diverse in an alternative press, and these functions could be
spread among a variety of people and places.  There is more to a
press than a news service, and the different functions of online
databases, electronic mail, distribution, printing services, etc.,
can be provided by as many groups as wish to use the underlying
network.

The alternative press can find its audience in much the same way
that Io staked out biotechnology;  but where the trade press goes
after businesses, the alternative press can reach  nonprofit
organizations that are grappling directly with social problems
like poverty and the homeless, continuing racial and political
oppression, women's rights, drug and alcohol addiction, health,
education, Third and Fourth World  development, environmental
concerns, etc.  These  groups operate on every level, some
nationally and even internationally, others at the grassroots
level of family advocacy groups,
churches, comunities, labor union locals, peace and ecology groups
and other small nonprofits.

This movement is  vigorous but fragmented.  At present it is
barely possible for groups working in the same field to cooperate,
so occupied are they with their own "home fronts."  Broader-based
interaction is barely dreamed of.  Yet most social activists would
agree that workers in toxics, pollution, health, drug abuse, labor
unions, prison reform, education, peace, ecology, etc., have a
great many interests in common, which need wider public
expression.  They simply have no means of pursuing thee interests
together and they are not well-served by the mainstream press.
This community needs to be interconnected, and it needs a press
that it just as responsive to its interests as the commercial
press is to its own market.

An alternative computer-based information utility can be built to
serve this community from the elements of desktop publishing and
communications.  Like BioWorld, it would provide news, computer
conferences, archives,
databases, and directories, and would be accessible online, via
computer diskette, and in print.

       Organization

The alternative press, really an information utility, can be
organized as a nonprofit corporation that offers services to
member groups.  Funded initially through foundation grants, it can
eventually become self-sufficient through dues, fee-for-service
operations and independent publishing.  A simple dues structure,
like Peacenet's; or perhaps better still a user-supported model
like the Pacifica radio network's, could provide the framework for
a budget.  I agree that a fairly large budget would be necessary
to provide the resources that such a network needs.  But these
resources would also be made available to small groups, who could
spend as much or as little as they see fit in using the network.

 Some possible activities:

% maintain an independent news service for members and
non-members.

% publish an independent journal for social action groups.

% offer existing publications the opportunity to  mount electronic
editions.

% maintain online data and text bases of information about
legislation, politics, funding, etc.

% maintain online computer conferences among its members.

% publish reports stemming from these activities

% provide members with an environment in which they can run their
own information services if they choose.

%  provide a market for providers and users of computer services
such as accounting, desktop publishing, etc.

All of this won't come into being all at once.  However the
modular nature of the technology makes it possible to start with a
small organizational pilot project and grow as resources become
available, with control decentralized.  Rather than duplicate or
compete with services -- even news services -- offered by other
groups, the utility could be a general clearinghouse for
information and services among all of them.  In that way it could
develop into a true alternative communications medium for a global
community.

-- Cliff Barney

PS -- One caveat, though:  "Association of Alternate Information
Providers" is a little unwieldy;  I suggest something catchy like
"Samizdat," to carry on the tradition of the underground network
of typewriters and mimeo machines that circumvented the official
Soviet press.


web:exact
udc.media 2:05 pm  Mar 21, 1990


  Approaching "The Other Side"

"The Other Side" is a magazine that features  views held
in the world that do not have a fair voice in the present world
information order.

Each issue of this publication is primarily  worked on and
through the network. Each issue is published by a local node that
will include additional news and information with the feature
articles of the world edition. News and information that a local
node and it's subcribers have interest in, can be the additional
information in the issue.

Identifying articles, news and information for feature
topics in the world edition is our starting point.

 Each local node identifies and includes articles, news
and information for their local subscribers and area in each
issue.

  Start up the DTP program of your choice and lets see
what our first world issue looks like in your hands, sitting in
your local corner store magazine rack, laying on your friends
coffee table, at an office you frequent, etc..

 "Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one."
  A.J. Liebling

We would never know if we never tried.

clyde

World View


Press any key to continue...    > Networking for Change <
>Alternative Information Network)

R)ead  S)can  W)rite  T)itle Search Networking Echo

1) The AAIP Discussion Paper (2/16/90)
2) Launch statement
3) Compiled discussion (as of 5/5/90)
   This file contains all the messages in the discussion
   up to the date shown above, including the launch
   statement.

4) Upload a File
5) Networking Files
6) List Networking Files

P)revious F)ront N)etworks H)elp M)ail U)tilities G)oodbye

(31 minutes left) Command?