VI. Conclusion and Recommendations*
Alternative media groups and practitioners held the 'First National Conference of the Alternative Media' on October 9 and 10 at the Plaridel Hall auditorium of UP CMC, Diliman, Quezon City.
Journalists from more than 30 independent media organizations participated in discussions about the country's alternative media experience. The delegates formed Altermidya, People’s Alternative Media Network.
The network aims to strengthen independent media organizations and amplify the voice of society's marginalized sectors. The network pledged to actively support campaigns for justice and an end to impunity, in time for the commemoration of the Ampatuan Massacre. It is supporting media workers in corporate media who are protesting against unfair management policies. It adopted pooled editorials calling for the enactment of a genuine Freedom of Information law and for continuing the fight against corruption in government, among other issues. It has published and broadcasted its positions on these issues and successfully carried out these coordinated activities from October to December 2014.
1. Altermidya and its member organizations should continue improving, learning and developing themselves based on the discussion about their strengths, best practices, weaknesses and opportunities.
At barely two months old since its founding, Altermidya has already accomplished vital steps toward establishing itself as a reliable network of alternative media practitioners. It is continuously striving to improve itself and its members as it reaches out to the public whom it seeks to enlighten and develop strong relations with. The network is in the process of preparing more detailed plans for the coming year, based on the lessons and resolutions shared during two-day conference.
Altermidya should encourage its members to study ways of improving the form and content of outputs of alternative media groups. It should remind its network of organizations to share their products to a wider, broader public. As one member organization noted: “Increased popularization of content rests on its attractiveness and usefulness to (its) audiences.” Members of people’s organizations are highly encouraged to “share the content to their own networks... Both the possibilities and limitations of the social media in disseminating works online is evolving, (the organization) is constantly trying to study, experiment, and learn from our own experiences and that of others.”
2. Altermidya and its member organizations should strengthen their relationship with people's organizations.
The most important recommendation is for Altermidya and alternative media groups to strengthen their relationships with people’s organizations. This is the soul of alternative media, its first task is to grow roots and to develop a “strong and vibrant relationship with people’s organizations.” This relationship is seen as vital to the existence and growth of alternative media groups. “It is also the foundation of the continued success and recognition of our projects and programs,” as stated by a member organization. All the issues and concerns mentioned in this paper revolve around and can be resolved with the help of people's organizations, and society in general, from which and for whom the alternative media groups owe their existence.
3. Altermidya and its member organizations should continue being flexible, dynamic and determined to discover and adapt new ways to better serve the people's organizations and the society.
The network encourages its members to further study their experiences and make improvements on the presented recommendations and plans. Meticulous or a more rigorous assessment and detailed planning should immediately be conducted, first by the member organizations, and then the Altermidya network should consolidate and improve upon the assessments and plans. The details will have to be identified, fleshed out, and expanded upon according to their respective organization’s specific needs and goals. Afterwards, the network can prepare the detailed and consolidated assessment and plan for the coming year.
Specific recommendations may include, for instance: online and print publications can explore marketing, inviting advertisers, and consider implementing other income generation activities to be able to distribute low-cost, if not totally free newspapers or magazines, in addition to their online platforms. Multimedia and online news groups can produce daily or weekly news casts or simultaneous radio and online broadcasts… New staff members for social media engagement, multimedia production, and other highly-technical work, can be trained and designated to perform the identified tasks. Scholarships for journalists, grants for projects and relevant trainings can be identified, applied for, and availed. Cross-trainings among groups, joint projects and sharing of resources can be planned and implemented. Membership and a broader network of supporters can be expanded to span across the nation and the international community. Year-end assessment and planning conferences can be carried out in the coming days.
Overall, the potentials for producing a weekly or daily news cast and for reaching a wider segment of society through the new network are great. The online, print, video and radio broadcast formats for regular news casts can be done, once the various expertise of member organizations are consolidated and enhanced under Altermidya. Trainings for practitioners, as well as community organizers, can be done via the network. These goals could be achieved within a timeframe of a couple of months to less than a year.
Altermidya has within its grasp the orientation, tools and human resources it needs to jumpstart its operations toward fulfilling its objectives of strengthening alternative media in “propagating and enhancing the advocacies of people’s organizations, promoting people’s rights, and galvanizing the people into action to effect change.” Altermidya, People’s Alternative Media Network can be expected to work with utmost dedication and proficiency towards accomplishing its nine objectives.
Further studies to see how the network is responding to challenges and dealing with previously identified organizational issues and concerns are also recommended.
*Part VI of a paper submitted for PA 210 - Organization Studies, UP NCPAG, December 2014.
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