Friday Report from NASNA

Today in San Francisco, street newspaper editors and writers from all over North America have come together for a conference. Street newspapers are an important form of media, reporting truthfully on the conditions and experiences of homeless, formerly homeless and poor people. The most important aspect of these publications is that the stories published in them are told <I>by</I> homeless, formerly homeless and poor people.<br><br>
Part of the conference included a DIY internet activism workshop, including a conversation about Indymedia’s usefulness to help under-represented voices be heard, because anyone anywhere with a internet connection can post to the sites. Indymedia can be helpful in giving the street newspapers a wider audience and directing more attention to the street newspapers’ web sites. Also, material posted to Indymedia sites is copyleft, therefore creating a resource for articles and photos for publications to use. It was brought up that the strength of the internet is going beyond the internet, with papers, xeroxed flyers and public screenings of videos, and it is encouraged for local imc’s to do more of this kind of media.
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There is clearly a need for more free public computer labs. Many homeless people access the internet in the library, but the libraries use censor-ware to filter out web sites they do not want you to access.
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While the NASNA conference was taking place… SF police were ticketing homeless people for loitering at 16th and Mission (a few blocks away from the conference.) The harassment of the homeless has been greatly intensified in the past few weeks, following the irresponsible and hateful articles that have been published by both the Chronicle and the Examiner.
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Ben Bagdikian, spoke earlier in the day about possibilities of meeting with newspaper editors to demand just coverage. Some in the audience spoke up about how they have tried to reason with the local papers, yet their concerns are never addressed. “It is clearly time for direct action against the local press when they continue to spread hate and disinformation,” said one participant. There will be a demonstration tomorrow (Saturday) at 6pm at Powell & Market against the corporate media’s attack on homeless people.
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People are now moving over to the Women's Building for spoken word, performances and graduation ceremony for Media Alliance's Raising Our Voices program. <b>Located at 3543 18th St.</b> Free performances by Raising Our Voices, Po Poets Project, and others. Featured artists: Tanyica Simmons, Peter Plate, and George Tirado.<br><br>
As an SF-IMC reporter, I feel honored to be a part of this conference. The street newspaper editors are doing heroic and vital work. Some may not know, but the first IMC in Seattle was largely inspired by street newspapers, especially in deploying the self-publishing tool on indymedia web sites. We need to create and strengthen networks of people, there are already lots of independent media networks out there (like NASNA), and when we all start talking to each other and working together, we can really begin to reframe reality.