OURMedia IV/NUESTROSMedios

July 22-25 2004, Porto Alegre, Brazil

Conference Review

Ellie Rennie
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Creative Industries Research and Applications Centre
Queensland University of Technology
e.rennie@qut.edu.au

     As I listened to the opening panel of IAMCR in which the issue of democracy and the media kept coming back to American politics, I reflected on how ironic it was that the first OURMedia was held in Washington DC. Where so much of communication research has gravitated to repercussions emanating from that place, OURMedia has always looked to other spaces, powers and politics. There is no centre of the world for community media studies.

     To me, that first OURMedia (2001) was a key moment in the reinvigoration of community media theory. We heard a small number of select presentations that turned the old binary between alternative and mainstream on its head (see John Downing’s paper). There was discussion of the importance of interventions into media power and the subordination of community media studies within the academy was held to account (Nick Couldry). The term ‘citizens’ media’ became part of our theoretical vocabulary (Clamencia Rodriguez). There was more, including wide-reaching studies of community media projects by Alfonso Gumucio-Dagron and Chris Atton. All can be found on the web site (www.ourmedianet.org/general/papers.html).

      OURMedia now describes itself as ‘an emerging global network with the goal of facilitating a long-term dialogue between academics, activists, practitioners and policy experts around citizens’ media initiatives’ (www.ourmedianet.org). It is not an easy task.

    Barcelona (2002) was similar to the first OURMedia but bigger. Local, descriptive, accounts were included on panels – a sign of things to come. The Ford Foundation came on board, allowing OURMedia to bring more delegates and practitioners and generously assisting me in representing OURMedia at the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) in Nepal, February 2003. I was unable to attend OURMedia III in Baranquilla (2003) which is perhaps one reason why the contrast between this conference and the first two felt so enormous.

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