Name : Eveline Lubbers Time : 20.00-21.30 (Balie Theatre) Subject: Tactical Research - The Myth of the Easy Search Date : Saturday 20 January 1996 |
| No Tactical Communication Without Serious Research
Serious research is the source of all tactical communication. Low budget investigating journalism challenges the superficial knowledge presented as background in mainstream media. Serious tactical research is haunting for new stages to get information across. Internet could be more then a source of information, but first the myth of 'easy search' has to be tackled. The courtroom as stage: let the facts speak for themselves, legal action backfires. An example: London Greenpeace was sued for libel by McDonalds. Instead of backing off they accepted the challenge and went to court. Now they are succesfully defending every single line of their critical leaflet, crossexamining scientist and McDonalds officials winning at points in the London High Court. The trial celebrated its first anniversary last summer and is due to continue untill next spring. The activists, nicknamed the McLibel Two found themselves a new stage to critizise McDonalds, in a more detailed way they could ever have dreamed of. Another reason why McDonalds -unsuccesfully- tried to persuade the McLibels to stop trial is the succes of the McLibel mailinglist. Campaigners from all over the world inform eachother about activities against McDonalds. The McLibel Trial became the virtual centre of targeting the Hamburger King. Suburbians against McDrives, loothers in Kopenhagen, Ghandi- inspired Fins discussing with their local McDonald, China against the invasion of McDonalds, all connected through Internet. No tactical communication without serious research. Investigating journalism suffers from the zap-culture. Background articles are considered to be boring, too complicated to understand in 5 minutes. Instead of feeling rejected by this attitude, serious research should come out of the closet. The world wants to know the background of the man who killed Rabin. And where are the facts & figures on the armstrade that keeps the Yugoslavian war alive? Is there nobody challenging the monopoly of Berlusconi in Italy? Shell says it's the Ogini- people themselves who are responsible for ruining their environment; can Shell get away with that? The tradition of tactical research is treasured by independent investigators, individuals and collectives, who value their work higher than career and big money. How to fight this low budget struggle for survival? And yet, so much work remains unfinished in the top drawer because the tide wasn't right. How to get connected with the outside world? One of the new channels to get information across is Internet, but not without a political network, a framework to organize easy acces also for the non-techno-types. Down with the myths of easy search, the net is a labyrinth, hits are mainly based on coincidence. Let's start a server, a helpdesk, a reallife bureau to lower barriers. To make progressive information accessible for all. The meeting between researchers, activists, artist and against the current media types could lead to unexpected ideas. Besides the presentation of surprising stories and inspiring people, there will be workshops on the problems of low budget investigating journalism and about exploring the possibilities of the Net for progessive politics.
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