It’s in this context that the Bristol Cable was founded, to reshape a bland, inadequate Bristolian media landscape. As a co-operative it’s not owned by any one person, but by the people who choose to become members.
A board of 12 directors (disclaimer: I’m one of them) to ensure legal accountability was recently elected by the growing membership. But decisions about what gets published don’t lie with the board. The co-operative ethos of a small, local, and public-facing media organisation is evident in the activity surrounding the paper’s physical publication. Talks, workshops and skills-sharing sessions with media practitioners are held frequently, free for members and open to all for a donation.
The Cable operates on a multi-disciplinary spectrum, allowing for further public involvement and engagement. Having completed my first feature film, The Fourth Estate, on the influence of big business in news media, my first thought was to approach the Cable to organise a screening event.
This allows for much more than just showcasing our work. It demonstrates to an audience that making a zero-budget film outside the mainstream industry isn’t impossible. It provides a space for open discussion about the media and political economy and for people interested in the subject to connect and potentially engage in further activism, and an opportunity to share skills and stories with those who don’t have the financial means to take standard professional or academic routes to learning about filmmaking and film theory.
Made part-time over two years by two filmmakers with cheap cameras and old laptops, The Fourth Estate’s production operated on the same premise as a media co-op. In the face of media colonisation and consolidation by those with too much money and power, it’s necessary for counter-voices to respond, work together, and support and rouse others to assert the presence and interests of the majority.
Numerous coalitions between grassroots political and interest groups are emerging in response to the crises of neoliberalism and the consolidation of power, media and otherwise. That growth must be maintained, nurtured – and shared – if we’re not to burn out. Without financial means and commitment of increasing groups of people, constant defence of our communities against austerity and scarcity gets draining. One thing we’re all working towards, of course, is reclaiming financial means and public resources to increase the ability of independent organisations to work in the public interest.
The internet gives us a potentially transformative, democratic portal to global and local news and communication networks, but only if we can develop and maintain pluralistic, fair strategies for how these are managed. This is why the politics of presence, fostered by local networks, is so important – and Bristol has an increasing wealth of these politically-active groups.
I encourage you to get involved with groups fostering political change. At their operational core are the media tools and outlets by which we communicate about them – of which the Bristol Cable is just one.
Elizabeth Mizon is a writer and filmmaker based in Bristol, UK. Her first feature, The Fourth Estate, is screening now around the UK.