International Men’s Conference – the media effect
Congratulations AVFM and the international panel who took their expertise and passion to Detroit, to make this inaugural conference a success, and raise awareness, not just of men’s issues, but the significance of men’s issues.
First up, there is something that has got me a little confused about the media.
If you have been following the lead up to the conference you will be familiar with the previous posts Men’s Conference brings out the Faminasties, Feminist extremists attack Men’s Conference detailing threats of violence and a petition to stop the conference.
The end result was a change of venue and a much bigger conference. The down side, it obviously created some technical issues (reaching the international audience) having to move out of a dedicated conference centre where these facilities are on tap, but AVFM came through and made it work.
However, the point is of course that media, Detroit News, Huffington Post, etc, were quick to report the protests, but nothing, absolutely nothing about the conference, even though there was a press conference on Thursday evening.
Can there be any other assumption – were these outlets simply advertising the protest (and not reporting the conference) because those reporting it actually wanted to see it cancelled.
The only follow up I could find was a blogger who supposedly attended the conference and (in spite of the visible security) insists he was molested by a man who was fascinated by his hairy arms – I think this blogger has a problem – but so does the media of the Western World.
If you read this post International Men’s Conference still on track I said this:
Conference organisers A Voice for Men (AVFM), remain tight lipped about any casualties from the original speakers list as a result of concerns for personal safety, however the current advertised list of speakers looks set to herald a new error in awareness of men’s issues onto the international political stage …
… and the conference panel did just that; only problem was, that the media refused to pay attention. They are so wrapped up in their world of ‘though shalt not publish anything that offends the eye of the woman reader’ that they didn’t publish anything about the content of the conference.
Warren Farrell, author of The Myth of Male Power and other books, opened the press conference with a very interesting speech reflecting on his native America.
We have a ‘boy crisis’ he said (also the title of his next book, which will become historically significant) where the sons of America are less educated than their fathers.
America is in the process of failing, Rome re-invented was the message I took from his speech. Maybe that was too much of a shock, too big a reality for the media to digest, that the design of a country that ingratiates women, could fail, not immediately, not tomorrow, but gradually over time; not however, over centuries like Rome, but in coming decades.
I have said this many times myself, but Warren says it so much better, explains it in so much more depth – if you are concerned for the wellbeing of the Western World, I recommend you have a listen to the initial press conference. (conference video links here)
It is past time for money hungry media to stop pandering to feminist sensitivities and accept that the world doesn’t function without men, and start reporting real news.
Dear Downunder, Warren Farrell’s speech was very powerful. I also strongly recommend listening to the first 30 minutes (at least) of the opening press conference.
Comment by MurrayBacon — Tue 1st July 2014 @ 10:42 am
Sorry if im being a pain. But to respond to this i need a list of all the(state funded) “Its not ok…to?” statements, so i can correctly do one, so my analysis, comparison, has credibility. Commenting on the media effect part.
Comment by DJ Ward — Tue 1st July 2014 @ 2:15 pm
The media effect in this case is a result of the way media choose to participate, not the way media parrot statements from government agencies.
If you take the media response to the Brooker trial it was extremely strong across England – headline news. I haven’t found a single media outlet, outside of England, highlighting this case – certainly not in New Zealand – but it was extraordinary circumstances and very embarrassing for the women’s legal fraternity and the rape culture brigade.
So, it’s been ignored.
Reverse the genders and far less extraordinary circumstances involving men in international cases are reported in our media.
What you see with the Brooker case is a variety of responses reporting the facts and around the facts in various ways, but Brooker is overwhelmingly held up to be the offender by mainstream media, but the victim by outraged social media.
What you see in relation to the International Men’s conference is it being totally ignored by the media from the city that hosted it, buy US media, by any mainstream media and the end result is that you have a number of hostile bloggers making moral judgements on the participants and expressing their warped view of the content.
The news by default becomes the harping across social media rather than any reporting of facts and opinions expressed at the conference – hence my comment,
International media has become ideologically driven and motivated to ignore certain news; they are not doing their job.
Another effect of this media behaviour is that it separates men’s organisations. AVFM wouldn’t associate itself with any group that in anyway showed hostility or an angry response because it simply empowers social media, when they already know that mainstream media is not going to report the conference content.
Media behaviour in this respect is socially destructive, and a major failing in the Western World, not only of the media, but because people won’t respond to what they are not informed about.
No input from government required – mainstream media are guilty of providing censorship on male issues.
Ordinarily Western media would rail against censorship of the press, but here they are doing exactly that by default, in their decisions not to report this particular type of news.
This is not censorship of the press but censorship by the press.
Comment by Downunder — Tue 1st July 2014 @ 3:31 pm
Patriarchy theory debunked.
Stellar moment you can link folks to when they have a feminist moment.
Comment by Skeptik — Wed 2nd July 2014 @ 12:59 am
#3 Downunder
Yes fantastic. I was hoping you would leave that requiest alone, because in itself it stands alone. Plus theirs so many hidden gems in there, that realy I need to save up, and use wisely.
But dont fear, Prime Minister John Key has trotted out a flogged horse.
Yes fantastic.
The Minister of Womens Affiars has come to have a play on the RADIO.
Oh my, what on earth makes him think thats a good idea?
Judith, Joyce, Tolley, Ryall. How many do you have? Its long haul to the election John, slow down, you’ll run out of MPs willing to watch your back.
But alas, yes we can calm this down with a good old fasioned cup of tea.
Since nobody else is having one, i,ll have one.
Yes I’ll even let the media participate, watch, and report on.
An imaginary one.
In park like settings as the Minister of Women Affairs, and the Minister of Health, behind media lines of a glass wall, sip tea, noding and gigling to their media puppets. Watching in pride as the nations mothers and fathers parade themselves past them for inspection, exiting our Maternity Wards. Just the statistical miracle, like an all women jury, just all the newborn babies, born today.
But alas we can’t calm this down, I’m having nightmares hidden under the dark shadowy stain of the 4th estate.
I’m hiding a recorder on the table weather they like it or not!
I’ll be the media if shoving that RADIO interview down my throat like a sex offender is the best they’ve got.
I cannot help it, it sounds like another Thesis, in that regard I appoligise.
Patience virtuous and good men, its complex.
Comment by DJ Ward — Wed 2nd July 2014 @ 9:50 am
Downunder (#3): Unfortunately what you say about news media is very true. Many media eagerly quoted various people who spread the NZ version of the Superbowl myth, for example claiming that men’s domestic violence towards women increased whenever the All Blacks played and more so if the team lost. MoMA put out a media release and wrote to several influential people who had been quoted spreading this myth, informing them that NZ police’s own research (in conjunction with Women’s Refuge) had debunked the idea. There was no evidence that sports events were associated with increases in domestic violence any more than were other public events or celebrations during which alcohol consumption increased. No media published MoMA’s release or responded directly to it at all. However, we notice that Superbowl-myth-type claims are no longer being reported.
In MoMA’s opinion, the fact that many influential people jumped on the feminist ideology bandwagon without bothering to check its veracity was highly newsworthy and should have been reported, as was the fact that news media frequently assisted them in spreading the false propaganda. Actually, media had a responsibility to the public to retract and correct the misinformation they had previously spread.
Comment by Ministry of Men's Affairs — Thu 3rd July 2014 @ 8:49 am
Dear MoMA, the examples of failure to retract would go together nicely as a post? This lays it all out, in a fairly easily accessible form. Worth moderating to keep posts on the topic. Thanks, Murray.
Comment by MurrayBacon — Thu 3rd July 2014 @ 1:07 pm
Just to let you know whats going on.
DJ Ward has just been released from the custody of the crown.
He is not happy
There are other things to say
He is far from finished
He is getting the help he needs
He will be back to make a mockery of the election
Comment by In Absentia — Fri 18th July 2014 @ 4:40 pm