Protests as Seen in the Media

Imagine for a moment what it's like to be a protest organizer. You have some cause that you believe in, and some change that you want to see in the world. You pour your time and money into finding like-minded people so that you can organize them, and demonstrate to raise public awareness, and put pressure on the government to enact your change. You carefully write all of your messaging so that you know exactly what to say when interviewed by the media, but nobody ever hears it because reporting and public attention is focused on some clown who vandalized a building during your protest.

When 500,000 protesters marched in Montreal for action against climate change, the news said they must not really care about the environment because they left garbage on the ground beside overflowing trash cans. When BLM protested, news coverage focused on acts of vandalism. When truckers protested vaccine and mask mandates in Ottawa, the conversation focused on racist and far-right elements that had joined the convoy. We seek at all costs to watch the sideshow, and ignore the circus.

How would you rate the quality of reporting that recent protests have received? How would you rate your own performance in seeing through the distraction and trying to focus on the legitimate issues in question? How can we preserve not only the right to speak, but also the responsibility to listen?

Excerpt

How would you rate the quality of reporting that recent protests have received? How would you rate your own performance in seeing through the distraction and trying to focus on the legitimate issues in question? How can we preserve not only the right to speak, but also the responsibility to listen?

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