| FINDING YOUR VOICE: THE BUSINESS OF  INDEPENDENT MEDIA  Responsible Minnesota Business Seminar March 19th, 2003 |
| FINDING YOUR VOICE: THE BUSINESS OF INDEPENDENT MEDIA Responsible Minnesota Business Seminar March 19th, 2003 |
In a society where the mega-mall is king, where does a mom and pop store fit in? That question typifies the event Finding Your Voice: The Business of Independent Media, held by the Responsible Minnesota Business Organization (www.aboutrmb.org) on Wednesday March 19th. Hosted by Utne Magazine, this salon discussion was both thought provoking and a little scary.
We were there to discuss three major questions: What's so important about independent media? What challenges are involved in running an independent media business? And what is important about independent media in light of current affairs? David Unowsky, owner and publisher of Ruminator Books (www.ruminator.com) and Nina Utne, editor and CEO of Utne Magazine (www.utne.com) discussed these and other issues during this hour and a half salon that took place at Utne Magazine's offices in Minneapolis.
David Unowsky has been running Ruminator Books
(originally The Hungry Mind) in St. Paul since 1970.
He was proud to point out that his store carries the
Say No to War, Wage Peace, and Support Our Troops
Bring Them Home signs, as well as the Code Pink
button. He told us how he received an email this week
from a regular customer who no longer wanted to order
books from The Ruminator because of the Say No to War
sign in the window. The customer thought that
bookstores should be neutral. Unowsky replied that
while his store does lean to the left they do carry
political media from both the right and the left.
More importantly he said, no media outlet is neutral.
For example, Fox Media is not neutral, talk radio is
not neutral. The information found at independent
bookstores can't be found at Barnes and Noble, and you
won't get this information on television, according to
Unowsky.
Over the last 20 years, there have been vast changes in the way books are published and sold. The big chain bookstores have devoured each other and grown. They control the way books are published and sold, and even determine which books are published and sold. Currently, five publishers control the majority of all bookstores. The independent book seller is struggling right now. Why does this matter?
One thing to consider is a question that Unowsky put to the group: Have you ever heard of an Iraqi author? Have you ever read an Iraqi book? Unowsky hadn't and none of us had, either. We are going to war with a culture that we know very little about, and yet have no opportunity to find out about these people. (The question that comes to mind is, would Saddam Hussein allow writers to publish their works if it was critical of their government?) Unowsky's point is, while censorship probably exists in Iraq, a form of censorship does exist here if we allow large corporations with their own interests dictate what books get sold and which don't.
Next, Nina Utne gave the history and mission of Utne Magazine. Once run by her husband, and once called The Utne Reader, the magazine has gone through some changes in response to the changing marketplace. Called by some the Swiss Army Knife of periodicals, Utne Magazine publishes articles and essays from the alternative press, a sort of advocacy journalism. Many of these articles couldn't be found anywhere else, but Utne also considers the magazine a "clutter cutter" and information filter. Utne makes no bones about the fact that the magazine is not objective. Rather, the Utne Magazine is about advocacy and action. With it, Ms. Utne strives to "elevate into the public discourse the value of ideas." The magazine's mission is to find and present ideas in a way that "enlivens and inspires people."
Utne talked about what she considers the current
debasement of ideas. For an idea to be interesting is
not enough, she's interested in ideas that motivate
people to act. Utne echoed Unowksy's sentiment about
being involved in the community, by sponsoring events,
and simply bringing people together.
After the two independent media leaders were able to present their views, the salon opened up to the participants for questions and discussion. One question: What are your core values as a business? For Unowsky, core values include relationships with the community, not just being there for them, but with them. Relationships between management and staff are also very important, as well as a need to empower the staff. Utne echoed Unowsky's desire for a community base, but she also feels strongly about practicing feminine ways of doing business. Not necessarily doing business like a woman, but using the feminine side of oneself in business.
There was also a feeling in the room that a for-profit business doesn't need to be the bad guy, and in fact, sometimes non-profits should get off their moral high horses and be more concerned about being good business people. There are businesses who practice moral responsibility. That's really what Responsible Minnesota Business is all about. Making moral and ethical choices that are good for the community large and small.
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