Media attention was at full frenzy last week, as people were surprised that it was still going on for a month…but not too many mentions this week. Has the Occupy protests jumped the shark?
It’s not like the issues raised by the protests were really new revelations to the general public…just that many people were so empassioned by the issues that they took to camping out in public parks across the country to have their voices heard.
Okay…so the public has heard the outcry. Is it left on deaf ears for the most part?
Do they need to amp up their message to stay relevant on the google news feeds?
The rallies are getting bigger and are in more cities. How is that losing steam? They do not have ready access to the media though. They will cover it when the police beat them up. They will not cover the daily occupations though.
Losing steam? I saw/heard stories about the protest on three different media outlets this morning (NPR, CNN and the local news broadcast). Experts were quoted as being surprised at how strong the protest has been going after a month. Why do you think they’re losing steam?
The big test will be soon as lower Manhattan starts to get pretty chilly.
They’re starting up in central London as well. I think they’ve got a little ways to go, although I agree that the real test will be how they survive the approach of winter.
The Daily Show has been covering them this week with some astute observations. Last night (Oct 18) had a segment by John Oliver that felt particularly accurate. After mingling with some of the protesters he met with a few people in a bar who all appeared to agree with the sentiment and that they should do something…after the kids go to bed, or the Jets game, etc.
I don’t think it is necessarily apathy, so much as there is no clear solution to the various perceptions of what is broken, and so there is no direction to follow.
While the protests themselves may not actually change anything, it may be bringing a sentiment of agreement that ‘something’ is wrong and needs to be fixed. Whether that eventually translates into some sort of positive change remains to be seen. It seems unlikely until a firm course of action can be defined.
Personally I think there needs to be more regulation in the markets, not to stifle free enterprise but to build a set of rules that are not written by the players who are currently ‘winning’. I’m trying to work on an analogy to game play, but I haven’t got it yet.
sorry, I’d provide links but I’m in Canada and therefore prohibited from seeing the video selection on Comedy Central, and at work and therefore prohibited from searching for video at all.
I took some pillows and blankets down to the Detroit occupation. They intend to go until the election. that is a long time.
The occupiers surrounded the debate venue in Las Vegas yesterday. They got zero coverage.
That’s my point. Your protest is only as good as the coverage it gets. That’s been the argument for not having the protest in Washington DC where it more deservedly should be, as the people that can fix the problems are there…not really on Wall Street. By protesting on Wall Street they initially got more coverage.
But by a cursory review of the google news and yahoo news feeds…nary a mention in the top stories…unlike last week.
Well corporate news will not cover it.
Friday at noon, the Detroit marchers will go down to the main Bank of America office on Griswold and Congress. They are protesting the foreclosures. They want a moratorium .
It probably will not be covered.
However, your perception may be skewed by the reporting of the coverage. Corporate media has a vested interested to downplay, or even not report, what is actually occurring.
What do you want them to do Occupy The Media and take over a TV station so that accurate reporting can take place?
You seem to think that it’s in the power of the occupiers to get media coverage. Every occupation has a media team that any reporter, TV host, local station or whomever can talk to, whenever they want to. But this is not a media campaign. This isn’t about being the leading story on the Nightly News.
Interesting that “right wing media” is being blamed for the lack of coverage. Really?
I think it’s more of the point that their message is not unique or new.
The newsworthy part of the story is their occupation in the park, the potential conflicts with the police and city government, the occasional drive-by of empassioned celebrities, and the 20-30 other copycat cities with a few hundred people at each rally supporting the few thousand in NYC.
And even that’s gotten old after a few weeks. The updates on how they are fairing the winter will get some interest.
It’s kind of like Day 4 of David Blaine’s 7 day “buried alive” stunt. People just aren’t that interested any more…we’ll tune back in when it’s over, or if it looks like he might die or something.
That’s the beauty of it. It doesn’t matter what the public thinks. Whether the protests continue or fade is mostly irrelevant. At most some pols will throw some window dressing up and everyone in the media will be able to gush about “people power making a difference” or whatever.
That’s contrary to most of the OWS supporters have said a few weeks ago. Otherwise why protest on Wall Street? The investment banking firms could care less what a couple of thousand people camped out in a park think or do.
If you want to have your voice heard…you have to make it loud.