In the first part of the program Eleanor sits down with Martha Dimitratou, founder and Executive Director of Repro Uncensored to talk about the battles to bring reproductive health and sexual education information to the people in a time of escalating digital and indeed analog censorship. Martha talks about how incorrect information is often platformed while science-backed and nuanced information is stifled – and what this means for the physical, mental and emotional health of those seeking reproductive health information and access. She also outlines tactics to sidestep this censorship, online and off.
Next up, Mickey sits down with Norman Stockwell, publisher of The Progressive magazine and indie media veteran to talk about the current state of the media, some history of independent media and why that matters, the importance of becoming the media ourselves, and framing the news outside of the 24/7 extractive cycle. Norm and Mickey also dig into the nuance of attacks on corporate media, and why a truly free press means more, not fewer voices.
Notes:
Martha Dimitratou is the founder and Executive Director of Repro Uncensored, the global nonprofit documenting systemic online censorship affecting sexual and reproductive health, abortion, LGBTQ+ communities, sex worker”led initiatives, and feminist organizations and activists.
Through Repro Uncensored, she also leads cultural initiatives and movement convenings that bridge art, technology, and advocacy.
Norman Stockwell is publisher of The Progressive magazine. Previously, for more thantwenty years, he served as WORT Community Radios Operations Coordinator in Madison, Wisconsin.He also coordinated the IraqJournal website in 2002-2003.In 2011, he regularly reported on protests in Madison for Irans PressTV and other outlets.His reports and interviews have appeared on Free Speech Radio News, DemocracyNow!, and AirAmerica, and in print in Z Magazine, the Capital Times, AlterNet, Toward Freedom, the Tico Times, the Feminist Connection, and elsewhere.He is co-editor of the bookREBEL REPORTING: John Ross Speaks to Independent Journalists.