Writing in the first person is unprofessional.  Of course, the codes of professionalized journalism are in part to blame for skewing the press increasingly towards the interests of business, more often than not at the expense of various communities. “Professionalizing” journalism was the media industry’s response to avoid attempts at outside (ahem, government) regulation. Today, Big Media is Big Business. Journalists have become little more than “content providers” whose function it is to create a hospitable environment for the advertiser’s message. To that end, we at Pamphlet have less interest in being “professional,” and more interest in providing readers with thought-provoking writings that can (hopefully) help to expand the parameters of “legitimate” public discourse. We find it necessary, as Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman often points out, “to go where the silence is.”

That said…welcome to Pamphlet.

In an effort to circumvent the limitations imposed by advertising sales, we are starting this project online. This is only the beginning. Our goal, after building our financial base through subscription, membership, grants and advertising, will be to go into print. Our objective is to allow writers greater liberty. Local issues can and will be placed in a broader social/economic/cultural context. Our op-ed writers will cover a broad range of subjects and issues that face us today.

Many of our contributors have become favorites through previous incarnations of the Champaign-Urbana alternative weeklies:  The Optimist, The Octopus, CU Cityview and The Paper.  You may recognize works by theatre critics James L. Seay and Chris Wixson, British humorist Div Sinclair, op-ed columnists Edward Burch, Carl Estabrook (News from Neptune), and “The Old Curmudge,” Jerry Landay.

We will have informed articles on independent film by critic Jason Pankoke, publisher of Micro-Film; book reviews by Jenny Southlynn and a stable of voracious readers; beer recommendations by Nilay Gandhi, along with your horoscope by Caeriel; poetic writings from backyard Goddess, Gail Snowdon, and the “muse-ings and rave-ings” of Pauline Kayes.  And of course, we plan to bring you the voices of many writers with whom you may not yet be familiar, but we trust you will appreciate.

We plan to cover a variety of topics, including labor issues, education, health care and media criticism. What types of stories do you tend to see in the labor section of your daily newspaper? Most likely, you will find none, because there isn’t a labor section anymore. Nearly all labor beat reporters over the past 20 to 30 years were either fired, or subsumed into the business section (so much for the balance of “professional” journalism). If you want the business perspective on labor (or any other topic, for that matter), it isn’t too hard to find:  CNN, Fox, NBC, Disney-ABC talk radio, NPR, Time, U.S. News & World Report, The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Clear Channel. Corporate media is so pervasive that it is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid. (David Cross pointed out the absurdity of having to read other countries’ newspapers to find out what is going on in our own country.) The re-regulating of the communications industry has made certain that the views of a plutocratic minority (i.e., the corporate class) will be disproportionately represented. At Pamphlet, we hope to present the views of a larger cross-section of our diverse population.

We don’t expect our readers to always agree with us. Hell, it is rare that the staff at Pamphlet agrees with each other. What we value most at Pamphlet is the notion of a public forum where people are free to express their ideas and opinions in a constructive way.

In short, Pamphlet is about:

Democracy (with a capitol “D”) – our right to speak our minds, to think and examine our world critically,

Culture – the seat of our creative conscience,

and

Revolution – the act of which is perpetuated by all of the above.

Combine these ingredients into a large bowl. Toss liberally. Enjoy!

Sincerely,
Editors:
Jenny Southlynn
Edward Burch

“So if you’re feeling low,
stuck in some bardo,
I, even I
know the solution.
Love, music, wine, and revolution.”

-Magnetic Fields