We’re Not Couch Potatoes: TV Fans Get Politically Active Online

My radio documentary about the activism of TV fans during last year’s Writer’s Guild of America strike will be distributed nationally this week by the National Radio Project on its show, Making Contact.  Go to their website to find where to listen in your area, or download the show online.  Here is the full synopsis:

“We’re Not Couch Potatoes” looks at the impact of the internet on the more traditional medium of television. As the mainstream media expands its use of the internet to engage viewers through interactive content, television fans are using these same new media tools to find their own voice and to advocate for their agenda in the world of entertainment.

The recent strike of the Writers’ Guild of America was a seminal moment in this new paradigm shift. For three months, organized online fan communities used the internet to support the labor demands of writers through YouTube campaigns, direct protests to studios, pizza deliveries to picketing writers, and skywriting protests over the New Year’s Day parade in Pasadena. “We’re Not Couch Potatoes” explores these actions and also examines the ties that hold fan communities together and the effect they have on TV content.

In the Bay Area, you can hear “We’re Not Couch Potatoes” on KPFA 94.1 FM, on Friday, February 13 at 1:30 p.m.
Update 2/12: KPFA is in the midst of its pledge drive, so “We’re Not Couch Potatoes” will not be heard this week.  But do not fear, it shall grace the airwaves of the Bay Area.  I’ll let you know when I hear it will be on.