Event Friday to celebrate Media Democracy Day in Ottawa

by Ottawa Working Group of the Media Co-op

An Ottawa event Friday Nov 2 celebrates a new local news website and the growing movement that puts media in the hands of the people.

Media Democracy Day Ottawa 2012 will take place Friday Nov 2 at 7pm, at Octopus Books Centretown, 251 Bank St 2nd floor, at Under One Roof.

"We're planning to have a number of speakers representing different media projects and perspectives," says event organizer Greg Macdougall, a volunteer with the Ottawa Working Group of the Media Co-op (OWGMC). "We're seeing a transition in the way people interact with media, and we want to celebrate the fact that people are taking the power of media into their own hands."

The event is also doubling as the official launch of the website ottawa.mediacoop.ca, part of the national Media Co-op network.

The Media Co-op is a coast-to-coast network of local media co-operatives dedicated to providing grassroots, democratic coverage of their communities and of Canada. The Media Co-op is reader-funded and member-run.

Crystel Hajjar, a volunteer with the OWGMC as well as a national board member of the Media Co-op, states "We're really excited to be launching a Media Co-op site for Ottawa. We feel this is a real opportunity to add to building grassroots community coverage of issues people feel are important in their lives. And this event is a great chance to bring people together face-to-face when a lot of media connections are done online, it really adds a different dimension to things."

The event is free or by donation, all proceeds will go towards the Media Democracy conference which takes place two weeks later at the University of OTtawa. Conference website is www.organizingforjustice.ca

CONTACTS:

Crystel Hajjar, 613-850-7584
Greg Macdougall, 613-656-5498
email: omc@mediacoop.ca

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