OUR Mistakes in covering the Troops March

I would first like to preface this post by saying that I deliberated for a considerable period over whether or not to make this post. I did not want my points to be misconstrued as negative or critical. In the end I decided to post, hoping that all those involved (directly or indirectly) are mature enough to take this for what it is...an experienced media persons advice and brief of lessons to be learned.

Please take it in this vein as this is the only intention.
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We knew before hand, and as we expected, the MSM had little or no coverage of this historic event. As far as I am aware, there was no "LIVE" coverage at all. And only a few precious mentions after the fact. The liberty movement expected this and made some attempts to offer an alternative.

The alternatives were live streams by participants at the event. The participants armed with smart phones and wireless laptops sent streams to the internet so those around the world could view the event "LIVE". Others had similar devices in addition to camcorders and still cameras to document the event, but did not send any live streams.

In the days and weeks leading up to this event, I sent numerous emails, made numerous forum posts, Facebook (event page) comments and tweets soliciting anyone who was going to be in attendance to contact and coordinate with me in order to arrange MULTIPLE streams and feeds of the event.

Sadly, of the many emails and messages sent and posted, I had less than 3 responses, and of those only 1 who actually followed through with their commitment to me. Instead most of the public responses on Facebook and twitter were along the lines of "The organizer is going to stream on his website." There were other places I was directed to view a stream, but these places were simply the same stream as on the organizer's site, but under a different website portal.

Granted, I may not be aware of all of the streams, but I am aware of 4.

1. Adam vs the Man - Ustream
2. Meg McClain -Ustream (same as Adam vs the Man)
3. Fr33Agents - Ustream (Unique feed)
4. Ron Paul Flix - - Ustream (Unique feed)

There was also my LiveStream channel, but this was a combination of the 3 unique feeds.

Now, on the face of it, this might seem to be quite good. In fact it was doomed to face problems. The first of which is that when one stream ended or got cut off, viewers were scrambling to to find another stream somewhere.

On a fair portion of the streams some of the camera operators were standing nearly side by side, thus offering the same vantage point.

Viewers were required to have multiple websites open and trying to view multiple streams utilising precious resources and bandwidth, not to mention the daunting task of having to try to multi-task and hunt for the most reliable feed or prospective.

During many feeds, either video or audio signal was lost unknown by the person sending the feed.

Many of these issues could have been avoided with a little coordination and team effort.

For example, on my Livestream I have resources to accept multiple feeds, video, audio, and phone-ins, Skype, etc. Because of this I am able to "Vision Mix" and conduct interviews. Provide instant replays, graphic overlays, cut to interviews, etc.. Basically I had the ability to "produce" a show rather than simply rely on a raw feed.

This type of setup would instantly broadcast the best angle, the best sound. Cut to a working feed if one feed crashes or freezes. This would mean that there would be at least one centralised and coordinated source to which viewers could be directed to get the ultimate coverage without the goose chasing.

For the die hard supporters of this movement and the campaign, any sort of coverage even if via a dialup connection would have sufficed. But for those not in the movement, It must be recognised that its not that simple. We must try our best to offer a REAL alternative to the MSM.

I know the talent and resources exist in our ranks, and its unfortunate we didn't plan better for this type of situation.

Time doesn't permit me to cover all of the points that I would like, but I hope that I have at least started a conversation about this, and pointed out some areas where we can improve.

I also hope that a feeling that I have in the back of my mind, (that some of the reason there wasn't more access to this event was because of some who wish to "own" the event or its "coverage")is just me being too cynical.

Lastly, although I mentioned my channel and its capabilities, this is in no way intended to say it should have been my channel that offered these capabilities. What I am saying is that we have the resources, and the know how to do this, whoever and however it is done. And regardless of who or where, these lessons and points still apply.

Please leave comments and address some of these points or raise some of your own. I don't expect the MSM to suddenly decide to play fair and cover the movement and campaign, so its up to us to do it.

Its not enough just to post on YouTube, we need a real alternative to the MSM. We are the movement, lets own it!

There are countless upcoming events, let's learn from our experiences so far and march on!

If you want to help at any upcoming event in your area, please contact me via the contact form on this site or by email at info @ world4ronpaul .com

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UPDATE 01:
Since posting this, a number of people have asked how they can contribute to this effort. I am compiling a list names and contact details for those who wish to be involved. Very shortly I will have a link where you can register your interest and submit your contact details.

For those who have asked how to contribute financially, I am working on this as well. The plan is to provide a 100% transparent system where people can donate and see exactly where their contribution is being used. Until that system is fully up and running, I can direct you to www.world4ronpaul.com . There you will find a link to a donation form. You can back a donation of any size with my firm assurance that any donated funds will be utilised for this effort and will be included in the financial reporting as soon as its ready to launch.

Lastly, for any sceptics out there who may think this is a way to solicit money, all I can say is no this is not the case. To date all I have done has been free, and will always be free, with or without any donations or financial support from anyone.
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UPDATE 02:
If you would like to register your interest in this project please do so here: http://www.world4ronpaul.com/index.php/archives/1162
The idea for this form is to begin to coordinate support for those who wish to take part or play a role in making this a success. More updates will follow as and when.
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UPDATE 03:
If you are following this post or just happened by and want to be part of the discussion on this Alternative to MSM project, I invite you to come and share your comments, questions and suggestions here:
http://www.world4ronpaul.com/index.php/forum/general-discuss...