“I think the next 48 hours are critical. The group is currently attempting to write out an agenda or even a list of "demands." There is much varied opinion on what to consider, so the result is a muddled vague narrative of "We want to change the system." We can help create some oxygen to help this organic movement get momentum. And then take a cohesive narrative back to the streets that the majority of this country could support.
So, what can YOU do if you are in California or Wisconsin or Louisiana? [or Spain or Greece or Iceland?] Follow me below the fold for my ideas...”
I wrote those words on September 19. That was Day Three of the peaceful occupation of Zuccotti Park. I asked for donations from the Kos community to help with food, clothing, umbrellas, tarps and batteries for their laptops. And this community helped change the world..
Please consider a donation of $9.17 [Sept. 17] for our "Ideas Lab". Thanks for your generosity, no matter the amount.
I had been in Zuccotti Park since Day One, when I saw a thousand people from all factions march on the park and hold what I would later find out was their first General Assembly. I mingled amongst the crowd, but I didn’t know what they wanted. I was just proud to see some democracy in action.
I left that first night thinking I wouldn’t hear anything else from the group. [they’re going to sleep there?!] Then, on Day Two, I went back. That night there were still hundreds planning their next moves. That night I ate a slice of pizza delivered from Anonymous. That night, I had no idea I was participating in a revolution.
On Monday morning, I rushed back, but missed the march to Wall St. There were 6 arrests that day, according to the NY Times.
Pics courtesy of NY Times City Room blog...
Some were detained and charged with an 1845 law banning masks in groups of two. Another was charged with disorderly conduct. I made it back to Zuccotti Park to find over two hundred protesters still holding the space. That afternoon I posted my first diary on #OccupyWallStreet.And by the evening I had established the Media Fund.
That night I wrote the following:
“First, it feels like we are still very much on the knife's edge. Things could turn quickly and the movement can grow. Or more and more protesters will grow disillusioned and bored and may just fade away.”
I also said this:
“I don't know what tomorrow brings. I know a group of 150+ protestors with sleeping bags remain. I know a rove of marching protesters breaks out a few times a day, and their amplified message seems to energize them. Many onlookers take pics and video. The chants are varied: "We ARE...the 99%!" and "Wall St Got Bailed Out...We Got Sold Out!" It seems the group is still not settled on one narrative, this is truly an organic movement made up of kids who were born after 1990. Think about that.”
You reacted immediately. And overnight, this community had raised over $1000 to support the kids in the park. I remember being in awe of the power of a collective group of people responding to a cause and making an impact. I woke up and hurried off to an electronics store to get batteries and umbrellas and tarps to those who needed them urgently.
I was already doling out cash to protesters for prepaid phones, paper supplies, cables and bus tickets. And by the following day, we had secured a $2000 donation on an electronics website from another Kossack. So in 36 hours and before the movement had any real traction, this community had raised $3500+ for the occupation. Think about that.
On Day 8, everything changed again. While I was sitting at Central and uploading the footage taken of an earlier arrest in front of Chase Manhattan Plaza, reports started to trickle in of protesters being penned in the street by orange mesh barricades. This “kettling” was now being reported by several people near Union Square, one of which was my trusted source in the march.
My source then told me about the pepper spray incident. Four girls, corralled in a public sidewalk had just been maced by a white-shirted NYPD officer. I was dumbfounded. In fact, I didn’t report everything I was getting right away. About 30 minutes later, though, I had the video in my hands.
TheOther99 was the original source of this footage. It ricocheted around the web in just a few hours and soon we were fielding requests from major media outlets for permission to use the images. We gave anyone free license to use the film as they saw fit. The view count hit 1,000,000 in three days and was the #1 watched and #1 discussed video within News & Politics for nearly a week.
Our team knew we had to tell this story differently. I knew I wanted to continue to craft a narrative of what we were seeing from the ground, but knew I could no longer purchase posters and paint, American flags, or supply protesters with clothes or electronics. We posted a new heading under the same Media Fund and explained our new direction. We had already provided $10,000 of support to the movement courtesy of small donors all over the country, maybe the world.
The following week, on Day 15, our entire team was LIVE from the scene of the Brooklyn Bridge arrests. Jesse LaGreca was on the pedestrian upper level, and captured compelling video from the scene unfolding below him.
We also shot video of an MTA bus being used to transport protesters.
Another photographer and I were at the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge and captured live shots in real-time, so that all our followers or readers could get an accurate picture of what was happening. That evening, I was on BBC TV live, interviewed by their presenter on the specifics of what was still occurring just blocks away from our location. We’ve been on BBC a total of three times.
On Day 19, we covered the march to City Hall live with updates within the crowd of the protesters. That day saw 10,000 - 15,000 citizens take to the streets of lower Manhattan.
Later that evening, there was a major confrontation at Wall St and dozens of arrests were made. NYPD used pepper spray, batons, motorcycles, mounted officers and a multitude of undercover officers to separate and corral the protesters into smaller crowds.
For the first time, one of our photographers was tackled by an undercover policeman. We evaded arrest by simply breaking free and walking out, and within seconds were uploading another arrest video to the whole word. Our team was on site for nearly all the arrests that day, and most of it was streamed or uploaded within minutes.
The next day, my cameraman and I travelled to Washington DC to cover the movement from the capital. We were followed by German ARD television, the third foreign media outlet who we agreed to work with. It bears repeating, the best exposure our team [and this movement] received in the early days were from international sources.
This week also saw a burst of fame for Jesse, after the NY Observer posted video of his take down while being interviewed by FOX News. Later that weekend, Jesse appeared on “This Week with Christiane Amanpour.” He faced off with George Will and Peggy Noonan and beat back their stale ideas on exactly what our movement encompassed.
We had three team members on the ground on October 14, the day the police and private security from Brookfield Properties were expected to “clear” the park. We were told this was just for cleaning and maintenance purposes, but everyone felt it was a de facto eviction notice. That night a call to action was put out by the organizers, and before dawn thousands were in the park in a show of solidarity.
There was also a letter signed by 13 NYC Council Members supporting the right of the protesters to stay. This reportedly heavily influenced the decision to call off the operation. Just after dawn broke, the temporary victory was announced to massive cheers. This action was merely “postponed” and is still hanging over the heads of those in the park, however. Later that day, we live-blogged the developments all over the city from the field. Pictures and video of the most violent arrests proliferated all over the web almost immediately.
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The last few weeks have moved so quickly, it’s sometimes easy to forget where each of our lives were headed before this all started. Jesse is currently on a tour that will take him through Madison, Seattle, Denver, Chicago and Washington DC. Look for reports from the field covered on our site this week.
Our media director also produced a video that went viral two weeks ago titled “Marine Vet at #OccupyWallStreet Tells Hannity to F**k Off.” Its at 200,000 views and counting. Look for our follow-up featuring the Marine with student loan debt soon. You can also expect our next piece to air in the coming days; we asked protesters to read actual Rush Limbaugh quotes and respond to him. Spoiler: they aren’t kind, either.
On Monday morning, we were the only source of live video for the dust-up between Michael Moore and CNBC on the location for a scheduled remote interview. There had been some confusion over just how close he would be allowed to the NYSE for their piece. Moore relented after speaking to an NYPD officer and a field producer and agreed to a shot at Broadway. Then afterwards he walked himself and a sizable crowd to the steps of Federal Hall. All along the way, TheOther99 was at his side and had live video of his single man march.We even got some interview questions in, as well.
We are also proud to announce to you first that our team has been approved as a "Featured News" channel on Ustream. Coming is a video production schedule on our site and a loop of our best content on our channel. Those that can’t stay with this story live throughout the day can now have a place to watch original journalism on the day’s events. We’ll also be streaming the General Assemblies at Zuccotti Park.
Last night, we streamed the Community Board 1 Monthly Meeting from TriBeCa in Lower Manhattan. A scheduled vote which will “endorse” the right to protest for Occupy Wall Street is expected to pass. There is also a push for temporary bathrooms, limiting drumming hours, and maintaining a log of 311 complaints. Stay with us for the latest developments.
Throughout this entire movement, our mission has remained the same—provide primary source reporting from Zuccotti Park. [We were there from Day One on..] We've also evolved, though, into a media start-up company operating as a non-profit. Our goal morphed, now our model of journalism is creating credible, informed, compelling reports supported solely by small donors.
We believe in this mission. And I believe that we will build a sustainable revenue model that can support our team. My own priority remains finding the quickest path to providing a living wage and health care to the four person team who’s diligently and enthusiastically attacked our many obstacles.
We’re building a media platform. From scratch. And I know we will succeed as along as we get the best and most useful information out to our readers and followers. We also have long-form articles on underreported stories all over the country in the pipeline.
We are also launching a project to coincide with Bank Transfer Day on Nov. 5 called “American Autumn”. We will be educating our readers on the differences between big banks and local ones, and how everyone can participate in this movement by letting their money speak for them. Our site will allow others to RSVP their bank account change and we’ll invite readers to send in their own pictures and video opening accounts in banks that reinvest in their local communities.
Our Masquerade Party in New York on Nov. 17 will serve as our launch and simultaneously poke fun at the outdated 1845 law the NYPD used to arrest some early protesters. Details will follow soon, including a special allotment of tickets for our earliest Kos contributors.
This week is an important one. We are seeking space downtown to create the next part of this project. I call it our Ideas Laboratory. Our team will be able to craft new videos and edit the stories and stream of news we feel our readers want. We’ll have production meetings and schedule interviews on site. We’ll also be close enough to Zuccotti Park to continue to be the primary source trusted by over 12,000 followers on Facebook and Twitter.
Our Ustream account is now a Featured News channel, follow us here: Ustream.tv/TheOther99
Our website is launching soon, with an integrated comment section to have conversations with our readers: WeAreTheOther99.com
And our Twitter stream will continue to serve as a real-time feed of confirmed reports on the day's top news: @TheOther99
The Lab will also serve as a home base for the team as it grows in the future. We’ll follow the stories corporate media won’t cover. We’ll stay with local stories long after national cameras have left them and follow up on our earliest reports. And we'll not be hampered by executives in newsrooms dictating which stories to obfuscate.
I hope you stay with us. We thank you for your generous donations, whatever the amount. Our original reporting will never be behind a pay wall, so please continue to share our stories with family and friends. Thank you for fueling our coverage thus far. I’m looking forward to the next chapter of this movement. But be advised, it won't be televised..
Please consider a donation of $9.17 [Sept. 17] for our "Ideas Lab". Thanks for your generosity, no matter the amount.