A View from the Field: From New Orleans to Houston

We provide regular updates from the field as staffers work alongside our amazing allies and activists to create a just and equitable media system.

• Ruth L. Nuñez took part in two sessions at the Netroots conference in New Orleans. During the first — “Politically Incorrect: Weaponizing Disinformation to Shape Public Opinion” — Ruth discussed various Free Press projects, including our 2024 public-opinion poll and our Media Capitulation Index, which shows how the largest media companies are generally failing to protect democracy in the Trump era.
• During the second session, Ruth presented Free Press’ “Organizing Against Authoritarianism” toolkit. This resource is designed to give journalists, newsrooms and activists ways to stay safe while pushing back against authoritarian threats. Ruth discusses the toolkit in this video.
• The Media 2070 team held a membership call and shared its latest updates — including information on the next stop of the Black Future Newsstand. The multimedia installation, which previously appeared in Harlem, Austin, Chicago and Los Angeles, will be in Houston from Oct. 30–Nov. 2. The Houston version will explore how Afro-Texans have created media-care models and shared reparative storytelling around climate justice, technology and reproductive rights. The membership meeting also featured a Narrative Repair Roundtable with Trevor Smith of BLIS Collective, Terry Marshall of Intelligent Mischief and Media 2070 co-founder Joseph Torres. Anshantia Oso moderated the conversation.