numero #2
PTrevolutionTV
The revolution will not be televised: the Portuguese “PT revolution Tv” collective
On several occasions, I came across the broadcasting project PT Revolution TV in the streets of Lisbon. At any strike, manifestation or sit-in happening in Portugal, the staff (so called ninjas) of PT revolution TV would be there, showing to the Country what was happening. No mainstream censorship or filter turning everything into propaganda, just the news livestream on YouTube, making more people virtually participating to those events. The idea behind this project is linked to the Indymedia network movement *.
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Indymedia * consists of an independent information network organized globally, nationally and locally via the Internet.
Emerging in Seattle on the eve of the demonstrations against the meeting of the World Trade Organisation in November 1999, it quickly became the main vehicle for disseminating information about movements for alternative globalization.
Adopting the slogan ‘Don't hate the media! Be the media’, this network is characterized by a non-hierarchical structure, given that decisions in local and international collectives are taken by consensus, according to a model of participatory democracy, and by a model of sustainability based on donations and voluntary work, with a very limited budget.
The Indymedia network along the years underwent several technological and security issues, repression (e.g. in France, Greece, or even banned in Germany or Japan) with several projects closing, loosing popularity by 2010.
Portugal, the project survives until nowadays as indymedia.pt, run by “Centro de Média Independente”, a democratic, non-commercial collective of citizen journalists.
Besides Indymedia.pt, other projects complement its purpose to reach the great public. For example: Pt Revolution TV (internet TV on all social media), Rádio Paralelo (radio), and Coletivos.org (events platform).
So, one day, to know them better, I attended a PT Revolution TV meeting at Disgraça, Lisbon. At the meeting, in addition to some of the PT Revolution TV members, there were several collectives, even including a representative of the well known Portuguese newspaper Mapa. This is a trimestral journal of alternative information, music and culture, well spread across Portugal, founded in 2012. During the meeting, PT revolution TV staff, briefly went trough the history of their project, sharing anecdotes on how they originally met and highlighting the difficulties of using multiple social media networks as an effective alternative TV. To a question on what advice to give to people starting a live-stream television, they replied: “Choose the cause you believe in the most and focus on it even before you have the financial means. Learn how to use open-source softwares and social networks. Use the communication style based on your target audience. Be rigorous, consistent, value self-improvement and meet people. Don’t stop what you are doing, no matter what they say, that you are lunatics. And never act alone, always share what you are doing with your brothers/sisters and friends. [...] If someone feels unwell, we always have the first-aid kit with us. We have powerbanks for up to 20 hours. Have all the necessary equipment with you, even if you look like a donkey.”
Afterwards, I met with the ninjas, wanting to know more about them. Nuno, Portuguese, a pillar of the PT revolution TV. After a career as team building specialist, he decided to quit his job and dedicates himself full-time to the tv. He intentionally decided to live with a humble lifestyle, redirecting all his energies and time to the project: “Sometimes, I have a really hard time, thinking about my life, giving up a salary and all of its comforts. But then I think at what we are creating, the great solidarity, the community and warmth of people relations. This gives me strength and piece of mind”. Valdir is another TV ninja and he recalled when he first met Nuno: “I was in Aveiro for a bike protest against fracking and I met Nuno: ‘What are you doing with a tripod?’, ‘Live stream’ – I said. ‘Are you going to Bajouca for the fracking?’, ‘What’s that?’ – I asked. And everything has started.” Valdir is a professional photographer raised in a family of Cabo Verde immigrants. After we chatted about my research, he added: “I was very good at school when I was a boy, with many interests. I was the top in my class. But there was also work to do at home to help my family. Being immigrants was not easy and there was no scholarship program for students in my situation. Can you believe it? No one of the black students that I knew ever had the privilege to go to the University.” I actually confirm that in my institute there are only a few students from lusophone Africa, and it is actually odd since there are large communities in Portugal. Conversely, there are several school custodians from those countries. “Racism in Portugal is less about occasional direct insults, but rather constant subtle behaviors of people looking at you, judging, conspiring. And you know that something is off, because when you are in a group of white people the interaction dynamic would be completely different than when you are with black people. For example, I am a photographer, and I use expensive equipment for my profession. Some people look at me like I have just stolen my cameras from someone.” And he added, smiling proudly: “Black people are activists since they are in the cradle. As you grow up, It comes naturally to fight injustice”.
Contacts: https://linktr.ee/ptrevolutiont vwww.youtube.com/@ptrevolutiontv ptrevolutiontv@gmail.com https://indymedia.pt/ https://eventos.coletivos.org/