Frequently Asked Questions

What, Why, How?

UNSPIN THE G8 is a temporary toolkit for the analysis of media reports during the run-up to the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, Germany (6-8 June 2007).

UNSPIN THE G8 focuses on the clashing discourses and media representations of the players: world leaders, issue celebrities, activists, social movements, security forces, industry leaders and lobby groups. What are all these actors telling us? And how do mass media cover the G8 Summit and the G8 protests?

During the run-up to the summit, UNSPIN THE G8 will serve as a collaborative blog deconstructing G8 PR and media coverage. Everyone can join. It's simple: upload a piece of video, or audio, a newspaper clipping or a press statement. It can be an eight o'clock news report, a press statement, an interview with an official, a photo, a background article from a newspaper, or any other media product.

Then analyse: what's the full story of the interview, statement, news item or article?

For video, you could look at what the images suggest. How do editing, voice over, framing, music, point-of-view, insert shots, etc. contribute to a story? What parts of a statement have been selected, and which have been left out? Who were interviewed, and what impression do these people leave on you? What do you sense when you look at the item? Do you believe the story? If several viewpoints are presented, which one seems more trustworthy and important to you, and why is that? What is the relevance of the item and why did the editors choose to broadcast this story?

For newspaper clippings, you could have a look at the headline: what does it suggest? On what page and in what section did the article appear? Have other papers covered the same story, and how do they present it? What sources are quoted and what opinions have been included and excluded?

Other users can comment on or add to the first analysis.

G8 and the INFOWARROOM

Interests of lobby organisations, industry leaders, environmental groups, NGO's, activists and the powerful world leaders are clashing, and the clash happens for an important part in the media. It's important to analyse how this info-war takes place.

"The Group of Eight (G8) is an international forum for the governments of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Together, the eight countries represent about 65 percent of the world economy. The group's activities include year-round conferences and policy research, culminating with an annual summit meeting attended by the heads of government of the member states. The European Commission is also represented at the meetings.

Each year, member states of the G8 take turns assuming the presidency of the group. The holder of the presidency sets the group's annual agenda and hosts the summit for that year. The presidency for 2007 belongs to Germany, which will host the 33rd G8 summit in Heiligendamm from June 6 to June 8." (wikipedia).

The eight countries making up the G8 represent about 14 percent of the world population, but they account for nearly two third of the world's economic output measured by gross domestic product. As the annual summits are extremely high profile, they are subject to extensive lobbying by advocacy groups, street demonstrations by activists and discussions in the media. The most well-known criticisms center on the assertion that members of G8 are responsible for global issues such as poverty in Africa and developing countries due to debt crisis and unfair trading policy, global warming due to carbon dioxide emission, the AIDS problem due to strict medicine patent policy and other problems that are related to globalization. G8 leaders are therefore pressured to take responsibility to combat problems they are accused of creating. (quotes from Wikipedia)

The G8 summit happens to take place at the same weekend as the final event of INFOWARROOM, a debate series, with the support of Culture 2000 programme of the EU and the Netherlands Culture Fund. INFOWARROOM offers media criticism and analysis of dominant visual cultures. Operating in three European cities - De Balie (Amsterdam), The Red House (Sofia) and Victoria Deluxe (Ghent).

Who?

This site is open for everyone interested in how media work. Create an account, check your email to activitate it, then post your image, video. story.

Credits:

Idea & technology: Gerbrand Oudenaarden / Engage!
Editor: Richard de Boer
Designer: Roel Wouters
InfoWarRoom team: Stefanie Hakkesteegt, Claud Biemans, Reimer van Tuinen
Unspintheg8.org is a project of De Balie, Center for Culture and Politics, Amsterdam in collaboration with Engage!.

UnspinThe G8.org is part of INFOWARROOM. INFOWARROOM offers media criticism and analysis of dominant visual cultures. Operating in three European countries, INFOWARROOM cross- examines and scrutinizes the production of social and cultural meaning in and by global mass media. The project is supported by the Culture 2000 programme of the European Union, the Netherlands Culture Fund (HGIS- Cultuurprogramma) and the European Cultural Foundation.



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