Snapshots from our panel this past Oct, on Alternative Media and the Solidarity Economy, at Philly Cam’s People Power Media Fest 2023. The panel was also part of our ongoing Solidarity Economy Assembly series which we’re doing in partnership with our member co-op friends at Making Worlds Cooperative Bookstore. In this panel, members of Philly’s independent media spoke about the critical work of telling stories which corporate media often overlooks because they don’t think it will sell/get clicks (and of course these stories often are the realities of what happens to oppressed populations), media being comprised of grassroots journalists from Black, brown, women, trans, and poor communities, and media workers finding/fighting for justice at their workplaces (co-ops, unions, winning specific battles, as important here). More than this was talked about, like the media blackout of the genocide in Palestine — and alt media’s role in fighting media blackouts like this and others (as well as discussion on people’s distaste for the term alt media cause why is corporate media considered the norm?). All of this tying into the solidarity economy’s belief in media being essential to “tell the story of our freedom” and access to real information, told by us rather than elites, about our world/lives towards shaping the just world we aim to build. Thank you to PhillyCAM for hosting us as well as to reps: Antoine Haywood and Laura Deutch for participating on the panel. Thank you to our facilitator: Manny Smith from Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, and our other amazing panelists: Malav Kanuga from Making Worlds and Common Notions, Vanessa Graber from Free Press, and Alex Wiles and Gabrielle Patterson from our member co-op Bonfire Media. Loved being in convo with you all and looking forward to more collaborations.