Occupy Wall Street Media Round-Up for January 4

While media stories about OWS have diminished, the movement continues to organize this winter in anticipation of renewed action in the spring. Occupiers marched in the Rose Parade in California (Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle) and took down barricades around Zuccotti Park on New Year’s Eve (USA Today).  Occupiers organized actions targeting Republican presidential nominees in the days leading up to the Iowa caucuses (Associated Press, Politico). An Associated Press story focused on the small actions in Iowa and whether OWS will become a more institutionalized electoral force? 

“Occupy the Dream,” a campaign led by former NAACP Executive Director Ben Chavis and a national group of Black clergy, will start on Monday, January 16 in commemoration of MLK’s birthday holiday, reported Black Americans. On that day, preachers will connect with OWS and hold protests at Federal Reserve Banks in 10 cities. The strategy will be to raise the consciousness level of African-Americans. 

Salon reported that Occupiers from across the country continue to organize and share tactics through weekly general calls, which are held each Monday night for two hours, and specialized calls for members of different working groups. The national calls are run through MaestroConference, which allows for both voting by phone and smaller breakout calls in the middle of a larger call, operating similarly to general assemblies. In one national call, the five most popular breakout discussions were: alternative actions beyond protests; winning the rest of the 99 percent; fundraising tactics; how to bring general assemblies into residential neighborhoods; and electoral reform. 

Politico offered “Five Ways to Re-Occupy 2011”: Occupying university campuses – more specifically, university economics departments; “going corporate” by cultivating supporters, developing a defined agenda, crowd-sourcing policy changes, and making money; improving messaging through educational videos and documentaries; continuing street theater; and maintaining political action. On January 17, Occupiers will hold an event in DC similar to December’s “Take Back the Capitol.”