Graham Meikle

Graham Meikle is a media theorist who specialises in many areas, including media activism. Graham Meikle is a media theorist who specialises in many areas, including media activism. Graham Meikle is a senior lecturer and author teaching in the Media and Communications department at Macquarie University, Sydney.Graham Meikle has an MA in Media, Technology and Law as well as obtaining a PhD on the topic of internet activism from Macquarie University.

Life

Graham Meikle possesses a PhD (on the topic of Internet Activism) and an MA in Media, Technology and Law from Macquarie University, in addition to an MA Honours in English Literature from Edinburgh University. Since joining Macquarie University's staff in 1999, Meikle has convened several courses on behalf of the Media Department, including MAS105, MAS203 and MAS214.

Publications

Meikle is the author of several articles, journal entries and book chapters across a broad range of media topics, including media activism, culture jamming and experimental online news networks.

Meikle has also published two books, [http://www.amazon.com/Future-Active-Media-Activism-Internet/dp/0415943221 "Future Active: Media Activism and the Internet"] (2002, Routledge) and "Interpreting News" (2008, Palgrave Macmillan).

Theory

Meikle's first solo publication on the topic of Media, Future Active: Media Activism and the Internet, explores the growing tendency for the Internet to play the host for a new kind of civil disobedience. In his 2004 article, Networks of Influence: Internet Activism in Australia and Beyond (published in Gerard Goggin's Virtual Nation: the Internet in Australia) Meikle examines internet activism in Australia specifically. He looks at a number of websites (to which Meikle refers as “online hubs”) to argue that not only is the Internet facilitating a new (perhaps more effective) kind of activism, but that the use of the Internet has inverted activism processesHarv |Meikle|2004| p=73. Meikle cites Manuel Castells when he points out that no longer is the old slogan “think global, act local” applicable to activist pursuits. Now, in this contemporary Internet age, the slogan “act global, think local” is more true of political activismHarv |Meikle|2004| p=74.

Major areas of work

While teaching at the Macquarie University, Sydney, Meikle is also the author of various publications including the book "Future Active: Media Activism and the Internet", where he closely work upon issues of internet activism.In his book, "Future Active: Media Activism and the Internet", Meikle explores a vast area of internet activism, where he discusses in detail and examines the use of the Internet as a tool to effect political, social as well as cultural change.

Graham Meikle provides several case studies within his book such as the Indymedia phenomenon, McSpotlight as well as looking at Australian activism such as [www.active.org.au/Sydney Active-Sydney] - "a localised online hub for social change campaigners" (2002: 73)."Future Active: Media Activism and the Internet" discusses the ways in which the internet has enabled new forms of gathering for people across the world with very different visions of linked world communities.

Active-sydneyMeikle in his sixth chapter details the Australian activism, where he closely links his chapter to the understanding of what he calls 'Internet politics' - a term which is offered by David Resnick where Resnick suggests: "comprises at least three political phenomena: politics within the Net, politics which impacts the Net, and political uses of the Net" (2002: 74).Active-sydney - a forum site which encourages users to interact and participate in ways to improve and aim to make the world a better place. Meikle demonstrates here how this form of activism led to the very first example of the [www.indymedia.org Indymedia movement] , which was established in 1999 for the Seattle demonstrations against the World Trade Organisation in November that year (80).Rather than focusing on event listings like Active-sydney, Indymedia instead focused upon news coverage; however it did use the Active software as a basis. Indymedia became a success as it was clear that this form of open publishing met the need of many people, where soon after, indymedia centres started increasing locally and globally.

This has only touched lightly upon parts of Meikle's work on his study of Internet activism as he goes into more detail throughout his other chapters.

Books

* Graham Meikle (2002) Future Active: Media Activism and the Internet, Routledge, New York.

Books and articles concerning his ideas

Books
* Graham Meikle (2004) 'Networks of Influence: Internet Activism in Australia and Beyond' in Gerard Goggin (ed.) Virtual Nation: the Internet in Australia, UNSW Press, Sydney, pp. 73-87.
* Graham Meikle (2005) 'Open Publishing, Open Technologies' in John Hartley (ed.) Creative Industries, Blackwell, Malden, Massachusetts, pp. 70-82.
* Graham Meikle (2007) 'Stop Signs: An Introduction to Culture Jamming' in Kate Coyer, Tony Dowmunt and Alan Fountain (eds) The Alternative Media Handbook, Routledge, London.

Journals and online articles
* Graham Meikle (2000) [http://reviews.media-culture.org.au/features/politics/lovink.html 'Interview with Geert Lovink'] in Freedom Dreams: Politics and Alternative Media on the Net: A special issue of M/C Reviews
* Graham Meikle (2000) [http://reviews.mediaculture.org.au/features/politics/gwbush.html'gwbush.com Tactical media strike' in Freedom Dreams:] Politics and Alternative Media on the Net: A special issue of M/C Reviews.
* Graham Meikle (2003) [http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0304/02-feature.php 'Indymedia and the New Net News'] , M/C Journal, vol. 6, no. 2.
* Graham Meikle (2003) 'We Are All Boat People: a Case Study in Internet Activism', Media International Australia, no. 107, May, pp. 9-18.
* Graham Meikle (2003) 'Indymedia and the New Net News', Media Development, vol. 50, no. 4, pp. 3-6

External links

* [http://www.media.mq.edu.au Macquarie University of Sydney]