Development of Mutu Network in the UK?

Outside of my main work for FreeTech Project, I’m posting this more in a personal capacity as it’s something I’m passionate about in terms of media activism.

In France and the surrounding areas, there has been an incredible development of regional radical media outlets: Mutu.

There has in the past been coverage of its successes and opportunities on places like Freedom Press.

Despite many people comparing this model to other preexisting media sites, it is rather unique (as you can tell from a brief glance at the first link), and with enough enthusiasm this model could eventually be replicated in the UK. I’ve already got a bit of a chat going on over on Twitter about the possibilities, as this is just an idea at this stage.

If anyone is interested, please do let me know! Thanks in advance!

6 Likes

Thanks for sharing the Mutu link… a bit of a discovery for me.

1 Like

You’re welcome! Does it interest you?

I Live in France, so French content is of interest, but also maybe as a platform where I could publish one or two cheeky thoughts of my own… I am interested in what get reported and what doesn’t, what words and images are used and why, how they create the world we inhabit.
As for UK - I don’t know what you had in mind. There is already a network of independent regional news in UK, isn’t there? Or at least I was under such impression - didn’t dig to find our who owns what, but sites like this one https://yorkshirebylines.co.uk/ exist, Ihave seen them for several regions - so maybe an aggregator of some kind would be useful so all of the network members can be easily found?
If there is any collective writing going on, that could be interesting thing to get involved in (remotely).
I can do QA and PM for any software project, but otherwise, to develp tings on the ground, ie find the writers or contributors etc… I’m not there so that’s probably not something I’d be too useful in. Looking forward to your thoughts.
Have fun.

1 Like

Now that is interesting! Thanks.

I’d created an aggregator of more ethical/reliable news sources on my own website, even had some amazing students develop an app for this purpose for a time – I’ve actually just updated it to remove a Twitter list as a source of aggregation and instead RSS feeds.

I think the difference of the Mutu model is that it’s horizontal whilst still being a network. Whereas in the UK there is a rise in “alternative” media initiatives of varying models that are all completely disconnected from – and in some cases even competing with – one another.

Your comment about platforms to publish things is exactly what strikes me about the possibilities: With so much media in the hands of so few, and the costs of advertising and bought-and-paid-for public spaces, it’s in many ways more challenging than ever to know where/how to post updates or articles about community events.

You have a cool skill-set! I am strictly remote in terms of my work and activities too, so I relate totally. If you’re at all interested in getting involved, even just a little bit, or just being kept in the loop, let me know.

I think as I’ve gathered folks together a bit more for this, one thing we’ve been lacking is a contact in France or at least a French language speaker who can pick any brains there if needed, so you may even know someone who could help in that area too.

Thanks again!

Sure, I’d be happy to talk to people in France. Are you on any chat apps?
And have you heard of murmurations data sharing protocol? https://docs.murmurations.network/
Could it be ueful for what you have in mind?
And looking at your website, like I said - I am interested in what people say and why they say it, and you say: " Life on earth essentially relies on communication and information." Which sounds like something you are trying to do, share the info and so on. But life on earth doesn’t depend on that. It depends on photosynthesis and rain in the right amount at the right time. One could argue that that is also communication of sorts, but before we start that argument we might take a step back and try to see what we would want to achieve by persuing it.
The important thing is to recognise and acknowledge what we really depend on. We don’t depend on websites or information they carry - although in industrialised societies they seem important. But even in those societies, we actually depend on oxygen and drinking water and liveable temperatures - all made for us by vegetation. Credit where credit’s due.
Anyway… if you are chatting somewhere and if you’d like to talk more, let me know where I can find you? Let’s see what can be done…
take care

2 Likes

Thanks for this - fascinating! I’m looking into Murmurations!

Haha definitely credit where it’s due on nature yes! Even nature relies on information/communication, right? Seasonal changes, stimulus, and other natural data? I appreciate you taking the time to read my stuff and love the thoughtful, critical approach people take to any and all writing, including my own! So thank you!

Please contact me on any of the methods you prefer from this list (I’m also on Signal etc).

Thanks again so much!

1 Like

Oh, also living in France and also very happy to discover the Mutu network. I have some friends who publish radical news in Liverpool, I’ll pass this onto them too!

What do you need for the next step in starting a Mutu network in the UK? I’m keen to get involved with this proactively

I speak French as a second language and I’m based in Paris

Thanks also for the link to Murmurations @earthling

4 Likes

It may help coordinate things and share data. I will also help if I can.

1 Like

A friend shared with me this interesting article from Libcom in 2018. It’s a great overview of the Mutu network in the context of how it came about and how it’s organised, and the state-of-play for anti-authoritarian radical news in the UK

If there isn’t already one then we should make a roadmap? We could contact people from Mutu and ask for help?

Perhaps the next step is to arrange a short call, introduce ourselves and set some action points?

3 Likes

Finally getting set back up, logging back in, and catching up! Oops! Progress is being made on Mutu in the UK now at least!

Anyone else interested in getting involved?