Behind the Scenes

P eriodically, we like to keep our readers informed about news from behind the scenes at Z Magazine and the other projects that are part of Z Communications. We meet every summer to evaluate the “state of Z” and to discuss changes and possible new projects. 

Currently, as many readers know, Z Communications consists of Z Magazine (started in 1988; now online as well), Z Media Institute (1994), ZNet (1997), and Z Video Productions (1999). 

At this summer’s “retreat” our mood was very much influenced by the “state of the world”: continuing war in Iraq, the expanding repressive USA PATRIOT Act, the “stolen” election of 2004, and the fundamentalist right-wing grasp of government and policy. Also depressing was the lack of a highly visible organized left with strategies and goals that would move us forward while allowing us to evaluate our successes, know where to increase our efforts, and inform the creation of new campaigns, etc. 

On the positive side, there is evidence of wide popular support for a progressive agenda and for an end to so-called “preemptive wars without end.” There is also a growing protest movement among the military and military families.  

State of Z 

A s to the “state of Z,” we are happy to report that Z Magazine is still here after 18 years of continuous production (we only missed one issue—in 1992 (combining May and June to save money). Our readers still send rave comments, donations, and helpful suggestions for new topics to cover; writers continue to submit thoughtful, interesting articles on a regular basis.  

The new projects we’ve started are still around, hopefully reaching newer audiences. We’ve produced many new videos this year and have also begun distributing them for other folks on a limited basis. ZNet continues to thrive, providing daily commentaries, thousands of new articles, as well as a huge archive section. 

Our nine-day summer school, Z Media Institute, was attended this year by 63 students. In addition to those from the U.S. and Canada, we had many international participants—from Greece, Turkey, Italy, Colombia, Japan, Dominican Republic, Wales, Scotland, South Africa, and Germany. Over 20 faculty came to teach foreign policy, institutionalized racism, women and revolution, starting a media project, radio and video skills, mainstream media analysis, radical theory, participatory economics, and many other courses on politics and media. While the ZMI experience is an intense one (classes from 8:45 AM to 10:00 PM), the sun and sea in Woods Hole help make it a relaxing, informal experience, with lots of humor through out.  

We’ve also achieved a certain amount of financial stability—for the next few years anyway. 

Plans for 2006 

W hile the climate of war and repression makes it more and more difficult to feel the effects of our media, this is not the time to retreat or accept mainstream media’s consignment of our efforts to the “loony left fringe.” Rather we plan to find new ways to reach wider audiences. First, we will begin the process of setting up Z Radio. Through the fall we plan on recording some sample shows. From there we’ll decide what works best, given our time and expertise. In early 2006, we’ll set our production schedule, add a new staff member, and Z Radio should be ready by late Spring 2006. We’re thinking of offering three or four different types of shows—beginning weekly, then more often. They will be available for downloading to IPods or for use by local independent radio stations. 

We are also planning on starting Z Books, a series of short booklets focused on visions and strategies for participatory society, radical theory, and democratic structure and process. They will provide the basis for possible year-round small training sessions similar to Z Media Institute (which is held every other year), but focused on working with the material in the book series. 

Throughout the next year we will also be discussing: 

• Further participation in the World Social Forum movement 
• Scheduling a series of Z Sessions, i.e., gatherings of 25 or so to discuss/debate presentations on vision, strategy, building new organizations, etc. 
• Building a network of activist reporters, writers, and speakers 
• Creating Z Players, a global network of actors, writers, and others who produce material for audio, video, and live performance 
• Expanding our video collection to include discussions, interviews, and documentaries. 
• Creating new features for ZNet, keeping up with new technologies 

Staff & Editorial 

C urrently, the paid staff consists of Michael Albert who works on ZNet and ZMI, Andy Dunn who works on Z Magazine , ZVideo Productions, and ZMI, Lydia Sargent who works on Z Magazine , ZVP, and ZMI, and Eric Sargent who works on Z Magazine . Daniel Morduchowitz who was on the ZNet staff left in April to return to California. By Spring 2006, Michael hopes to move to part time at ZNet and concentrate on Z Books. Also by late Spring, we hope to have one or two new staff members to work on ZNet and Z Radio. 

There is some confusion among writers and readers about the difference between Z Magazine and ZNet, i.e., many seem to feel they have the exact same material. In fact, their editorial process is different and the projects function autonomously. 

Z Magazine receives over 75 articles (mostly by email) a month, which the magazine staff review around the first of each month. From those 75 we pick a subset of around 20 for publication. We then proofread/copy edit these at least three times, then prepare the magazine on our desktop publishing program. We also have a stockpile of cartoons and graphics, which we pick from and scan into the magazine. Each issue goes to the printer (on paper and as a PDF file) around the 11th of each month, comes back to us for final copy and corrections, and is then printed and shipped by the 25th. Meanwhile, the subscriber list is updated and emailed to the printer around the 16th. We pay for all our articles and graphics. 

ZNet receives an entirely different set of articles and puts up as many as possible, focusing often on a more international selection than the magazine. These articles are rarely edited and most writers are not paid—as is the case with most Internet sites. While the editorial process at the magazine is defined to a large degree by space and time issues (we are a monthly), ZNet has unlimited space and can update the site hourly and archive thousands of articles. In addition to the free material on ZNet, it also offers a Sustainer Program, which people can join. They pay a certain amount per month or year and receive a Daily Commentary (the Commentary writers are paid) and access to Z Magazine Online. It is safe to say that the income from the 6,000 or so members of the Sustainer Program has kept Z alive for the past four years. 

Thanks 

W ith our small staff we often don’t have the time to thank all those who have supported us. So we’d like to thank them here. There are people who have been subscribing since the first issue in 1988. There are hundreds of people who, when they renew or buy a video, always add a donation to their fee. There are the people who write glowing comments when they mail in a subscription or a renewal— these mean a lot to us. There are the people who support us through ZNet’s Sustainer Program and the many volunteers who help update ZNet and maintain many of the “Watch” sites. Finally, there are the writers and cartoonists who have provided material over the years—some since 1988. 

Why the Name Z? 

W e are often surprised when people ask what the name Z means and where it came from. The question reminds us of how far we are from the 1960s/early 1970s when the movie Z , directed by Costa Gavras appeared in movie theaters. It tells the story of repression and resistance in Greece. The film opens with the chief of the security police lecturing his cohorts on the “mildew of the mind that menaces our ideological security.” He speaks of the infiltration of malignant germs, which appear as “isms” or “spots on the sun,” which he attributes to the advent of “hippies” and “peaceniks” in the U.S. and elsewhere. He urges those who work for “democracy” to use antibodies to destroy this mildew. He calls on the police and the military to “spray the young sprouts early in the schools, saturate the young buds in the universities, factories, and farms so that worthy people will recognize all those who have sworn to destroy our faith in God and King.” 

By the end of the movie, Comrade Z (the leader of the opposition) has been assassinated and his killers, including the chief of police, indicted. Yet, instead of the expected positive outcome for the country, the prosecutor dies mysteriously and a military junta takes over. A list of the things banned by the junta scrolls across the screen. They include: peace movements, long hair on men, Sophocles, Aeschylus, Tolstoy, the Beatles, strikes, labor unions, Mark Twain, Chekhov, the Bar Association, sociology, Beckett, the International Encyclopedia, the free press, modern and popular music, the new math, and the letter Z. 

One of the final images, after Comrade Z’s assassination, is of a large red “Z” scrawled on the street as we hear sounds of resistance in the background. We took the name for our magazine. 

We have tried, through the content of our media, to inform and inspire people to resist and to take up the task of answering the question often posed to the left: “We know what you’re against, but what do you want?”  

We will continue to do so in whatever way we can.