How conscious creators use cooperation to strengthen their craft
- Cooperation can give creators access to the time, expertise, feedback and working conditions that thoughtful work requires.
Why is a new system needed?
- We have a failed worldview of systems and this flawed failure to recognize, understand, accept and build upon the fact that everything is connected is at the heart of the problem
- Our media is undermining democracy, and in some ways, they have displaced it with a mediaocracy—rule by the agenda-setting power of privately owned media corporations. Unfortunately, this is one headline rarely in the news.
- The failure of coverage actually helps the public in the dark when the coverage that is given lacks context and explanation.
- The so-called experts who get most of the face time in Public Broadcasting Outlets came primarily from mainstream news organizations and Washington think tanks rather than diverse interests. Economic news, for example, was almost entirely retracted through the views of business people, investors and business journalist. Voices outside the corporate Wall Street Universe, non-professional workers, labor representatives, consumer advocates and the general public were rarely heard.
- This total lack of balance on the screen concealed an unreported confluence of issues behind the scenes. It is a case of collusion, even complicity, between broadcasters and the Pentagon.
- “The American media system is spinning out of control in a hyper commercialized frenzy. Fewer than ten transnational media conglomerates dominate much of our media; fewer than two dozen account for the overwhelming majority of our newspapers, magazines, films, television, radio and books. With every aspect of our media culture now fair game for commercial exploitation, we can look forward to the full-scale commercialization of sports, arts and education, the disappearance of notions of public service from public discourse, and the degeneration of journalism, political coverage and children’s programming under commercial pressure.” —Robert McChesney.
What does it look like?
- A creative cooperative combining shared resources, mentorship and structured peer review with clearly assigned project responsibilities.
- Members govern the business democratically. Directors, editors and producers retain defined authority to complete projects.
How does it work?
Creators pool selected equipment and skills. They review projects at agreed stages and establish transparent policies for pay, credit and resolving disagreements.
Where finances permit, commissioned work can help sustain independent development.
What are the benefits to creators?
Access to experienced collaborators, stronger technical capacity, opportunities to learn and potentially more sustainable workloads.
The practical question: Does cooperation create more capacity for good work—and how much time does governing the organization require?
What are the public benefits?
- Potentially better researched stories, more accessible productions, richer perspectives and stronger relationships with represented communities.
- Evaluate these outcomes through audience understanding, participant feedback and factual accuracy. Awards provide only part of the picture.
What steps are needed for success?
- Recruit complementary skills; agree editorial and ethical standards; protect time for constructive feedback; assign decision rights; fund training; establish conflict and exit procedures.
- For the feature, follow one production from early draft to completion and show exactly how collaboration changed it.
Living examples
- Meerkat Media, United States: Its cooperative production company and artist collective are distinct entities. Shared resources and collaborative practice support professional and independent filmmaking. Its festival and broadcast record demonstrates professional reach, although it does not prove cooperation alone caused the work’s quality. meerkatmedia.org
- Tënk, France: This documentary cooperative connects distribution with support for creation, including post-production resources. It offers a concrete example of cooperation supporting both completion and access to audiences. Tënk