Tactical media is a term coined in 1996, to denote a form of

media activism Media activism is a broad category of activism that utilizes Mass media, media and communication technologies for social movement, social and political movements. Methods of media activism include publishing news on websites, creating video and ...

that privileges temporary interventions in the media sphere over the creation of permanent and

alternative media Alternative media are media sources that differ from established forms of media, such as mainstream media or mass media, in terms of their content, production, or distribution.Downing, John (2001). ''Radical Media''. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publica ...

outlets.

Examples

Tactical media projects are often a mix between art and activism, which explains why many of its roots can be traced to various art movements. It has been suggested by tactical media theorist

Geert Lovink Geert Lovink (born 1959, Amsterdam) is the founding director of the Institute of Network Cultures, whose goals are to explore, document and feed the potential for socio-economical change of the new media field through events, publications and ope ...

that "discourse plus art equals spectacle", reflecting its striking and memorable nature. Although there are no strict mediums through which it operates, tactical media can often have very high aesthetic value, adding to its "spectacle" and reinforcing some of its artistic roots.

GWbush.com

In 1998, computer programmer and political activist Zack Exley purchased a domain and created a website titled GWbush.com. He invited the group RTMark (pronounced Art Mark) to build a copy of

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

's official website, as they had done for some corporate websites. Later, Zack Exley changed the website to be a more mainstream satire (drawing criticism from RTMark), posting a fake press release from the Bush campaign announcing a promise to "pardon all drug prisoners as long as they've learned from their past mistakes". In the midst of Bush's campaign for office, the website not only received millions of hits, but also received coverage from such organizations as

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

, ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' and ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

''. This phenomenon can be classified as tactical media because of its conformance to its corresponding criteria.

Tactical air force

In 2000,

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

's Zapatista Army of National Liberation social movement decided to launch a "tactical air force". The Zapatistas' air force consisted of hundreds of paper airplanes. After throwing the planes over the fence of a federal barrack, confused troops were quick to point their rifles at the paper intruders, creating an image that conveyed a very strong message of peace versus war—the target ultimately being the government.

Comparisons

It has often been compared to

culture jamming Culture jamming (sometimes also guerrilla communication) is a form of protest used by many anti-consumerist social movements to disrupt or subvert media culture and its mainstream cultural institutions, including corporate advertising. It at ...

, as both use many of the same techniques in an attempt to occupy the public space controlled by mass media. Where the two practices differ is in their way to obtain this public space; while culture jamming consists of a response to the dominant practices within it, tactical media uses the dominant practices in order to penetrate it and become part of it. Tactical media has also been compared to

. It differs from the latter by its manner in dealing with mass media where alternative media does not seek to infiltrate the dominant by a quick tactic; it attempts to oppose it by proposing what its name suggests: an alternative to the dominant.

Organizations

* Critical Art Ensemble * Institute for Applied Autonomy * RTMark * subRosa * Telestreet * The Yes Men
Mídia Tática Brasil

References

Sources

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