Declare your independence

This is the final post in the series "Declare your independence" exploring why subscribing to Bitch is so important. This post is guest-written by Portland State media studies professor (and Bitch subscriber) Jil Freeman.

Most people feel overwhelmed when they hear that six major conglomerates own 80% of the world’s media products. And while I’m pretty certain that anyone of us could take Rupert Murdoch or Summer Redstone in a cage match, when it comes to besting them in the corporate marketplace it feels, well, like an unfair fight. Much of my work revolves around railing against the ills of big media. No matter how many shocking figures I can quote or how many examples of how corporate media products facilitate and sustain sexism, racism, homophobia, and classism, it always ends with the same question: "What can we do about it?"

We’ve mentioned before how Bitch Media, a nonprofit organization, nets only seven cents on each magazine bought at the newsstand. That number is no exaggeration. After we pay to print the issue, ship boxes of it out to wholesalers, pay brokerage fees, and then, finally, pay AGAIN to ship the issues that don’t sell on the newsstand back to their final destination of death by recycler or waste incinerator—well, those costs add up

Most Bitch readers buy the magazine off the magazine rack, at a bookstore, a grocery store, or a boutique. This is called newsstand distribution, and it’s a system that is built on and rewards waste and inefficiency.

As many of you Internet fans know, I’m the web editor here at Bitch Media, which means I concern myself mainly with what goes on in this series of tubes we’re working in right now. However, today I’d like to talk about Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture, the best print magazine in the whole world. (OK, I’m biased, but it is seriously awesome.) And now you can get a subscription or renew your existing subscription to the magazine for the limited-time price of $19.96!