Chat Ed : Welcome Roddy!

Cyndi Lauper Tea Bag : Halo0o0o0o Roddy :)
Notata Dignum : Hi Roddy!
eye : Hey Rodders
Candice : hey roddy :)

Roddy Mansfield : Hello I'm Roddy Mansfield, co-producer of Breaking News on Alt-World.

Notata Dignum : video activist to producer....... what prompted such a change in direction... and have you any regrets about your change in career?

Roddy Mansfield : No I don't have any regrets in my change of career because I now have the opportunity for my work to be seen by a much wider audience. I'm still involved in the social change movement, but working for the mainstream media has enabled me to understand it better.

Chrome H : Do you feel you've sold out by coming on the mainstream media channels?

Roddy Mansfield : No I haven't sold out. Again by working in it I am able to get a much clearer insight into how global media works. So when I am manipulating the mainstream media I am able to understand how the approach works. The alternative media is now playing the mainstream media at their own game. So when we are trying to get our film shown on TV it is essential that you do have an insight into the machinations of the corporate media.

ABTM : your piece was all about police restriction of journalists. is it getting worse?

Roddy Mansfield : Police harassment of journalists is getting worse which is a good sign in one way because it shows we are having an effect. I would be worried if the police did not give us any attention. It's obvious that we are a painful thorn in the side of the establishment. The fact that I am targeted by the police so much shows that we have touched a very raw nerve in the establishment.

splitsplot : Do you not think that press freedom is dangerous thing, leading to the hounding of innocent people in the search for ratings?

Roddy Mansfield : News is whatever someone somewhere is trying to suppress. The films I make are investigative reporting, not factual entertainment. They are about exposing injustice not about hounding people.

ben : Roddy, any plans to make a programme specificly covering the London RTS events?

Roddy Mansfield : Undercurrents has covered 'Reclaim the Streets' for years. One thing we are interested in is networking with the local video activists who can shoot action such as Reclaim the Streets and then send the tapes into us.

sophy : Can a police man legally take a camera off you for documenting an event?

Roddy Mansfield : No. If police want to seize equipment, first of all they have to arrest you, secondly, they can't seize any photos or films or tape without first obtaining a Y warrant. If you are approached by a police officer and you think you are going to be arrested, keep the camera rolling and loudly state that you have a legal right to observe independently.

tylermb : Do you believe that violent protest can have positive effects in terms of the whole protest movement?

Roddy Mansfield : Yes they can. Unfortunately the mainstream media are summoned by violence. It's often the case that social justice issues don't get covered unless those involved make a spectacle of themselves. It's very unlikely that the G8 Summit would have got as much coverage as it did if there hadn't been violence to property on the streets of Genoa.

Chrome H : what about Genoa? Would you have filmed that guy who died, or tried to help him?

Roddy Mansfield : I would have filmed it. It's very important that when you attend these events that you stick to your role. If I had put my camera down to help him it might have made a small difference, but cam-corders can be used as a witness tool. The reason I am a video-activist is so that I can allow others to bear witness to injustice whether it be a tree being pulled down to make way for a road, or a fox being ripped apart in the name of sport. By filming these events, and allowing others to bear witness, it's incredibly empowering.

eye : But surely it creates the kind of image of protestors that makes most people lose sympathy for them, when scenes of rioting are shown on the news... the actual message gets lost?

Roddy Mansfield : It depends what you mean by the message getting lost. Damage to property isn't the same as damage to people. The Summit at Genoa wouldn't have got the coverage it did if the whole event had been entirely peaceful. I'm not saying violence is right. It's just an unfortunate trait of the corporate media that hysteria and violence sells.

kiran : do you actually chose what issues you address?
s2Dart : So what do you feel are the most important issues right now?

Roddy Mansfield : kiran, Undercurrents works with locally based activists and campaign groups. We provide media support to campaign groups that are working on social justice issues, and those groups that feel they have been let down by the mainstream media. We are interested in working to bring communities together. That's why we wouldn't work with the British National Party, because their agenda is to divide and oppress. s2Dart, the most important thing at the moment is the Anti-Globalisation Movement. It's one of the most empowering global forces for social change that we have seen for decades. It's not an Anti-Capitalist movement. It's a Pro-Democracy movement. It covers a multitude of issues. Everything from Third World debt to pay and equality, oppression, the environment, animal rights, human rights and a burning desire for social justice in a fairer world.

Chat Ed : Our 25 mins with Roddy is up now, so last two questions now, thanks....

tash : if we film activists in action, how can we ensure that the footage does not become part of the evidence against them?

Roddy Mansfield : By understanding the law; by knowing your rights when challenged by the police. Also by co-operating with the groups you are providing media support with. It's important to work with groups and communities, not just for them.

martina : Roddy I want to have your babies

Roddy Mansfield chuckles
Roddy Mansfield : Gosh.

martina : OK Chat Ed, you spoil sport, ask him this - Roddy, can we win?

Roddy Mansfield : Yes we can win. But there isn't going to be an unexpected messiah to save us all. There is only one thing that can right the wrongs in this world, which can make the world a better place for sharing and forgiving, to seek out injustice where ever it lurks, that thing...is YOU.If anyone wants to get involved with Undercurrents go to www.undercurrents.org

Roddy Mansfield leaves the room