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Media Minutes: August 31, 2007 from Free Press
The Bush administration finally admits that telcos have helped the NSA spy on Americans, which could help pending lawsuits against the illegal wiretapping. And a study finds Chicago's local news programs don't represent the rich diversity of that city.

Media Minutes: September 14, 2007
The FCC is holding a public hearing on media ownership in Chicago on Sept. 20, and local organizers are busy educating the public about the issues. And public access television stations across the country are gearing up for local elections.

Public interest groups want to know why the DOJ submitted a filing to the FCC against Net Neutrality – six weeks after the deadline. And OneWebDay's founder talks about why we need to take time to appreciate the Web.

Data mining on social networks is much more pervasive and secretive than most users know. Long-time media activists Jeff Chester and Kathryn Montgomery share their concerns about online marketing and surveillance.

Dave Hughes, the Cursor Cowboy, hangs up his Web access spurs after providing Internet service for 23 years and hooking up rural and remote areas to the wireless Web all over the world. And the 700 MHz spectrum auction could pry open the wireless market.

The MPAA has admitted to using faulty data to make its case that colleges and universities should filter their networks for copyright violations. And Gannett has expressed interest in partnering with Colorado State University's newspaper, the Collegian.

TV and film writers headed back to work last week after a three-month walkout. And vast portions of the public airwaves in between the broadcast channels on your TV dial remain empty but inaccessible. Several public interest groups are pressuring the FCC to set “white spaces” free.

This week, the FCC held a public hearing in Boston to investigate allegations that Comcast has been blocking Internet traffic. Media Minutes traveled to the event to find that Comcast had paid people to fill the seats - leaving many interested citizens shut out in the cold.

Calling the FCC’s decision to relax media ownership rules “arrogant” and a “cave-in to corporate interests,” Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) introduced a “Resolution of Disapproval” that would nullify the decision. And a new study on the 2008 presidential primaries shows that news coverage about the “horse race” dominates all other aspects of campaigning.

Many independent media makers say that the MPAA’s multi-million dollar fight against Net Neutrality has little to do with piracy – it’s about controlling Internet content. And the increasing disappearance of editorial from newspapers correlates with the rise of media consolidation.

High hopes that the FCC spectrum auction would provide competition in the wireless market were dashed as Verizon and AT&T won their bids for large portions of the airwaves. And the Chauncey Bailey Project continues to honor the work of the slain reporter by uncovering more information about his murder and his Oakland, California community.

Public pressure may have forced Comcast to work with BitTorrent on finding ways to distribute large Internet files, but their collaboration is no substitute for actual policy that would keep the Internet open. And 25 rural Vermont towns have joined in a regional effort to bring high-speed fiber optic Internet access to their homes.

At BroadbandCensus.com, you can find out about broadband providers in your area, see what your broadband speed actually is, and help create a nationwide census on broadband information that big media companies don’t want you to know. And Community Television of Santa Cruz plugs public access TV with an entertaining new promotional video.

One big problem with the outcome of the 700 MHz auction: Giant telecom companies Verizon and AT&T were the big winners while women and minority businesses were squeezed out. And guest commentator Craig Aaron explains why Comcast should be voted America’s worst company.

The New York Times uncovers a large, coordinated Pentagon scheme to sell the occupation of Iraq to the American public via a network of purportedly independent retired military officers acting as paid “analysts” and “experts” for U.S. TV networks and cable channels. And Net Neutrality takes center stage at both Congress and the FCC.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin announced the agency will craft a new plan for a national public safety network. And the Senate Commerce Committee passed a legislative veto of the FCC’s new media ownership rules as Rupert Murdoch prepared to bid for a third New York newspaper.

The Media Giraffe Project will be sponsoring a conference in Minneapolis in June to give local online news and community Web entrepreneurs and activists a chance to share advice about legal, organizational and advertising issues. And a House subcommittee held a hearing this week on the Internet Freedom Preservation Act.

In an historic bipartisan vote, the Senate overwhelmingly agreed to turn back the FCC’s decision to relax longstanding media ownership rules. And the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination works within the media across all media platforms to promote fairness and equality for the GLBT community.

With more than 250 presenters and 3500 attendees, the 2008 National Conference for Media Reform in Minneapolis was a chance to learn about the issues shaping our media and to strategize for the future.

www.freepress.net/conference

The FCC is beginning to take seriously its job to provide better information about broadband access, which will eventually affect Internet users’ ability to upload and download content faster. And Rev. Romal Tune say that “unity” is the key to success for the media reform movement.

The InternetforEveryone.org Initiative was launched this week to raise public awareness about America’s digital divide and renew the call for a fast, open and affordable Internet as a basic right. And Youth Rights Media premiered their latest documentary, No Haven, in New Haven, Connecticut.

Online advertising firm, NebuAd, may have stepped over the line with its ad-targeting scheme that monitors Web browsing and alters computer codes. And Philadelphia has announced a deal with local investors to keep its muni wi-fi project alive after Earthlink bowed out earlier this month.

Forget about collecting trading cards for sports figures. The hot items this year are Media Heroes trading cards. And the news for newspapers has been brutal, as a sagging economy and plummeting advertising sales take their toll on news staff and content.

The Federal Communications Commission has completed a six-month investigation and determined that Comcast violated the agency’s principles of open access on the Internet. And the cost of text messaging is rising again, despite the fact there have been no further costs to necessitate a price hike.

In a House hearing about privacy and the Internet, Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) indicated that Congress could take action to strengthen privacy protections. And a study disproves the notion that TV news audiences prefer superficial tabloid coverage to well-written quality journalism.

The FCC voted to punish Comcast for blocking users' access to the Internet. And the People’s Production House arms up-and-coming journalists with the skills they need to create media.

In their coverage of the impending digital TV conversion, the media has been ignoring the fact that the corporate media has a lock on any new channels that will emerge from the changeover. And Massachusetts has a new broadband bill that will bring high-speed broadband to rural areas.

In nearly 50 cities and towns across the country, media reform activists visited their representatives in their home district offices to urge them to veto the FCC’s media ownership rules. And in Davis, Calif., KDRT-LP won its dispute with the FCC to remain on the air after a big commercial station encroached on their frequency.

Journalists covering the Republican National Convention were held at gunpoint during pre-emptive “security” raids, swept up in mass arrests with protesters, detained for several hours to several days, had their equipment confiscated, and were roughed up by police. Now journalists and citizens of St. Paul are demanding all charges be dropped.

A bill moving through Congress would allow the Department of Justice to bring civil suits against alleged copyright infringers at the expense of the taxpayers. And Jon Bartholomew discusses the Common Cause "Media Reform Plan."

Members of the Wireless Innovation Alliance were on Capitol Hill to show their support for open, unlicensed white spaces to bring high-speed broadband to millions of Americans. And Media Access Project and Free Press fight against further media consolidation in South Bend, Indiana.

Wireless microphones are used by theater groups, churches, amateur musicians, karaoke singers across the country use them because they’re convenient and versatile. There’s only one problem: Most of them are illegal. And Congress helps to protect Internet Radio.

New state laws and FCC regulations have been detrimental to PEG access centers and programming across the country. Congress held a hearing to assess the damage. And guest commentator Megan Tady wants our new president to address the digital divide and work to make high-speed broadband accessible to everyone.

The Open Debate Coalition wants to change the format of political debates to make them accountable and open to the people. And privacy policies are important to consumers – but they take too long to read. A new study from Carnegie Mellon breaks it down.

Public interest groups and tech innovators are cheering an FCC report that may clear the way for using empty TV channels to connect millions of people to the Internet. And dozens of small, independent magazines have been forced to shut down their operations.

A new study on media coverage of the presidential campaign shows that the media is biased – for whoever is perceived to be winning the “horse race.” And what are the scariest things about the media?

Verizon Wireless’ purchase of rural wireless carrier Alltel has been approved. And public interest groups are concerned about the consequences for consumers. And a new Nielsen study refutes one of the broadcasters’ main arguments for more media consolidation.

A new report documents how conservative talk show radio shock jocks are part of an echo chamber that reaches across the country through local and regional radio hosts. And talk of resurrecting the Fairness Doctrine never fails to rile up the conservative base. But there’s no plan to bring it back. There are better roads to a more democratic media.

Everyday Americans will participate in crafting policy for open, fast and affordable broadband at the first in a series of “Internet for Everyone” town hall meetings. And the New Mexico Literacy Project is breaking new ground as it helps craft state legislation to bring media literacy training to every high school.

The government’s ability to use cell phones as tracking devices without the help of cell phone providers is being quietly debated in the court system. And the Grassroots Media Justice Tour barnstormed the South to show why the media are an important component of the fight for social justice.

National Public Radio plans to cut 7 percent of its workforce and cancel two shows that helped fill the gaps in diverse programming. And 2008 was a year of movement building for media reform and provided a number of actions that remind us why grass roots activism is so important.

From the best of Media Minutes: President and CEO of Clergy Strategic Alliances Rev. Romal Tune brought his message of collaboration and unity to the National Conference for Media Reform in Minneapolis. And guest commentator Megan Tady wants our new president to address the digital divide and work to make high-speed broadband accessible to everyone.

Media Minutes looks at five of the top stories of 2008: The FCC proceedings concerning Net Neutrality, the 700 MHz spectrum auction and white spaces; Pentagon propaganda; journalists’ arrests at the RNC; and grassroots media organizing for PEG and LPFM.

A $44 billion broadband stimulus package would bring world-class, high-speed broadband to everyone in America and create 3 million new jobs. And media reformers offer their best wishes for 2009.

The FCC wants to know if Comcast is favoring its own digital phone service over others. And Progress Illinois is fighting Fox News for suspending their YouTube account for using video clips from the local Fox affiliate.

Building a fiber optic broadband network is expensive, so why not add the conduits when we dig new roads and repair old ones? And a new movie highlights the controversies surrounding copyright, intellectual property and music.

A new book written by 16 scholars lays out a communications policy agenda for the Obama administration. And the National Hispanic Media Coalition wants to know whether a spike in anti-Latino hate speech in the media is contributing to increased violence against Latinos.

Community television advocates have asked the FCC to investigate AT&T's treatment of public, educational and governmental channels on its U-verse cable TV system. And with tools for mapping and data gathering getting easier to use, people are taking government transparency into their own hands.

Public advocates shared their ideas about how to use the $7 billion marked for broadband in President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package. And hundreds of journalists, activists, academics, artists and students are coming together for the Sixth Annual Women, Action and the Media Conference.

Blogger Glen Greenwald and Democracy Now! host and executive producer Amy Goodman are sharing the first annual Izzy Award for Independent Media. And the Local Community Radio Act will be invaluable to local musicians across the country.

The open nature of the Internet will be lost if Internet Service Providers are allowed to use a technology called Deep Packet Inspection to snoop on Internet users’ data and communications. And EFF’s “Surveillance Self-Defense” guide shows you how to legally protect your computer data against government spying.

The FCC came one step closer to increasing the diversity in media ownership by proposing changes that should give the public accurate information on the race, ethnicity and gender of broadcast station owners. And as technology becomes central to media distribution, anyone with a message to share must embrace their inner geek.

An industry-sponsored bill in the North Carolina state legislature would squash attempts by cities and towns to follow the City of Wilson’s lead and build their own broadband networks. And local radio advocates lobbied Congress last week to pass the Local Community Radio Act.

People in prison and their families are paying excessively high telephone bills to keep in touch. And in Chicago, four top TV news stations will share newsgathering resources, but one top station refused to join them.

A rich discussion about the future of journalism, the importance of public media and the urgent need for high-speed broadband access throughout the United States took place in Washington, D.C., as stakeholders from each sector sat together to talk about issues of content production and infrastructure.

Local radio wins a victory in the courts and gets a hearing in Congress. And the ACLU helps lead the way in unblocking websites based on "viewpoint discrimination" in Tennessee and Indiana schools.

The Broadband Internet Fairness Act would help prevent overcharging by Internet Service Providers by requiring the companies to submit their pricing schemes to the Federal Trade Commission for approval. And the Allied Media Conference incorporates a wide range of issues and artists, educators, and social justice organizers who use media as a tool for change.

The House considers legislation on protecting consumers from online marketers' secret data mining for behavioral advertising. Julius Genachowski become Chairman of the FCC, and the Personal Democracy Forum mashed up politics and technology for the sixth year.

New FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski wasted no time in moving the process of creating a national broadband plan to the top of his agenda. And the new criteria for broadband stimulus funding make Net Neutrality a basic rule of the road.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) told FCC nominees Mignon Clyburn and Meredith Attwell Baker that the FCC was broken and he expects them to fix it. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) asked Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor about the Internet and the First Amendment.

The closing of the Bay State Banner, Boston's only black-owned community newspaper, is another example of the systemic crisis facing journalism. And Verizon is back in the Massachusetts legislature with a new video franchise bill that could harm community media.