audio by year 2008

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.

Media activists are rallying support in the Senate for the bipartisan Resolution of Disapproval ” to overturn the FCC’s decision to relax media ownership rules. And Radio Arte, 90.5 FM, Chicago's Latino-owned, youth-driven, bilingual public radio station, teaches more than radio skills to young people.

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.

From Democracy Now!, May 2, 2008

In the largest labor strike since the invasion of Iraq, ports along the West Coast—all twenty-nine of them—were shut down as some 25,000 dockworkers went on a one-day strike to protest the war. We speak to Jack Heyman of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

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.

Native Public Media is committed to bringing Native American voices to media policymakers in Washington. And in a guest commentary, Free Press executive director Josh Silver discusses the House vote to ban Pentagon propaganda and the mainstream media’s failure to report the story.

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.

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.

I urge you ladies and gentlemen. Do not close your eyes and be foolish. The liberals in the government are trying to take away our rights. It was too close for comfort. The Supreme court tried to take our second amendment away from us. we have the right to bare arms. Don't let these whacks radical liberals get away with it. Global warming is just another way of them trying to control us.

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.

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.

I saw Democracy Now on FSTV yesterday and they showed part of an interview with Cheney saying he okayed waterboarding and other torture methods; what an errogant, sadistic, criminal!

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.

Many of us are thinking about buying the last few Christmas gifts on our list for family and friends. War profiteering families again will see realestate, luxury vehicles,and exotic things worth more than our life time earnings under their trees due to 9/11; whether it was an inside job or not by the way.

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.