Media

by Brian Beutler, The Media Consortium: Wed., May 14, 2008
Filed under: War Making and Oversight

The ACLU–conducting more oversight these days than Congress and the mainstream media combined–has gotten a hold of some previously unreleased documents detailing the torture of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and other overseas facilities. Here (PDF file), for instance:

Seminar starts May 14

The SPIN Project invites scholars who write about media in relation to race, public policy or social justice to participate in a four-part seminar on op-ed writing led by author and journalist Catherine Orenstein of The Op-Ed Project.

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.

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.

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.

The summer of 2004 saw the lowest youth employment rate in NYC in over two decades. While youth struggle to get a decent education and jobs for teens are at an all-time low, funding for jails and detention centers continue to increase. G.A.P. youth spent the summer exploring this connection and produced a creative reflection on this enduring problem.

Members of this community might be interested in checking out "24/7: A DIY Video Summit," which is taking place in Los Angeles on February 8-10, 2008. Full info at http://www.video24-7.org/. From the summit's website:

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.

The ways that Internet Service Providers are approaching heavy bandwidth use underscores the need for improved networks. And several Michigan towns are suing Comcast for attempting to move their PEG channels from the basic analogue to a digital tier.