PEG

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.

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.

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.

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 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.