http://www.inthesetimes.com/archives/tags/media+reform/ In These Times features award-winning investigative reporting about corporate malfeasance and government wrongdoing, insightful analysis of national and international affairs, and sharp cultural criticism about events and ideas that matter. en-us Expression Engine jessica@inthesetimes.com seamus@inthesetimes.com Thu, 18 Jan 2007 06:17:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2999/fighting_the_media_lantation_mentality/ During the first day of the third National Conference for Media Reform, 300 people packed the chairs and lined the walls of the In These Times-moderated panel Building and Sustaining Independent Media. The excitement around the topic was surprising: after all, the panel was going head-to-head with a panel on net neutrality across the hall, an issue at the core of the media reform fight. But attendees' enthusiasm for a variety of panels on independent media, citizen journalism and Web 2.0 projects demonstrated how the Free Press successfully expanded the definition of an effective media reform movement at this year's conference. While the first conference in Madison, Wisconsin in 2003 focused more narrowly on policy issues, attendees were eager to… media reform media Susan Levine Tue, 30 Jan 2007 06:00:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3009/cultivating_the_media_garden/ The tides, they were a-rising in Memphis last month at the Free Press National Conference for Media Reform. A record-busting 3,000 people attended--a sizeable boost from the 2,500 at the 2005 confab in St. Louis. Media organizers packed the ballroom of the Memphis Convention Center to rally in a deafening call for change in the corporate media. The highlights were many: "The Rev." Bill Moyers: The mild-mannered Southern gentleman kicked off the conference with a lilting, yet blistering, denunciation of the evil corporate and public media. He delivered a withering critique of Republican attempts to spin the public and cow the media into somnolence. On the eve of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Moyers compared the corporate-owned… media media reform Susan Levine Thu, 17 May 2007 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3188/postal_rates_free_press/ In 1792, the United States Congress converted the free press clause in the First Amendment from an abstract principle into a living reality for Americans by providing newspapers with low postal rates. These low rates were crucial for the growth and spread of the abolitionist movement, the populist movement and progressive politics. More broadly, they have been central to development of participatory democracy in general. Today, magazines like In These Times face an immediate threat to their financial health, and perhaps survival, due to a massive postal rate increase that will go into effect on July 15. To the surprise of many independent publishers, in February the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), the body in charge of determining postal rates, rejected… corporations media media reform Susan Levine Wed, 18 Jul 2007 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3278/the_great_spectrum_giveaway/ The window may be short, but what happens during a one-week period in October could have lasting implications on how many local voices are heard when listeners turn their radio dial. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is giving community-based non-profit organizations a chance--possibly their last--to snag some spectrum, or see the remaining high-power radio frequencies doled out to other groups competing for the airwaves. With what it calls the Non-Commercial Educational (NCE) full-power radio-licensing window, the FCC is allowing organizations just one week, from October 12 to October 19, to file for FM licenses, or risk being shuttered out of radio. Media reform groups are urging eligible local, community-based groups--organizations with a noncommercial, educational mission--to apply for the licenses, warning… media reform technology Susan Levine Tue, 14 Aug 2007 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3288/blogs_up_hacks_down/ Oh, what a difference a year makes. At the second annual YearlyKos conference in Chicago in early August, now-confident progressive bloggers played nice with journalists and political candidates, transcending the defensive attacks that marked last year's seminal gathering in Vegas. The appearance of seven Democratic presidential contenders demonstrated that the Kossacks and fellow A-listers--along with what the Liberal Blog Advertising Network calls their 3 million daily readers--are now ensconced as political players. This represents a marked (hopefully permanent) shift from the Democratic Party shutout of progressive voices that plagued the early '00s. For media watchers, the novelty of the blogosphere has worn off. But this didn't faze attendees, who gamely trekked through the cavernous McCormick Place, blogging, vlogging, texting and… media reform technology Susan Levine Fri, 17 Aug 2007 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3308/in_condemnation_of_opting_in/ Within a few days of the announcement that Punk Planet magazine (which I co-edited for three years) was shutting down, our compadre in Chicago music journalism, Pitchforkmedia.com, dropped the sad news that the underground (and indie-supporting) stalwart Sonic Youth was signing a recording deal with Starbucks. These were not synchronous events. They were causal, symbiotic even, if you are the megacorporate monolith. For 13 years,Punk Planetdevoted itself to reviewing every single independent music release we received, regardless of musical genre, and refused all big business advertising and content featuring major media players. Now it is gone, and what is taking its place? Starbucks. Critics rushed to accuse Sonic Youth of selling out. Yet the hubbub about this being a revival… art culture media reform music Susan Levine Thu, 23 Aug 2007 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3306/the_promise_of_low_power_fm/ The movement to develop alternatives to mainstream corporate-owned radio got a boost recently with a bi-partisan congressional bill to expand low-power FM (LPFM), a class of frequencies devoted to non-commercial community groups. Though LPFM stations only broadcast a radius of three-and-a-half miles, they offer the chance to bring seldom-heard voices on the air. Media activists and reform groups see LPFM as a cheap, accessible medium that counterbalances the formulaic music and news of conglomerates like Clear Channel, while offering ownership and control to underrepresented groups. A recent study by the media-policy think tank Free Press found that women own 6 percent of the country's full-power commercial radio stations; people of color and ethnic minorities control just 7.7 percent. It can… media reform Susan Levine Tue, 09 Oct 2007 05:05:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3355/fcc_rocks_chicago_chicago_rocks_back/ When Federal Communications Commissioners (FCC) Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps arrived in Chicago the night before the September 20 FCC public hearing, the two headed straight for Delilah's, a hipster bar on the city's north side, where Adelstein joined local punk legend John Langford on the harmonica. That's not the only thing that distinguishes Copps and Adelstein from their fellow commissioners. Every U.S. president appoints three of the five FCC commissioners from his (or her) party, with the other two seats reserved for the minority party. Adelstein and Copps, the token Democrats on the board, have consistently championed Net neutrality, community access to low-power radio signals and caps for how many media outlets one company can own in a given… activism media reform Susan Levine Tue, 20 Nov 2007 05:00:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3414/rip_lip/ These days, it ain't easy being indy. The last 12 months have seen the demise of Clamor, Punk Planet, Satya and LiP. Not only have we lost a set of publications committed to the cultivation of progressive thought, intriguing activism and culture-jamming, but we have also lost four great forums of initiation for the next generation of thinkers and activists. Thank heavens AK Press has stepped up to fill the gap. This fall, the anarchist publishing house released Tipping the Sacred Cow: The Best of LiP. It's a comfort to know that LiP's unorthodox journalistic approach now has the potential to reach new audiences. Tipping the Sacred Cow is a savvy and well-curated collection of the comics, illustrations, articles and… media reform technology Susan Levine Tue, 20 Nov 2007 05:00:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3415/tax_and_spend_hell_yeah/ I have a proposal for the next Democratic debate--hell, the next Democratic and Republican debates: Get rid of the TV personalities and have Paul Krugman moderate the thing. That way, "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert won't be asking Rep. Dennis Kucinich if he's really seen a UFO, or Sen. Barack Obama if he believes in E.T.s. And NBC anchor Brian Williams won't be asking Obama what he plans to be for Halloween. (And why is that what he asked the black guy?) All Krugman would have to do is ask questions based on his important new book, The Conscience of a Liberal, which unabashedly calls for a new New Deal and for "expanding the social safety net and reducing… election 2008 media reform Susan Levine Sun, 20 Jul 2008 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3823/whats_so_free_about_phillys_new_wi_fi_plan/ Without a computer and the knowledge to get online wirelessly, "free Wi-Fi" isn't truly free and accessible. Offering the service to people without computers is like telling a child to pick out anything in the toy store as long as she can pay for it. Essentially, that's what's happening in Philadelphia right now – not the toy store spree, but what the city has called "free, city-wide Wi-Fi." Once upon a time, in 2004, the city of Philadelphia declared that digital inclusion – meaning computer literacy and online access for all residents – was a reachable goal. But while making lofty proclamations, Philadelphia's government rejected public input for nonprofit ownership of the wireless network, instead granting a corporate provider, EarthLink… media media reform technology Susan Levine