Reclaim the Media

As we reach Super Bowl weekend, the game’s broadcaster CBS is coming under criticism for accepting an anti-abortion ad (update: now two ads) paid for by Focus on the Family. For years, CBS and other networks have rejected advocacy ads during the Super Bowl. Democracy Now! gets reactions from Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood and sportswriter Dave Zirin, author of A People’s History of Sports in the United States.

The power of the open Internet was on full display Monday as President Obama responded to questions from the public in a followup to last week's State of the Union address. Appropriately, one questioner asked about the president's support for the open Internet itself. Watch the President's answer in this clip.

In Seattle and across the United States, organizations working with people of color, poor communities, and other marginalized groups are raising our voices for rules that will defend an open Internet that is fast, affordable, and accessible to everyone. We know that open networks will create economic opportunity for our communities, and ensure that every idea--especially those of artists, advocacy organizations, and small businesses--has a chance.

But big Internet companies like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon argue that we don't need rules to protect an open Internet. They say that "net neutrality" guarantees will decrease their (already padded) profit margins, and threaten that they won’t invest in expanding broadband in poor communities. Our communities should not have to choose between broadband access and Internet fairness.

If you represent an organization that cares about economic opportunity for marginalized communities and small businesses, download and save the pledge (English) (Spanish) to become a Digital Inclusion Champion. Type in your organizational information, then return by email.

If you're an individual living or working in Seattle, add your voice to the Seattle Digital Justice Coalition!

In 2002 Howard Zinn recorded this PSA as part of Reclaim the Media's Media and Democracy Radio Features series. Listen or download.

Communications rights and freedom of expression are under attack in South Korea, as Lee Myung-bak's New Right government takes disturbing steps to shut down independent media, and to defund media, arts, and cultural organizations across the country. The latest blow is an attack on the internationally-respected public media center MediAct, which has played a key part in the democratization of Korea's media system, trained thousands of people in media production, and developed many successful media policy proposals to open up Korea's mediascape to diverse voices. Recognized as an international leader in the communications rights movement, MediAct cofounder Myoung-Joon Kim (shown) is one of Reclaim the Media's Media Heroes.

Please take action now to express international support for MediAct. Join the Facebook group for updates, and click below to read more.

Digital media literacy means more than just understanding how to use Facebook or conduct an effective Google search - it means being able to use and create digital media to participate in civic life and collaborate around the issues that matter to us. It also means changing the way we think about accessing, analyzing, and evaluating media, as the web provides us with an increasing number of choices for information, news, and entertainment and complicates our media landscape with new advertising and marketing tactics.

Olympia Newswire launches this week. Join its Facebook fan page for updates.

This week, when Washington State legislators start work on the first day of the State’s legislative session, a new group of journalists will be there covering the news. Newly launched by independent journalist Trevor Griffey, Olympia Newswire is an independent, non-profit news collective, whose small staff of experienced reporters will push back against a steady erosion of the Olympia press corps.

Journalism That Matters has concluded in Seattle: a forward-looking unconference on the theme: Re-Imagining News and Community in the Pacific Northwest. The 4-day event is the latest and largest in an ongoing series of meetings about the future of quality journalism, bringing together journalists, bloggers, editors, media activists, broadcasters, community media practictioners, educators and community leaders (attendees list here).

The conference kicked off Thursday evening with a session featuring "catalysts" former Mayor Norman Rice, Tracy Record (West Seattle Blog), and creative photojournalist Chris Jordan, reflecting on developing new information sources, economic solutions and accountability models that can revitalize journalism for a society grounded in social networking and civic engagement.

Conference registration capped at over 200 attendees. Details of the conference proceedings (including audio and video, tweets (#jtmpnw), photos and session notes) are archived here.

On Dec. 16, the House of Representatives passed the Local Community Radio Act (HR 1147) by voice vote. The bill would allow for the creation of hundreds, possibly thousands, of new, low power FM (LPFM) radio stations dedicated to broadcasting community news and local perspectives to neighborhoods across the country.

In the Senate, the companion bill has been approved by the Commerce Committee, championed by Senator Maria Cantwell. A full-Senate vote has not yet been scheduled, but is the next and final step for the expansion of LPFM to become law.

Glenn Fleishman at PubliCola:

Broadband in 2009 is electricity in 1900. We may think we know all the means to which high-speed Internet access may be put, but we clearly do not: YouTube and Twitter prove that new things are constantly on the way and will emerge as bandwidth and access continues to increase.

Like electricity, the notion of whether broadband is an inherent right and necessity of every citizen is up for grabs in the US. Sweden and Finland have already answered the question: It’s a birthright. Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and many European countries aren’t far behind in having created the right regulatory and market conditions to bring better and affordable broadband to a greater percentage of its citizens than in the US.

Read the rest, and consider that we may now have federal (FCC) and local (Seattle) public officials who are ready to help launch a new era of communication rights.