In the House of Representatives, a bipartisan coalition led by Rep. Jay Inslee has filed a measure that would void the controversial media ownership rules pushed through the FCC by Chairman Kevin Martin last December. The Resolution of Disapproval comes on the heels of a similar resolution filed the previous week by a bipartisan group of Senators including Maria Cantwell, Byron Dorgan, Ted Stevens, Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton and Olympia Snowe.

FCC to Conclude Nationwide Public Debate on Media Ownership in Seattle

Chairman ignores request from Cantwell/Inslee, provides just five business days' notice

A rising wave of grassroots media activism is linking up with social movements fighting racism, sexism, economic oppression, environmental plunder and war - and organizing to re-center media reform efforts on human rights and social justice. Introducing the Media Action Grassroots Network (MAG-Net).

A Century of Media, A Century of War
by Robin Andersen (New York: Peter Lang, 2007)

UPDATE: Congressman Jay Inslee has introduced the Internet Radio Equality Act to rationalize net radio royalty fees, tying webcaster rates to similar fees paid by satellite radio and jukeboxes. The bill would also trigger a recalculation of rates for noncommercial webcasters. More info here and here.

This March, the music industry overlords at the RIAA succeeded in convincing the government to impose arbitrarily high royalty rates on Internet broadcasters. While the largest corporate-backed webcasters will be able to absorb the higher costs, the very survival of independent streams such as OSeaO and Soma.fm is threatened.

These new rates have little to do with supporting musicians and everything to do with corporate greed, and quashing grassroots broadcasting on the web. Visit SaveNetRadio.org for more information and to take action in support of Inslee's bill, and write to your Congressman directly.