The MPAA has allied themselves with cable and phone companies in their multi-million dollar fight against Net Neutrality. And the increasing disappearance of editorial cartoons from newspapers correlates with the rise of media consolidation.

High hopes that the FCC spectrum auction would provide competition in the wireless market were dashed as Verizon and AT&T won their bids for large portions of the airwaves. And the Chauncey Bailey Project continues to honor the work of the slain reporter by uncovering more information about his murder and his Oakland, California community.

Public pressure may have forced Comcast to work with BitTorrent on finding ways to distribute large Internet files, but their collaboration is no substitute for actual policy that would keep the Internet open. And 25 rural Vermont towns have joined in a regional effort to bring high-speed fiber optic Internet access to their homes.

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Do you want a say in what the future of the media looks like?

People from all walks of life and across the political spectrum are joining the movement for media reform. This June 6th – 8th, thousands will gather in Minneapolis for the 2008 National Conference for Media Reform

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Do your newspapers, TV and radio stations cover what’s really happening in your community? Are you getting the full story? Do you want to have access to all Web sites and all kinds of information from independent and non-commercial sources? Shouldn’t you have a say in what the future of the media looks like?

At BroadbandCensus.com, you can find out about broadband providers in your area, see what your broadband speed actually is, and help create a nationwide census on broadband information that big media companies don’t want you to know. And Community Television of Santa Cruz plugs public access TV with an entertaining new promotional video.

One big problem with the outcome of the 700 MHz auction: Giant telecom companies Verizon and AT&T were the big winners while women and minority businesses were squeezed out. And guest commentator Craig Aaron explains why Comcast should be voted America’s worst company.

The New York Times uncovers a Pentagon scheme to sell the occupation of Iraq to the American public. And Net Neutrality takes center stage at both Congress and the FCC.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin announced the agency will craft a new plan for a national public safety network. And the Senate Commerce Committee passed a legislative veto of the FCC’s new media ownership rules as Rupert Murdoch prepared to bid for a third New York newspaper.

The Media Giraffe Project will be sponsoring a conference in Minneapolis in June to give local online news and community Web entrepreneurs and activists a chance to share advice about legal, organizational and advertising issues. And a House subcommittee held a hearing this week on the Internet Freedom Preservation Act.

In an historic bipartisan vote, the Senate overwhelmingly agreed to turn back the FCC’s decision to relax longstanding media ownership rules. And the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination works within the media across all media platforms to promote fairness and equality for the GLBT community.

A new book profiles 10 conservative talk radio “shock jocks” and provides ways to fight “hate radio.” And the National Conference for Media Reform arrives in Minneapolis this weekend during a critical juncture of politics, technology and social activism.