When Congress takes a break in August and our elected officials jump on planes and trains to escape the stifling swampy humidity in Washington, D.C., organizers like me get pumped. Why? Because we know this is prime time for activists around the country to meet with their elected officials in their district offices to discuss issues that impact their lives.

This summer I worked with my Free Press colleagues to set up meetings in over 20 different cities, including Albuquerque, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Nashville and Seattle. Each meeting focused on one of the following topics: the Declaration of Internet Freedom, the growing scandal at Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., the barriers to creating municipal broadband networks, the challenges confronting nonprofit journalism outlets and the need to protect public media funding.

Among the activists who signed up to participate in meetings were a technology student, a telecommuter and a homeopathic practitioner, to name just a few.

The thread that ties these folks together is a concern about the state of our media — and a willingness to act.

Here’s a sampling of what our activists discussed with their members of Congress:

• State barriers that make it illegal for communities to create their own municipal fiber broadband networks
• The digital divide
• Yearly price hikes from cable and Internet providers and the absence of other options within a given community
• Keeping the Internet open to benefit the common good rather than corporate or government interests
• Media and telecommunications monopolies and mega conglomerates like News. Corp that have possibly broken U.S. laws
• The sense that our media does not reflect what’s actually happening in communities around the country

And our activists don’t just share their concerns; they ask their representatives to take stands on these issues.

The word “lobbyist” might conjure up stereotypical images of high-priced lawyers in expensive ties and skirt suits. But the activists who come out in force to meet their elected officials are power brokers of a different kind.

Their power lies in their collective voices coming together in a groundswell of support for universal and affordable Internet access, diverse media ownership, vibrant public media and quality journalism. Together with our allies and public interest advocates in Washington, they are part of our nationwide movement to change media and technology policies, strengthen our democracy and ensure that the public has a seat at the policymaking table.

Top photo: activists who met with Sen. Tom Udall's office in New Mexico; second photo: activists who met with Rep. Ed Markey's office in Massachusetts; third photo: activists who met with Sen. Maria Cantwell's office in Washington

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