The Latest

Media Minutes: February 10, 2012

Candace Clement — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:12:12 -0500

Political wrangling is holding Super Wi-Fi spectrum hostage. The House has tacked on amendments to its payroll tax bill that spell big trouble for the FCC and spectrum use. And a new bill in the Illinois legislature would allow people to record on-duty police in public without permission.

Public Interest Groups to Congress: So-Called Reform Bills Would Compound Corporate Influence at the FCC

Jenn Ettinger — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:26:02 -0500

WASHINGTON -- On Thursday, 45 public interest groups sent a letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee opposing two bills that would severely limit the Federal Communications Commission’s ability to promote competition, innovation and access to communications services.

It's Up to Us to Protect the First Amendment

Josh Stearns — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:23:35 -0500

What happens when a journalist is arrested? How do we account for the stories that don’t get told, or the issues that don’t get covered because the press was restricted or behind bars? How do we measure the intimidation journalists feel, and the chill that police intervention places on freedom of the press?

Obama Joins the Democracy Fire Sale

Timothy Karr — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:36:48 -0500

President Obama succumbed late Monday to the dark logic of the Super PACs, instructing top West Wing staffers to help raise money for the so-called "independent" groups that have been successful in picking winners and losers thus far in 2012.

Free Press: FCC Must Address Barriers to Entry in Media Ownership

Jenn Ettinger — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:31:46 -0500

WASHINGTON -- On Monday, the Federal Communications Commission announced that it will solicit ideas for new research on barriers to entry for small businesses and underrepresented groups to participate in the communications and media industries.

The SOPA/PIPA Money Trail

Josh Levy — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:47:57 -0500

Before the Web blacked out to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act PIPA) — the Internet-censorship bills that faced massive opposition online — there was another SOPA blackout.

The Onslaught Is Coming to a TV Near You

Timothy Karr — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:29:47 -0500

If Minnesotans flip on their TVs right now, they're likely to see at least one — a political ad slinging mud at a presidential candidate.

After Outcry, ASU Lifts Blocking of Change.org

Jenn Ettinger — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:28:27 -0500

On Friday night, Arizona State University (ASU) responded to thousands of complaints from ASU students and Free Press activists and stopped blocking student access to the popular petition website Change.org.

Media Minutes: February 3, 2012

Candace Clement — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:24:06 -0500

Six months into Comcast’s FCC-mandated program to provide low-income households with affordable broadband, communities are finding it difficult to access the offer. And police in Oakland, Calif., arrested seven credentialed journalists during an Occupy protest.

Public Media: Still on the Chopping Block

Amy Kroin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:29:03 -0500

Last November Free Press released On the Chopping Block: State Budget Battles and the Future of Public Media, an inventory of dramatic state-level funding cuts to public broadcasting.