A street protest outside News Corp.'s annual shareholders' meeting in Los Angeles is sending a message to Rupert Murdoch and his investors that "News Corp. Is Not Above the Law." And community members spoke eloquently at the Rural Broadband Summit about Appalachia’s need for high-speed broadband service.

Over the last few weeks, more than 80 Free Press advocates from across the country met with legislators and their staffs to voice the public’s perspective on media issues like the AT&T-T-Mobile merger, Net Neutrality and community media.

St. Louis — the largest urban area in Missouri — is getting less news reported by fewer journalists, thanks to covert media consolidation. And the music industry will be shaken by a policy put in place in the 1970’s that could put copyrighted songs back into the hands of the artists who actually created them.

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As News Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch tries to minimize the phone-hacking scandal that has led to several arrests and snared British officials and police in a web of unethical and possibly criminal behavior, U.S. public interest groups and some members of Congress are seizing the opportunity to call attention to the dangers of too much media in too few powerful hands. And a “broadband underclass” is developing in America as some populations soar with the fastest broadband connections available and others plod along with slow or no connections at all.

What do you do if you live in one of the almost 80 communities across the country where media companies are quietly merging their TV newsrooms, cutting staff and sharing news content? ChangetheChannels.org is calling attention to this growing problem. And an interesting case that could affect the future of documentary filmmaking is unfolding in an unlikely place: tax court.

The FCC released its 450-page assessment on the future of media. Unfortunately, many the report’s recommendations around localism, media consolidation and transparency are contradictory to its analysis. And Sonic’s new 1 Gbps fiber broadband connection with two phone lines for $70 is sure to shake up the broadband market in Sonoma County.

Warning that insufficient government oversight has resulted in higher cable and Internet service prices, Free Press President and CEO Josh Silver urged the FCC to stop the Comcast-NBC merger at the agency's public hearing in Chicago. And a victory for the people of North Carolina: An industry-written bill to ban municipal broadband was killed by the legislature.

With product placement in TV programs exploding, public advocacy groups are calling for the FCC to develop rules for clear disclosure for all TV marketing. And broadcasters may be undermining the news and information you receive on your local TV newscast. In an effort to cut costs, some rival broadcasters are merging their newsroom operations.

In response to ColorofChange.org's call for advertisers to stop airing commercials on the Glenn Beck Show after Beck's racist remarks, 57 companies have pulled their ads. And an appeals court threw out the FCC's ruling that cable companies can't control more than 30 percent of a market. But that doesn't mean that the agency gets to ignore the issue of capping cable ownership.

National Public Radio plans to cut 7 percent of its work force and cancel two shows that helped fill the gaps in diverse programming. And 2008 reminds us why grassroots activism is so important.