I'll admit it - I am a gadget geek. And one of the sites I visit often to get my fix of gadget news is Engadget. Every once in a while my fascination with gadgets overlaps with my concern for the state of the media in America.

Engadget has a report today (originally from GigaOm) about the ongoing debate over the FCC's upcoming 700MHz auction. Here is the first sentence of their blog post:

"For something as incredibly boring as the FCC's 700MHz spectrum auction -- look, large corporations battling it out over arcane regulations! -- Google and Verizon have somehow managed to hold our interest."

Now, I am glad that Engadget is informing more people about the big sell off of the public airwaves, but they seem to constantly to miss the point. While "large corporations" are perhaps the most visible image in this fight, the 700MHz auction has profound implications for the public, and yet in most coverage at Engadget (as well as in the mainstream news converage) the public interest perspective is consistently left out.

This spectrum is prime property, as it can travel long distances and cut through walls. Imagine if free wireless internet were being broadcast to your home the same way NBC nightly news is transmitted right now. Picture a wireless network reaching into rural area, connecting thousands of Americans who have been left behind by the big telecom companies.

Engadget is right that this is a battle, but Google and Verizon are not the only ones with a stake in this fight. To learn more about the effort to save our spectrum visit www.freepress.net/spectrum.