illinois

FUFA Takes on Media Ownership

FUFA — Mon, 19 May 2008 11:56:00 -0700

FUFA (Females United for Action) is “a coalition of young women leaders that is dedicated to educate not only ourselves, but others as well, on issues that affect women and girls. We organize to bring attention to the issues and take action to address them. FUFA is formed by girls and young women from all over the city of Chicago, from all backgrounds & nationalities, ranging from 12 years of age & up.”

Comcast is blocking P2P traffic and degrading the voice quality of VoIP competitions

ExtraDimensions — Fri, 16 May 2008 22:31:00 -0700

On the surface, this whole Comcast Internet issue seems to be BT or file-sharing focused.

Indeed, Comcast has another real financial reason behind to blocking/delaying the P2P traffic on their network. It is the free VoIP services that comcast is really targetting.

Get Thee To Minneapolis

maneditor1 — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 07:14:00 -0700

Just a brief note to urge everyone to make the trip to Minneapolis. As a veteran newsman, I know Media Reform is necessary. As an indiviudal who attended the first two conferences (Madison '03, St. Louis '05), I can state that the conferences are excellent opportunities. Get Thee To Minneapolis

Blogging during the streaming of the democratic debate

mattcrain1 — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:44:00 -0800

I wrote this last night as I "watched" the democratic debate streaming from MSNBC's website. Just a frustrating personal experience that adds to overall debate regarding the state of broadband.

...

I'm currently typing this as I'm staring at the nbc peacock-turned-loading wheel symbol that tells me to "wait for a few minutes and if we're not back, just wait longer."

Sen. Durbin on Media Ownership

Josh Stearns — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:36:00 -0800

Robbie Smith, a wonderful community TV producer from Chicago who worked with us closely on the Chicago media ownership hearing in Chicago just forwarded me this message from Sen. Durbin regarding media ownership. She encouraged me to share it with this forum.

Hip Hop Stands Up for Media Reform

yolandafp — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 07:40:00 -0800

Last week Davey D, the Bay Area deejay and journalist, released his Hip Hop Awards for 2007, including the best and worst moments in hip hop for the past year. At number four on his best Hip Hop moments from 2007 DaveyD discusses the community's involvement in the fight for a better media. He points out the important presence of hip hop artists at two of the FCC hearings this fall.

One Media Giant Reaches Half of America

Josh Stearns — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 06:49:00 -0800

Right before the FCC voted to loosen cross-ownership rules across the country, allowing one company to own the major daily newspaper and a TV or radio station in the same city, they handed out waivers to the Tribune company to let their new owner Sam Zell hold onto all their vast media properties in Chicago and around the country.

Now, the new year brings with it news that "Tribune and Local TV station groups now have 40 network affiliates in 33 markets (including 14 of the top 25), seven duopolies, $1.6 billion in annual revenue and the marketplace clout that comes with all that size."

Report from the December 7, 2007 Chicago Media Action Holiday Singalong at Tribune Tower

Chicago Media Action blog — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 18:33:00 -0800

On Friday December 7th from 5:00 to 6:30PM, about a dozen media activists braved freezing temperatures, a blockade of violence-prone Chicago police, and thousands of mostly indifferent holiday shoppers, to take part in the 2007 Chicago Media Action Holiday Singalong. It was held outside of Tribune Tower, the national corporate headquarters of the Tribune Company. The media giant's TV station and newspapercross-ownerships have come under an increasing level of scrutiny by the public and Congress due to FCC actions concerning the pending sale of the Tribune Company to billionaire Sam Zell.

The FCC’s 12 Days of Christmas

Josh Stearns — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 06:09:00 -0800

At a time when the din of rehashed holiday music pipes through every loudspeaker in every shopping mall and public square, there are some carollors in Chicago who are giving new life to these tired tunes.

For example “Oh Sam Zell” (set to the tune “Jingle Bells”):
Stockholders want a change
The Tribune's Up For Sale
A Deal We'll Arrange

FCC to Tribune: So Sue Me

Craig Aaron — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:10:00 -0800

Late on Friday — which FCC watchers know is the only time new policies are announced– the agency effectively granted Tribune Co. further waivers to operate both TV stations and the major daily newspaper in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Hartford Conn.

The FCC had been under intense lobbying pressure to approve the waivers so that real estate magnate Sam Zell could complete his complex buyout of Tribune before the end of the year. But FCC Kevin Martin didn’t stop there.

The FCC could have issued a single temporary waiver while it sorts
out the rules governing newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership everywhere.
But the FCC’s maneuver is far more complicated — and devious.

Tina Fey Turns The Tables on Verizon

Josh Stearns — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:23:00 -0800

Recently, Verizon and NBC struck up a deal to push Verizon Wireless products in 30 Rock, but they did not count on Tina Fey turning the tables, calling out Verizon for this covert marketing effort.

Payola with respect to media consolidation

bigrap38 — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 16:41:00 -0700

Dear Mr. Commissioner,

I am writing to you with regard to the FCC's relaxed attitude with respect to media consolidation and the damage it has already cost us within our localized market. I own my own independant record and have so for the last 13 years. in the beginning we had ample amount of opportunities as a result of localized radio play. Our market supported us in a way in which we were hereby able to also support other revenue streams from other local independant magazines promoters, etc. However, since the passing of the 1996 telecommunications act, our market has dwindled to an economic disaster and as a result we've been forced to leave the number 3 market in the country with respect to record sells just to find an opportunity, not to mention as well our market has become a breeding ground for radio program directors, on-air personalities, and even mix-show dj's engaging in the most blatant form of payola that you have ever seen. Please do something about this because with so much corruption taking place on our airwaves this is not something we are willing to tolerate.

Media Ownership

TONYGRAY — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:01:00 -0700

Senator Obama wrote a letter to FCC Chairman Martin expressing concerns that the Chairman may allow further Media consolidation, ignoring the thousands of voices from across America who oppose such a move what if anything can be done to block this action!

Chicago Citizens in Their Own Words

Josh Stearns — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 11:44:00 -0700

Too often, in the reporting of any big event, the tendency is to equate success with numbers. How many people attended? How many hours did they stay? How many speeches did they give? For the Chicago FCC hearing on media ownership on Sept. 20, such numbers tell a powerful story about the ways in which media consolidation have left local communities in the dark, pushed off the dial and out of the picture.

More than 800 people attended the hearing, held at Rainbow PUSH headquarters on Chicago’s South Side, and 200 people signed up to give testimony. Average citizens took time off from work to stand in line, some as early as 9 am, and many stayed until the event ended at almost 2 a.m. the next morning. Of the seven hours of public testimony, a vast majority of the public called on the FCC to stop Big Media from getting any bigger.

But these numbers only tell a part of the story. Since the FCC hearing, testimony has been pouring into our email from the citizens across Chicago. Some emails come from people who waited in line for hours and still did not get a chance to speak. Others come from people who had their two minutes at the mic, but felt like there was still much more left to say.

The Voices of Chicago Media Reform

Josh Stearns — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:40:00 -0700

Robin Amer at Chicago's new public radio station, Vocalo.org, has done anice series of interviews with some of the organizers behind Chicago's big FCC hearing that happened on Sept. 20th. These are the folks who pounded the pavement, posted the posters, and helped to get more than 800 people to attend the event. Robin is working on some more interviews from the event itself, and when they are posted I will link to them from here as well. In the meantime, check out some of the voices of Chicago's media reform movement.

Media Consolidation is a Civil Rights Issue

Rev. Jesse Jackson — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 09:34:00 -0700

Greetings,

With such a robust conversation about minority ownership going on here at the Free Press Action Network, I wanted to share with you a letter I wrote to Chairman Martin at the FCC. I hope you will join with me in supporting Commissioner Adelstein's call for an independent panel on female and minority ownership.

September 26, 2007

Dear Chairman Martin:

I first
want to thank the FCC for holding its September 20^th hearing at the
Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters in Chicago. The hearing was a rare opportunity to hear
from a segment of our population seldom asked for their opinion on media policy
issues, even though they are greatly impacted by your decisions.

Call to Action on Female/Minority Ownership Panel

Commissioner Adelstein — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 08:16:00 -0700

Last week, the FCC hosted an historic public hearing on media ownership at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition National Headquarters in Chicago, IL. There is no better place to address the issue of media ownership, particularly for women and minorities, than Chicago. Roughly two-thirds of the people in the city are black and Hispanic, and over half are women. But collectively, they own just six percent of all TV and radio stations in the Chicago media market. It is outrageous that Chicago, with all its diversity, has the lowest proportion of minority radio ownership of the nation’s 22 largest markets.

What about our future reporters?

aitch_el — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 18:10:00 -0700

I read recently about the Medill School's new curriculum, which places a stronger emphasis on advertising/marketing and the new "tools" -- Internet, blogs, etc. Should we be concerned about the quality of education that our journalism students are getting in universities across this country? Are businessmen now running our J-schools?

Thanks.

Re-Examine Media Rules

dleavell — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 09:39:00 -0700

Below is my testimony delivered at the Chicago Media Ownership hearing on September 20, 2007.

Good evening, Mr. Chairman, and to the commissioners, panelists and people represented here today. I am Dorothy Leavell, publisher and editor of the Crusader Newspaper Group, which publishes the oldest African American weekly newspapers in both Chicago and Gary, Indiana. In addition, I am chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Foundation in Washington, D.C., the advocacy and philanthropic arm of the Black Press in the United States. Our organization represents the country’s largest concentration of African American-owned media in this country, represented in more than 145 cities, and reaching every Black household in America. For over 180 years, the Black Press has been the voice and pulse of our people, allowing them greater participation in our democracy.

Is There PEG TV Censorship in Batavia, Illinois?

Danahan20121222 — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 12:56:00 -0700

Here are 2 newspaper articles from the local press:

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=41798&src=5