local government

Unsafe Radio

alicelee727 — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:55:00 -0700

It has been a hidden fact that these days, the radio isn’t
as safe as it used to be when they were the prime source of news and
entertainment. You might be wondering what I’m talking about. Well, recently
there have been some cases brought up in the FCC regarding radio alert systems.
In one particular case, Action Radio, a radio licensee situated in the Portland area, was being
investigated for their violation of the Emergency Alert System requirements.

Wireless Mesh May Be The Right Choice

tompoe — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 01:41:00 -0700

Wireless Mesh May Be The Right Choice

The pentagon has opted for wireless mesh technology as the right choice for Afghanistan and Iraq. San Francisco, California, has opted for wireless mesh technology as the right choice for local broadband infrastructure. Ypsilanti, Michigan, has opted for wireless mesh technology as the right choice for a nontechnical approach to local broadband infrastructure, monitored and operated by two fellows with laptops. Perth Amboy, New Jersey, has opted for wireless mesh technology as the right choice for their "Canopy" approach to local broadband infrastructure for their city.

A True 21st Century Education Looks Like This

tompoe — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 21:40:00 -0700

"He sees interactive tablet PCs replacing textbooks and notebooks in schools. Students will call up everything they need on their tablet PCs and write everything directly on the screen to be stored there. His daughter’s school, he said, is already using this technology."
<a href="http://www.freepress.net/news/31335">Free Press News</a>

You Know They're Lying When They Say . . .

tompoe — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 12:09:00 -0700

You Know They're Lying When They Say . . .

The next time your mayor (like Jim Erbs), or your governor (like Chester Culver), or anyone in your community (like Charles City, Iowa), says they're not technically savvy, and have to rely on their computer experts to brief them on whether they will be doing the right thing about bringing community broadband infrastructure to their citizens, try to be a little respectful (like I am) and not guffaw in their faces. These officials are under the impression that they're clued in, and the Public (that's you and me) are just plain stupid. Now, I guess it's all right if you go ahead and guffaw in their faces.

Media, Democracy and Justice - a Southern California Regional Summit

JonB-CC — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:26:00 -0800

Common Cause is pleased to announce that we will be holding a media reform summit on March 29th in Los Angeles at Caltech.

http://www.commoncause.org/mediasummit

New York City Community Media News

Stevie Converse — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:55:00 -0800

Two important New York City Community Media stories were in the news this week.

NYC to Hold Cable Franchise Renewal Hearings

Fiber is cheap enough for Communities to WIRE THEMSELVES now

ecsd — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:50:00 -0800

What's the best way to get rid of the telco / cableco monopolies?

BUILD AROUND THEM.

See http://communityfiber.org for the description of a Communty-owned-and-operated Fiber To The Home network. The advantages are numerous and staggering:

NCMR: Got suggestions?

yolandafp — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 10:08:00 -0800

We need your brainpower and creativity as we plan the program for the next National Conference for Media Reform.

Please contribute your suggestions for conference session topics, presenters, and workshop proposals through our online system: http://www.freepress.net/conference/CFS.

Social Networks, Behavioral Targeting, and Democratic Communication

Kathryn Montgomery — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 10:35:00 -0700

Online social networks – MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, and the like – are becoming important arenas for youth political engagement, as teens and young adults use them to mobilize others to vote, challenge corporate authority, and fight for new laws.

Creating a Public Interest Policy Agenda for Children and Youth in the Digital Age

Kathryn Montgomery — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 06:43:00 -0700

I am delighted that Free Press has invited me to write about my new book, Generation Digital: Politics, Commerce, and Childhood in the Age of the Internet (MIT Press, 2007), and to encourage discussion of some of the issues I have raised in it. One reason I wrote the book was to alert readers to the critical need for intervention in some of the important policy issues that will influence the future of our media system, as well as our democracy. Generation Digital comes out of my experience as a media policy advocate in Washington, D.C. From 1991 until 2003 -- when I returned to full-time teaching at American University -- I ran the Center for Media Education, a public interest group I co-founded with Jeff Chester. It is both a personal history of my own media reform policy efforts in Washington and an in-depth investigation of the major trends that are shaping the digital media culture.

Public Takeover

flotron9 — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 21:29:00 -0700

We should allow for full local ownership, control, and public access of all electronic media in the United States right away.

I am Disabled/Retired and depend on the Internet for so many things!

nickster2 — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 16:47:00 -0700

To Who it May Concern:

And, this concerns everyone: young and old: poor or wealthy: it is in the national interest that the Internet be free and available for every mothers daughter or son!

Broad-based Coalition United for Community Broadband

schang — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 08:37:00 -0700