NCMR2008

Media System Failure Discussed by Senator

Stevie Converse — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:20:55 -0700

Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, a Democrat who represents Ballard, recently spoke at the National Conference for Media Reform in Minneapolis.

In Media, Too Few Control Too Much

Stevie Converse — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 14:59:23 -0700

While most Americans enjoy more radio, television, and Internet channels, many do not realize that behind the channel is less choice. Currently, only six corporations control most of what Americans hear, see, and read. Media consolidation threatens citizens’ ability to receive objective information. For example, independent newspapers have decreased by two-thirds in the past 30 years.

Digital Inclusion for the Community

Stevie Converse — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 14:10:10 -0700

Akaku’s Media Salon Guest Series about “Media Reform: Building a Grassroots Movement to Ensure ‘Digital Inclusion’ in Community Media” features Akaku President/CEO, Jay April, who will share his recent experience at the National Conference on Media Reform (NCMR) earlier this month and be available to answer questions from residents and independent community producers attending the Media

Mainstream Media Already Have a Platform

Stevie Converse — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 13:56:55 -0700

Neal Justin writing in the June 15 Star Tribune complains of the lack of inclusion of mainstream journalists in the recent National Conference of Media Reform.

Citoyen Consumer: Disengagement, Disempowerment and Corporate Media Bias

Stevie Converse — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 08:06:53 -0700

During the class in mass communication and journalism I teach at a local community college, my students and I do a simple listing exercise.

Citizens Mobilize for Action as Media Wars Heat Up

Stevie Converse — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 07:55:29 -0700

As with the first three gatherings, the fourth National Conference on Media Reform went conspicuously missing on the pages, screens, airwaves and cables of what attendees nowadays refer to as the MSM, mainstream media.

My recent search of the New York Times Web site for their coverage of the conference went unrewarded.

The Hidden Meaning Behind the Moyers Ambush

Stevie Converse — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 07:32:29 -0700

The other day, my friend Myles Berkowitz was talking about the Fox News attempt to ambush Bill Moyers. Actually, that's not accurate. Myles never talks, he rants. And this time, like always, he was ranting from a fascinating angle no one else was.

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps Speaks at National Conference for Media Reform

Alex Kahn — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:12:26 -0700

Thank you. And thank you Free Press for showing America what an Honest-to-God grassroots citizens’ conference looks like. You guys are democracy at its best!

Corporate Media Man Gets It Right

Stevie Converse — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:58:37 -0700

William T. Evjue, the founder of this newspaper, was regularly attacked by conservatives -- "Tories" was his preferred term -- for speaking truth to power. Evjue delighted in detailing the attacks in order to illustrate the thinking of those who embraced special interests over democracy.

This Way to Better Media

Stevie Converse — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:14:23 -0700

“This way to better media,” read the floor sign directing people through a skyway to the Minneapolis Convention Center. Thousands of people gathered there for the fourth National Conference for Media Reform, hosted by freepress.net. They came from all walks of life and all ages to address a central crisis in our society: our broken media system. I was one of the invited speakers.

Conference Links Independent Media to Democracy

Stevie Converse — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 06:08:10 -0700

The National Conference for Media Reform came to Minneapolis June 6-8, attracting more than 3,500 participants from across the nation. The conference, hosted by the advocacy group Free Press, celebrated recent victories in the fight to oppose increasing corporate consolidation in media ownership while at the same time highlighting continuing threats to a free and independent media.

Another Sort of Eulogy

Stevie Converse — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 05:11:43 -0700

Last November, in his PBS report on the media meltdown in the run-up to the Iraq invasion, veteran journalist Bill Moyers questioned NBC’s Tim Russert about his own role in the fiasco. Among other things, he cited Russert’s 9/8/02 “Meet the Press” interview with Dick Cheney, which Moyers described as “the classic case of how the press and the government became inseparable.”

Local Innovators Offer a Minnesota Model for Media Reform

Stevie Converse — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:46:20 -0700

“The Twin Cities have been an epicenter for media consolidation,” notes the National Conference for Media Reform program book. “Both daily newspapers have been bought, sold, and downsized by conglomerates. The alternative weekly is part of a national chain, too. And the TV and radio airwaves are dominated by some of the nation’s biggest media companies.”

Between the Right and Racial Justice: Wedging the Movement for Media Reform

Stevie Converse — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:38:09 -0700

Conservative Fox News host Bill O’Reilly has done it again.

O'Reilly: Media Reformers in Minneapolis 'Stridently Anti-American'

Stevie Converse — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:03:25 -0700

There were two National Conferences on Media Reform in Minneapolis over the weekend: the one I attended and the one Bill O'Reilly, Juan Williams and Fox News talking head Mary Catherine Ham didn't.

Pentagon Pundits, Media Reform and Talking Back to Bill O'Reilly

Stevie Converse — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:18:51 -0700

As Paul Schmelzer wrote on the Minnesota Independent website, "There were two National Conferences on Media Reform in Minneapolis over the weeken

FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein Speaks at National Conference for Media Reform

Stevie Converse — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:08:34 -0700

Last night, Dan Rather validated all of our deepest concerns and worst fears about how corporate media has abandoned its sense of responsibility. To make a buck, they are transforming real journalism into infotainment.

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps Speaks at National Conference for Media Reform

Stevie Converse — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:59:10 -0700

Thank you. And thank you Free Press for showing America what an Honest-to-God grassroots citizens’ conference looks like. You guys are democracy at its best!

Media Conference: The Freedom That Makes Freedom Possible

Stevie Converse — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:41:32 -0700

“As journalism goes, so goes democracy,” renowned PBS host Bill Moyers told the crowd at the National Conference for Media Reform. And right now, journalism is in trouble.

Media Conference: Rise of the Advocate Journalists

Stevie Converse — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:35:53 -0700

Writers and bloggers are blurring the already thin line between advocacy and journalism.