Derek leads Free Press’ research and policy analysis and advises the co-CEOs and policy team. Since joining Free Press full time in 2006, Derek's landmark research has revealed racial inequities in the digital divide, investigated the dismal state of media ownership among women and people of color, and exposed waste in federal broadband programs. He tracks the media, tech and telecommunications industries and writes on a wide range of policy issues, including broadband competition, broadcast consolidation, the economics of the media industry, and the future of journalism. He is the lead author of the book Changing Media: Public Interest Policies for the Digital Age, and his work has appeared in Ars Technica, Salon and Wired. Derek holds a master's degree in public policy from the Goldman School at the University of California, Berkeley, where he received the 2006 Smolensky Prize for Outstanding Advanced Policy Analysis.
Expert Analysis
-
Public-interest watchdogging and new FCC leadership halted the waste of billions of broadband-subsidy funds.
-
Cable One — a broadband provider to 923,000 customers in 24 states — made some honest comments that should make regulators at the FCC sit up and take notice.
-
Lawmakers finally seem to be getting more concerned about the deepening crisis in local journalism. Here’s our look at the bills that have been proposed so far.
-
During the late 2010s, 21 rural Massachusetts towns voted to build their own fiber networks. A broken process from the Trump FCC nearly imperiled these networks.
News
-
Free Press explained that the FCC’s Title II authority allows it to safeguard Net Neutrality and hold companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon accountable.
-
The latest SpaceX lawsuit could have an impact on the future of collective bargaining.
-
This report shows that the California Journalism Preservation Act would result in a massive giveaway to large and profitable media outlets like Fox News.
-
Free Press called on lawmakers to take steps to ensure that low-income households can afford broadband access now and in the future.
From the Policy Library
-
In reply comments submitted in the agency’s “Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet” proceeding, Free Press explained that the FCC’s Title II authority allows it to safeguard Net Neutrality and hold companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon accountable.
FCC Filing & Correspondence
-
In comments submitted to the FCC, Free Press stated that the agency needs Title II authority to protect Net Neutrality and hold companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon accountable.
FCC Filing & Correspondence
-
This Free Press Action report shows why the California Journalism Preservation Act would reward media conglomerates and harm community news outlets.
-
Free Press urges Congress to reimagine and reinvent universal service policy for the future.
Congressional Correspondence