News

WASHINGTON — Free Press commended the Senate Commerce Committee today for unanimously approving the “Broadband Data Improvement Act” (S. 1492), legislation that would address current gaps in data on the availability, speed and value of U.S. broadband. Free Press Policy Director Ben Scott issued the following statement:

WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands of public comments supporting Net Neutrality flooded the Federal Communications Commission before the close of the agency’s official inquiry yesterday. In a landslide, well over 95 percent of the comments called for rules that prohibit phone and cable companies from discriminating against Web sites or services.

WASHINGTON — The Wall Street Journal reported this morning that News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch has reached a “tentative” agreement to take over Dow Jones Co. for $5 billion.

Robert W. McChesney, president of the media reform group Free Press and Gutgsell Endowed Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois, made the following statement:

WASHINGTON — Today, Free Press launched FreetheiPhone.org — a campaign demanding an open, competitive wireless Internet for everyone. Apple’s iPhone — locked into AT&T’s slow, closed network — is a bellweather for the future of mobile Internet.

WASHINGTON — On July 15, small and independent publishers will be hit with a major postage rate increase that threatens to push many of them out of print. Yet just days before the new rates are supposed to take effect, most publishers still don’t know how much they’re supposed to pay — leaving them unable to prepare for the severe financial burden the hike is likely to inflict.

PORTLAND, Maine — More than 200 people attended an official Federal Communications Commission hearing on localism Thursday, packing into the Portland High School auditorium to express their frustration with the dwindling number of locally owned radio and television stations.

PORTLAND, Maine — At an official hearing on localism tomorrow in Portland, the Federal Communications Commission will hear public testimony on the benefits of Low Power FM (LPFM) stations.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today released a report on “Broadband Connectivity Competition Policy” that urges federal policymakers to “proceed with caution” as they consider the laws and regulations that will shape the future of the Internet.

On behalf of the SavetheInternet.com Coalition, S. Derek Turner, research director of Free Press, issued the following statement:

As this report documents in detail, conservative talk radio undeniably dominates this format.

WASHINGTON — Bipartisan legislation was introduced today in both the House and Senate that would bring hundreds of local, Low Power FM (LPFM) radio stations to cities and suburbs across the country.