News

WASHINGTON — Free Press attorneys will go to court on Friday, representing nearly two dozen advocacy groups and tech industry leaders that intervened in the case to defend the Federal Communications Commission’s Net Neutrality order.

ATLANTIC CITY — News Voices: New Jersey is bringing together local residents, journalists, media makers, activists and others in Atlantic City for a community discussion about the media on Dec. 8. The event, “My Atlantic City,” will allow journalists to hear firsthand from residents about what life is really like in the city.

WASHINGTON — On Monday evening, lawyers for journalists Wesley Lowery of The Washington Post and Ryan J. Reilly of The Huffington Post urged the St. Louis County court to dismiss charges that the reporters trespassed and interfered with a police officer. The two journalists were among the many people documenting police activity during the Ferguson demonstrations in August 2014.

WASHINGTON — North Carolina media activist and community media innovator Wally Bowen passed away Tuesday in Asheville, North Carolina. Bowen was the co-founder of the Mountain Area Information Network, a nonprofit Internet service provider, Low Power FM broadcaster and community hub. He was a nationally known advocate for local self-reliance through local ownership of media infrastructure.

WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, wireless carrier T-Mobile announced plans to exempt selected streaming-video services from its customer data caps. The move, which favors video streams from Netflix, HBO Go, Hulu, ESPN and a handful of leading brands, will go into effect beginning Nov. 15, according to T-Mobile.

NEW BRUNSWICK — News Voices: New Jersey is bringing together community members, journalists, media makers, activists and others in New Brunswick on Nov. 11. The three-hour forum is an opportunity to brainstorm about the future of local journalism and its role in our communities.

WASHINGTON — According to news reports Wednesday, cable Internet provider Comcast continues to dramatically expand its practice of imposing broadband-usage caps and overage fees on Comcast users in cities across the nation.

WASHINGTON — The Senate today voted 74-21 to pass the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA), legislation that offers blanket immunity to companies sharing vast quantities of their users’ private data with government authorities.

WASHINGTON — On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission voted to reduce the exorbitant cost of prison-phone calls charged to incarcerated people and their families.

“It’s long past time to reform the unreasonable rates predatory companies impose upon on a captive consumer base,” said Malkia A. Cyril, executive director at the Center for Media Justice and co-founder of the Media Action Grassroots Network.