Less than two weeks from the National Conference on Media Reform in Madison and plans have been announced for a shadow “Be the Media” convergence as well. The idea is to get the participants to mingle with each other and teach some real media skills to people.
Various IMCs and other grassroots media outlets around the U.S. are sending contingents and many events will be webcast (this is why I have been so busy as of late). There’s also plans to set up a collective conference blog so participants can pool coverage and perspectives. Stay tuned for more details. In all I wouldn’t be surprised if 1,500-2,000 people – maybe more – take part in the fun. Continue reading “Media Activist/Reformers Preparing Madison Invasion”
Tag: madison
Adelstein on Microradio: "Go For It"
This was initially posted to the “Be the Media Blog” which provided a running commentary on the National Conference on Media Reform as written by participants.
Saturday night @ the Orpheum, after all of the speeches got done (C-SPAN was there), the Tell Us the Truth tour gang ran through an abbreviated reprise of their Friday headline performance.
This time around, however, FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein joined the lineup. Adelstein’s quite dangerous with the harmonica, and performed several solos backed up by Boots Riley, Billy Bragg, Tom Morello, and Lester Chambers, to a repeatedly wowed crowd. Wonderfully surreal!
It looked like Adelstein got quite an adrenaline rush out of the (well-deserved) adulation, which perhaps explains the comments he made during a brief conversation with him after the show. Continue reading “Adelstein on Microradio: "Go For It"”
Media Reform Conference Will Let Journalists In For Free
Another member of Thursday’s panel on campus was Free Press co-founder John Nichols. After finishing up with Kevin Klose I pigeonholed him as well, wondering what the f*ck the deal was with possibly charging journalists to attend the National Conference on Media Reform.
Nichols did not know this, and did not believe it. Of course journalists would not be required to pay for entry. He said they will not make distinctions between news organizations, either – the New York Times and Indymedia will get equal treatment, although there is concern lots of folks may show up and claim to be IMC reporters just for a free pass. Continue reading “Media Reform Conference Will Let Journalists In For Free”
Smokin' Klose
National Public Radio President/CEO Kevin Klose appeared on the UW-Madison campus today as part of a panel on the quality of the network’s coverage of Gulf War II. During Q-and-A, DIYmedia tried to get Klose to repent for his opposition to low power radio. The attempt was unsuccessful, but the excursion wasn’t a total loss….
Before the talk began, Klose was standing in the back of the auditorium speaking with various suits from the Wisconsin Public Radio system. There had to be at least 50 people in the auditorium, either suits or professors or students. I worked my way into the circle, and Klose stuck out his hand to shake mine: “Hi, I’m Kevin,” he said.
“I know,” was my response. “We met briefly in San Francisco in 2000, during an NPR board meeting there.”
Klose’s face briefly clouded over and he muttered, “Oh, you’re not one of those low power radio folks, are you?” I said I was; he mused out loud that he was happy the subject wasn’t on today’s agenda. Continue reading “Smokin' Klose”
Smokin' Klose: NPR Prez in Madison
National Public Radio President/CEO Kevin Klose was on the UW-Madison campus this morning as a guest of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He appeared on a panel at a public forum on “Accuracy, Fairness, and Balance” with regard to NPR’s coverage of the U.S. escapade in Iraq.
Klose didn’t say anything terribly remarkable about the practice of journalism and NPR’s role in truth-telling. He compared trying to cover the fighting in Iraq with “circling an intersection at a fender-bender” with the hope of reconstructing what actually happened. But Klose did exhort the undergraduates to stay engaged in the democratic process, and as journalists-to-be they should always strive to maximize the diversity of voices given play in the media. Continue reading “Smokin' Klose: NPR Prez in Madison”
Free Press Not So Free: Journalists Must Pay to Cover Media Reform Conference
This disheartening link hit the inbox recently: it takes you to a page on the press credentialing process for the Free Press National Conference on Media Reform, which takes place next month here in Madison.
This conference promises to be quite a newsmaker, with a star-studded lineup of left-leaning notables, FCC Commissioners and a gaggle of Congressfolk gathered all in one place talking national strategy on media reform. Symbolically, it’s a big step forward for the fledgling movement around media democracy which has been growing steadily over the last five years or so. It will be a Big Deal, and something you’d think Free Press would want coverage on.
The entry fee – for journalists – is $175. A “student/low income” rate of $75 is also available. These are the same rates all attendees must pay. This is for the privilege of covering a conference on media reform, involving the core of America’s progressive populace. Continue reading “Free Press Not So Free: Journalists Must Pay to Cover Media Reform Conference”
Where I've Been
I know there hasn’t been much new up on the site lately, but I have a good excuse. Madison, WI has been the site of the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ national annual convention this past weekend. As a member of the Madison Independent Media Center, I’ve been heavily involved in covering the event and related street actions.
From the 10-plus pages of stories that have been filed about the event and the live internet radio webstream that we had up, it has been incredibly busy, yet incredibly exhilirating. I finally slept for 17 hours yesterday. Continue reading “Where I've Been”
Little By Little
It might not look like much, but there are several sections of the links library now online. Most importantly, the stations and schematics pages are functional again! We’ve gathered tons of news and new links during the short hiatus offline, and we’ll be doing massive updates and additions once the existing content is available.
As an active member of my local Independent Media Center, we’re f*ckin busy right now preparing for the upcoming U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting and the expected protests that will surround it; this all happens a week and a half from now. It has been taking up a lot of energy, and keeps me away from more work here.
Police are playing up the threat of an invasion of “violent anarchists” from out-of-town, but that’s just an excuse to get militaristic and whoop some ass. They don’t call it “police violence” for nuthin’…
Organized Resistance
It has been one hell of a week, I can say that for sure.
At this point seven days ago, the Grassroots Radio Conference held here in Madison, WI was in full swing and the discussion was full of the future.
The Conference was geared toward what few licensed full-power community stations exist around the country, but the event also attracted plenty of people simply interested in radio and the latest happenings in the medium.
There was also a good contingent of unlicensed broadcasters who stepped out of the shadows and introduced themselves. But what I did not expect was the number of people who I met. Continue reading “Organized Resistance”
A Chat with Harold
Today Federal Communications Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth gave a talk to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Public Utility Institute. The event was open to the public, so I went. When’s the next chance of a Commissioner showing up in your backyard – especially on the eve of the vote on low power radio?
After his talk was a social reception. As it wound down, I was able to corner Harold and ask about the LPFM proposal and its future. I was up-front about this site and my work, and he was surprisingly cordial and attentive. It was a good discussion.
But what I learned was disappointing. We’ve already covered the severe limitations LPFM will be saddled with, and how its potential will be reduced to nearly zero. But hearing why from the mouth of one of the five Commissioners who will soon make it so was even worse. Continue reading “A Chat with Harold”