Tomorrow my program at the Social Science Research Council will be releasing four important studies on the media during a telephone press conference at 1pm EST. Specifically, the studies focus on four areas: The Radio Industry. Peter DiCola, of the University of Michigan and the Future of Music Coalition, examines how the concentration of radio…
Category: Media Reform
Your tax dollars at work: US government regulation of virtual worlds
Reuters (now with their own Second Life Bureau desk!) reports that the US Congress is considering how virtual economies such as those within Second Life and World of Warcraft interact with US tax code. According to federal economist Dan Miller: Right now we’re at the preliminary stages of looking at the issue and what kind…
Salon on the Net Neutrality and the “telecom slayers”
There’s a couple of nice quotes from my colleague Ben Scott, policy director at the media reform group Free Press, in a Salon.com story on Net Neutrality entitled "The Telecom Slayers": In his Capitol Hill office, Scott keeps a small framed photo from the movie "Cool Hand Luke." It is the famous scene where…
Knight Foundation announces $5 million grant for “community journalism in cyberspace”
The Knight Foundation recently announced that they are launching a new $5 million fund for innovative community journalism in cyberspace called the ‘Knight Brothers 21st Century News Challenge.’ The grant program will provide funding for "new ideas, prototypes, products and leadership initiatives that use innovative news methods to help citizens better connect within their communities."…
On TV, the Old Boy’s Club is alive and well
Derek Turner of the media reform group Free Press has just released a study that shows that the television industry is still largely dominated by white men, even as other industries in the country diversify their ownership demographics. Entitled "Out of the Picture," the report cites a number alarming statistics on television station ownership: Women…
Correlation between griefing and violent game play?
The excellent Game Politics blog recently did a little investigating of claims by Louisiana attorney general Jack Johnson and other anti-game violence politicians. Apparently Johnson has been touting an American Psychological Association study that he said had found that violent video game play causes real world violent acts. I happen to know the current chair…
Chinese protestors take to YouTube: You can’t stop the signal!
Global Voices Online reports that the Chinese police recently cracked down hard on a large protest in Rui’an, spurred by the mysterious death of a young school teacher ruled a suicide by authorities. Nothing new there: Chinese citizens protest, they get a beat-down. The twist is that now cameraphones are common accessories among Chinese citizens,…
The report the FCC doesn’t want you to read
Four prominent public interest media reform groups — Free Press, Consumers Union, the Consumers Federation of America, and Media Access Project — have issued a letter to FCC Chair Kevin Martin urging him to investigate the allegations that important FCC-sponsored research on media ownership was buried by former FCC chair Michael Powell. BACKGROUND: In 2004…
China’s broadband soars, America’s sucks
A couple of recent reports from Free Press and Ovum consulting reveal a couple dramatic trends in broadband penetration and access. Ovum issued a report on September 4 which shows that within a year China will soon be the largest broadband market, with 79 million users in 2007 and 179 million in 2010. No wonder…
Les Paul’s bootleg apartment radio station / jam session from the 40s
Modern Mechanix blog has a cool re-print of Les Paul’s very bootleg radio station / jam session he set up in his apartment building in the 40s. The pictures are great, expecially "Static" the cat, who you can see after the jump. Great, now I have to get another cat named "Static." For those who…