When Media Alliance thinks about the future of the media, without dismissing the importance of print and broadcast media (television/radio), and the transformative power of film, we think its pretty clear that whatever the media, the medium will be the Internet. Distribution of content is only going in one direction and that's a digital one.

So to separate the future of the Internet from the future of the media is, to put it bluntly, impossible. Whether written, spoken or filmed, information will be getting to the people via the Internet.

This makes the digital divide - a democratic problem. This makes the digital divide - a media problem. Media reform, media justice, whatever you want to call it, the issue of inadequate access to the information infrastructure is a crisis.

So what to do?

If you believe that access to information is a civil right, and if you're reading this website you probably do, than you must fight for two things in the long-term.

The first is hi-speed Internet access as a utility. A necessary service for participation in civil society, not just a privilege for those who achieve social and economic security. Like heat, electricity, telephone connections and garbage pick-up, access to information needs to be universalized, with government intervention when required for adequate service.

This means several things, including a nationwide fiber backhaul like the utility pole grid that crosses that nation, and it means the assumption of, whoever the provider(s), a public interest need that outweighs the demands of shareholder profits for redlining and limited access.

It could also mean, and it should, an open and neutral infrastructure that any provider can plug into, and regulation that mandates a minimum number of service providers in an area to provide competition on price and quality of service.

The second thing is often called by the uninspired term "net neutrality". It has many ramifications, but among them is an end to arbitrary transmission interference and the elimination of the pay-to-play threat.

Can we get it?

Media Alliance thinks we can. In the long-term. But where does that leave us right now: with statistics confirming that the "Two Americas" of rich and poor are as stratified in their technology access as they are with everything else?

Earthlink to the rescue didn't work. Unsurprisingly, the private sector didn't have an economically feasible model for addressing this social problem - not for Internet access any more than for health insurance access.

So until public policy catches up with the 21st century utility idea, we need a short-term solution. MA wants to stress - this isn't optional. We cannot leave behind millions who live all over our country for a generation until the government lives up to its responsibility to act in their interests. As activists and reformers, we must deliver on a vision of inclusion and action ... now. And a policy track that builds from the ground up and incorporates grassroots solutions into its digital inclusion approach.

Media Alliance believes that community infrastructure projects need to start developing in neighborhoods where the digital divide is acute. Mesh networking allows for the sharing of hi-speed connections among residents, and there are ISPS that will cooperate with these projects. The equipment is modest in cost and can be supplemented by partnering with the numerous computer re-use projects that cross the country. Anchored at existing activism cores in low-access neighborhoods, community technology centers can not only serve as bases, but deliver the content and usage training that must go with raw access to make it meaningful. Bemused cities and counties can stop issuing long-winded and ultimately unsuccessful RFP's and direct resources to existing, real, up and running efforts right in front of them. This is a more appropriate use of limited public dollars than deals with for-profit companies for free, universal, wireless access that collapse frequently.

By pursuing these long-term and short-term strategies, Media Alliance believes we can have a distribution infrastructure that works, and works in the interests of peace, justice and social responsibility.

And if this vision works for you, join us! It can only happen with an active base of member-supporters. Become one, or become one again, today.